jul 1, 1862 - Pacific Railway Act 1862

Description:

The act authorized the construction of the railroad by the Union Pacific Railroad Company, starting from Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific Railroad Company, starting from Sacramento, California. The two lines would meet in the middle. The act also provided government bonds to help fund the work, for every mile of track laid, the companies received sections of land and loans. They granted 10 alternate sections of public domain land per mile on both sides of the railway, and it provided loan bonds for each mile of track laid. The loans were repayable in 30 years, and the dollars per mile escalated in accordance with the difficulty of the terrain.

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