America's timeline is full of important people, places, inventions, and events that all have significance and are responsible for shaping American life as we know it today. The construction of the rail system and the Transcontinental Railroad forever changed America's transportation, economy, and overall way of life. The Industrial Revolution was a key period in American history, and the railroad played an extremely important role in the Industrial Revolution. The railroad was the first big business in America and is still a crucial part of how America operates and transports. Railroads are just as big and important today as they were then. The railroad was developed in Britain and the first successful locomotive was invented by George Stephenson of England in 1804. John Stevens is considered the father of American railroads because he obtained the first railroad charter in North America in 1815. The first railroad track in North America was only thirteen miles long and opened in 1830. Construction of this track began in Baltimore Harbor on July 4, 1828, where The last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll, then 91 years old, He turned over the first shovel full of dirt and laid the cornerstone of this railroad. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorizing the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. It was the largest government construction project in United States history at that date and time. Only two companies, Union Pacific and Central Pacific, were responsible for building the Transcontinental Railroad. Union Pacific began construction in the East and Central Pacific began construction in the West. The...... middle of paper ......tinental Railroad, 1869" EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2004).A&E. "Transcontinental Railroad." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web January 22, 2013. Wallace D. Farnham (1963). Wesley S. Griswold Review “A Work of Giants: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad” Review of Commercial History, 37, pp 464-465 “Railroads. " Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. April 25, 2014. The Editors of Publications International, Ltd.. "Railroad Expansion" May 19, 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. April 25, 2014. AUTHOR ushistory.org PAGE TITLE Early American Railroads PROGRAM TITLE United States History Online Textbook PAGE URL http://www.ushistory.org/us/25b.asp ACCESS DATE Friday, April 25, 2014 COPYRIGHT 2014