Beginning of Essay
Railroads were born in England, a country of dense population, short distances, and large financial resources. In England problems were very different from those in America, which in the early 1800s was a nation of great distances, sparse population, and limited c ....

Middle of Essay
.... and another one crossed southern Ontario between Niagara, N.Y., and the Detroit River. During the 1850s north-south routes were developed both east and west of the Alleghenies. It was not until after the American Civil War, however, that a permanent railroad bridge (as distinguished from a temporary wartime structure) was constructed across the Ohio River. After the Civil War the pace of railroad building increased. The two Pacific railroads-one, the Union Pacific, building westward from Omaha, Neb.; the other, the Central Pacific, building eastward from Sacramento, Calif.-had been started during the war to help promote national unity. They were j ....