The Pacific Railroad Act offered generous incentives to the companies who needed to overcome huge distances and engineering challenge to build the line.
• Protection from Indians was promised. This led to conflict and rid of any rights to land the Indian had on the route.
Building a 2000km railway was difficult and expensive. No private company would risk taking it on. A loan of $16,000 for every mile built ($48,000 in mountain areas)
A grant of 10 square miles of land alongside the track for every mile built. This particularly benefitted t Union Pacific who could sell off homestead land and establish towns on the plains.
Disagreements - the North wanted to connect California with its big cities (e.g. Chicago) but the South wanted the railway to come through the southern states. After the southern states left the Union in 1861, the northern states could decide where the railroad went. They chose a route from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska.
