And the effect of righteousness will be peace. – Isaiah 32:17
The transcontinental railroad was completed in Promontory, Utah, on this day in 1869. Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862 that authorized the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads to build the line connecting the eastern U.S. to the west. While, for decades, a network of railroads had connected cities east of the Mississippi River, the California Gold Rush served as motivation to provide a railway alternative to traversing the plains, mountains, deserts, and rivers or booking passage on a ship. The first proposal for federal funding for the transcontinental railroad was made by a New York entrepreneur in 1845. Lobbying efforts were unsuccessful until engineer Theodore Judah determined, in 1860, that Donner Pass would be a suitable location to place a railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains. He then convinced President Lincoln and Congress of its benefits and secured funding for the project .
As the Lord leads, pray with us…
- For Administrator Amit Bose to seek God’s guidance as he heads the Federal Railroad Administration.
- For the secretary and officials in the Transportation Department as they seek to improve both railway and aviation safety.
