<P> The Central Pacific broke ground on January 8 , 1863 . Due to the lack of transportation alternatives from the manufacturing centers on the east coast , virtually all of their tools and machinery including rails , railroad switches , railroad turntables , freight and passenger cars , and steam locomotives were transported first by train to east coast ports . They were then loaded on ships which either sailed around South America 's Cape Horn , or offloaded the cargo at the Isthmus of Panama , where it was sent across via paddle steamer and the Panama Railroad . The Panama Railroad gauge was 5 ft ( 1524 mm ) , which was incompatible with the 4 ft 8 1 ⁄ 2 inch ( 1435mm ) gauge used by the CPRR equipment . The latter route was about twice as expensive per pound . Once the machinery and tools reached the San Francisco Bay area , they were put aboard river paddle steamers which transported them up the final 130 miles ( 210 km ) of the Sacramento River to the new state capital in Sacramento . Many of these steam engines , railroad cars , and other machinery were shipped dismantled and had to be reassembled . Wooden timbers for railroad ties , trestles , bridges , firewood , and telegraph poles were harvested in California and transported to the project site . </P>
<P> The Central Pacific broke ground on January 8 , 1863 . Due to the lack of transportation alternatives from the manufacturing centers on the east coast , virtually all of their tools and machinery including rails , railroad switches , railroad turntables , freight and passenger cars , and steam locomotives were transported first by train to east coast ports . They were then loaded on ships which either sailed around South America 's Cape Horn , or offloaded the cargo at the Isthmus of Panama , where it was sent across via paddle steamer and the Panama Railroad . The Panama Railroad gauge was 5 ft ( 1524 mm ) , which was incompatible with the 4 ft 8 1 ⁄ 2 inch ( 1435mm ) gauge used by the CPRR equipment . The latter route was about twice as expensive per pound . Once the machinery and tools reached the San Francisco Bay area , they were put aboard river paddle steamers which transported them up the final 130 miles ( 210 km ) of the Sacramento River to the new state capital in Sacramento . Many of these steam engines , railroad cars , and other machinery were shipped dismantled and had to be reassembled . Wooden timbers for railroad ties , trestles , bridges , firewood , and telegraph poles were harvested in California and transported to the project site . </P>
where did the union pacific start building the transcontinental railroad
where did the union pacific start building the transcontinental railroad
on January 8 , 1863
on January 8 , 1863