Railroads may seem like an anachronism to your students, but the construction of a transcontinental network was an incredible achievement that greatly excited and inspired people at the time. One challenge for you, therefore, will be helping your students understand just how ambitious a project the construction of the railroad really was. 

Part of the achievement lay in the fact that the construction of the railroad could be achieved with relatively simple tools. The organization of manpower and resources, on the other hand, was truly epic. To help your students understand this, we have included a flow-chart exercise that asks your students to diagram the actual track-laying process of the railroad companies.