Americans today dream of flying cars and weekend trips to Mars. However in the 1800s they dreamed of being able to ride a train from coast to coast. This dream started with a proposal by Asa Whitney to Congress in 1845 asking for federal funding. Unfortunately, this revolutionary idea was not approved. Sixteen years later Theodore Judah gathered a group of investors and established the Central Pacific Railroad Company With the backing of the investors, Judah was able to convince Congress along with President Abraham Lincoln to sign off the Pacific Railroad Acts. With government funding in place, the Central Pacific Railroad Company started laying track in Sacramento and continuing through Sierra,