Lesson 2 Railroads By 1900 the United State had miles of railroad track across the country. This law gave two corporations-the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific-permission to build a transcontinental railroad. GNP Resources Edwin Drake Alexander Graham bell lazzez fare entrepreneur Because of the Shortage of labor in California, the Central Pacific Railroad hired about 10,000 workers from is a geographic region in which the same standard time is kept. a grant of land by the federal government especially for roads, railroads, or agricultural colleges. An is one who puts money into a company in order to gain a future financial reward. Corruption in the railroad industry became public in 1872 with the scandal, where a construction company set up by several stockholders of major railroad companies Railroad tycoons also known as were accused of swindling investors and taxpayers and bribing public officials. built and operated the Great Northern Railroad, from Wisconsin and Minnesota to Washington in the west, without any federal land grant or subsidies.