Picking the route 1830-1860 -- Getting to California 1848-1859 -- Birth of the Central Pacific 1860-1862 --Birth of the Central Pacific 1860-1862 -- Birth of the Union Pacific 1862-1864 -- Judah and the elephant 1862-1864 -- Laying out the Union Pacific line 1864-1865 -- Central Pacific attacks the Sierra Nevada 1865 -- Union Pacific across Nebraska 1866 -- Central Pacific assaults the Sierra 1866 -- Union Pacific to the Rocky Mountains 1867 -- Central Pacific penetrates the summit 1867 -- Union Pacific across Wyoming 1868 -- Brigham Young and the Mormons make the grade 1868 -- Central Pacific goes through Nevada 1868 -- Railroads race into Utah January 1-April 10, 1869 -- To the summit April 11-May 7, 1869 -- Done May 8-10, 1869.