Grades: intermediate
Before your visit:

Brainstorm about historical trains using a KWL chart or a circle map. Possible items
might include: types of engines, locomotives, caboose, coal cars, commuter trains, train
conductor, couple, train depot, engineer, freight trains, passenger trains, steam engines,
tracks, transcontinental railroad, transportation trains, uncouple, golden spike, Santa Fe
Railroad, speed bullet, Orient Express, and subway trains.

Visit the California State Railroad Museum Foundation website at www.csrmf.org and
click on the “Explore and Learn” and “Museum Favorites” tabs to view photos of
historical trains and to learn interesting facts

Visit the History.com website to watch the following videos “Evolution of Railroads” (5
minutes) and “American Railroad” (3 minutes) at
http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/transcontinental-railroad/videos/transcontinental-railroad

Show photographs of trains. (Many excellent photos are available online at the above
website or use photographs from a referenced book.)

Read several referenced books about trains.
Books about Trains and the Transcontinental Railroad:
The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad (Graphic History) by Nathan Olson, The Historical Atlas of
North American Trains by John Westwood, The Historical Guide to North American Railroads, 3rd Edition
(Trains Books) by Trains Magazine, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, Museum of the
American Railroad (Images of Modern America) by Museum of the American Railroad, Northwestern
Pacific Railroad by Fred Codoni and Paul C. Trimble, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, Railroad!: A
Story of the Transcontinental Railroad by Darice Bailer and Bill Farnsworth, Railroad History in
Photographs: 150 Years of North American Railroading by Anthony W. Thompson and Robert J. Church,
Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser, The
Transcontinental Railroad (True Books) by John Perritano, The Transcontinental Railroad (We the
People: Expansion and Reform) by Jean F. Blashfield
The FairKids Field Trips are a program of The Learning Centers at Fairplex, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization.
Grades: intermediate
Share these interesting facts about the transcontinental railroad:
1. In 1804, Richard Trevithick built the world’s first steam engine tramway
locomotive in England. It took two hours to travel nine miles.
2. The first steam locomotive was made in America in 1830.
3. In the 1850’s, 9,000 miles of track had been placed on the eastern part of the United
States and steam engines could travel 15 – 20 miles per hour.
4. The Pacific Railroad Act (1862) passed allowing two companies, the Central Pacific
Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad, to build a transcontinental railroad linking the
United States from the east coast to the west coast. The Central Pacific Railroad started
construction in Sacramento, California and would work easterly across the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, and the Union Pacific Railroad would start at the Missouri River at
the Iowa/Nebraska border and would lay track in a westerly direction until the two
tracks met.
5. Discuss the “Big Four” of the Central Pacific (Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Collis
Huntington, and Mark Hopkins.)
6. Discuss how Chinese laborers aided the Central Pacific Railroad and how Irish
immigrants helped the Union Pacific Railroad.
7. The transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869 in Promontory Point,
Utah. The joining of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad made the
transportation of people and goods quicker and cheaper from coast to coast. A cross
country trip that used to cost $1,000 now had a cost of $150.
8. Today, most trains in the United States travel 65 – 75 miles per hour.
9. Today, high speed trains in other countries often travel 186 miles per hour.
10. Trains are still important in America today. They transport produce, products, and
people across our country. In some urban areas, many people commute to work on
trains.

Write a paragraph about the history of the transcontinental railroad.
During your visit:

Visit the RailGiants Historical Trains Exhibit. Go inside the steam engine. Be sure to
blow the whistle! Look at the dining and sleeping cars. Explore the Santa Fe Caboose
and the ice cooled refrigerator car. Walk into the train Depot that is over 130 years old.
Would you like to travel on one of these trains?

Discuss with a partner which train in the exhibit you thought was your favorite. Justify
your choice with evidence.
The FairKids Field Trips are a program of The Learning Centers at Fairplex, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization.
Grades: intermediate
After your visit:

Discuss the real trains that you saw at the RailGiants Historical Train exhibit.

Share with a partner which train in the display was your favorite and justify your opinion
with evidence from the display.

Brainstorm what it would have been like to ride on one of these trains at the time when
it was in use. Write an adventure story about your travels in that era. Describe where
you are traveling. Include what train cars are with you and who is travelling on the
train. Let your imagination have fun and be creative with sensory words and
description.

Make a poster or collage about the trains on display in the exhibit and do an oral
presentation of it to your class.

Research one of the trains in the exhibit to find out additional facts. When was the train
used and what route was it usually travelling on when it was used. Did anyone famous
travel on the train? When and why was it retired?
The FairKids Field Trips are a program of The Learning Centers at Fairplex, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization.