[Thank You Rush]

“”The nation was first linked by rail in 1869, when a golden railroad spike was driven in Utah to symbolize the connection of East and West Coasts. Yet no single entity has controlled that coast-to-coast passage.””

I had the same question but I guess the above explains it..seems kind of picayune, doesn’t it to narrow it down to being the first because there wasn’t a “single entity” before this merger...it WAS the first so the “single entity” shouldn’t change it...

KNOW what I’m sayin’? Couldn’t resist it....

[Alberta's Child]

It all comes down to two definitions of what constitutes a railroad.

1. railroad = a system of tracks on rights-of-way that carry trains

2. railroad = a company that operates a system of tracks and trains

In 1869, the U.S. got its first transcontinental railroad under Definition #1.

If this UP-NS merger is approved, the U.S. will get its first transcontinental railroad under Definition #2.