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The Transcontinental Railroad is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how the transcontinental railroad changed where goods were made and sold, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.11.3-5. It prints 6 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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The Transcontinental Railroad

D2.Geo.11.3-5

NameDate

Read the text and answer the questions, then circle the best answers.

1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

The Transcontinental Railroad

An information text written for this worksheet. In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress passed a law to build a railroad across the country. The Central Pacific Railroad built east from Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Nebraska. Thousands of Chinese immigrants did most of the Central Pacific's work. They blasted tunnels through the Sierra Nevada and were paid less than white workers. Many Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans laid track for the Union Pacific. The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, on May 10, 1869. A trip from coast to coast had taken months by wagon or ship. By train it took about a week. Ranchers could ship cattle to Chicago, and factories in the East could sell goods in the West. The railroad crossed the hunting lands of Plains nations such as the Lakota and Cheyenne, and brought hunters who killed millions of buffalo.

  1. 1. What does this text not tell you about the workers?
  2. 2. Where and when did the two lines meet?
  3. 3. Who did most of the Central Pacific's work?
  4. 4. Which company built east from Sacramento?
2.Why could Great Plains farmers grow wheat to sell far away?
  • A.Wheat could not grow anywhere else
  • B.The government bought all their wheat
  • C.Trains could carry their wheat to distant markets
3.Why did new towns grow up along the railroad line?
  • A.Trains brought customers and carried away crops
  • B.Towns could only be built near tracks by law
  • C.The railroad paid people to live there
4.Why did Chicago become a center for meatpacking?
  • A.The ocean carried cattle to Chicago
  • B.Railroads brought cattle and hogs there from the West
  • C.Cattle were raised in downtown Chicago
5.Why could mail-order catalogs sell goods across the country by the 1890s?
  • A.Trains could deliver packages to farm families far from stores
  • B.Every farm had its own store
  • C.Goods were sent by airplane
6.What often happened to a town the railroad passed by?
  • A.It became the state capital
  • B.It shrank as trade moved to towns on the line
  • C.It grew faster than every other town

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.11.3-5 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Transcontinental Railroad

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It does not tell you how many workers died building the railroad. 2. At Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, on May 10, 1869. 3. Thousands of Chinese immigrants. 4. The Central Pacific Railroad.
  2. 2.Trains could carry their wheat to distant markets
  3. 3.Trains brought customers and carried away crops
  4. 4.Railroads brought cattle and hogs there from the West
  5. 5.Trains could deliver packages to farm families far from stores
  6. 6.It shrank as trade moved to towns on the line

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.11.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.