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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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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

The Transcontinental Railroad

D2.Geo.11.3-5

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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. Who did most of the Central Pacific's work?
  2. 2. How were the Chinese workers treated unfairly?
  3. 3. Where and when did the two lines meet?
  4. 4. Why was the railroad a disaster for Plains nations?
2.How did the railroad help fruit growers in California?
  • A.They stopped needing water
  • B.They could ship oranges to markets in the East
  • C.They could grow oranges in the snow
3.Why did Chicago become a center for meatpacking?
  • A.Railroads brought cattle and hogs there from the West
  • B.The ocean carried cattle to Chicago
  • C.Cattle were raised in downtown Chicago
4.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.Goods were sent by airplane
  • C.Every farm had its own store
5.How did refrigerated rail cars change what people ate?
  • A.Fresh meat and fruit could be sold far from where they were produced
  • B.People stopped eating meat
  • C.Fruit could only be eaten where it grew
6.Before the railroad, how did most goods travel from New York to California?
  • A.By airplane
  • B.By interstate highway
  • C.By ship around South America, or by wagon

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.11.3-5 · Set 7 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — The Transcontinental Railroad

Set 7. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Thousands of Chinese immigrants. 2. They were paid less than white workers for dangerous work blasting tunnels. 3. At Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, on May 10, 1869. 4. It brought hunters who killed millions of buffalo on their hunting lands.
  2. 2.They could ship oranges to markets in the East
  3. 3.Railroads brought cattle and hogs there from the West
  4. 4.Trains could deliver packages to farm families far from stores
  5. 5.Fresh meat and fruit could be sold far from where they were produced
  6. 6.By ship around South America, or by wagon

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