Editing First transcontinental railroad (section)

===Theodore Judah===
{{Main|Theodore Judah}}
[[File:CPRR Chief Engineer Theodore D. Judah.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Theodore Judah, architect of the transcontinental railroad and first chief engineer of the Central Pacific]]
[[File:Lewis M Clement.jpg|thumb|left|Lewis M. Clement, Chief Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of Track|233x233px]]
[[File:Charles Marsh, courtesy of the Nevada County, California Historical Scoiety.jpg|thumb|left|[[Charles Marsh (railroad builder)|Charles Marsh]] was the leading expert on the topography in the part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] was to be built.  He was a civil engineer, and founding investor and member of the board of directors of the Central Pacific.<ref>Lindars, Dom.  ''The Ditches of Nevada City,'' pp. 787-8, Nevada City History, 2023.  ISBN 979-8-218-13147-0 (hardcover), 979-8-218-13148-7 (ebook).</ref><ref>“Railroad Route Discovered,” ''The Nevada Journal,'' November 9, 1860, p. 2, Nevada City, California.</ref><ref>Gorman, Richard.  “An Early Nevada City Odd Fellow,” October, 2017.  https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/.  Retrieved September 13, 2022.</ref><ref>Papers compiled by David Comstock, and “The Christine Freeman Directory,” Searls Historical Library, Nevada City, California.</ref><ref>“Henness Pass Turnpike Co.,” ''Daily National Democrat,'' p. 3, March 22, 1860, Marysville, California.</ref><ref>“Another Pioneer Gone,” ''San Francisco Chronicle,'' p. 3, April 29, 1876, San Francisco, California.</ref>]]

[[Theodore Judah]] was a fervent supporter of the central route railroad. He lobbied vigorously in favor of the project and undertook the survey of the route through the rugged Sierra Nevada, one of the chief obstacles of the project.

In 1852, Judah was chief engineer for the newly formed [[Sacramento Valley Railroad (1852-1877)|Sacramento Valley Railroad]], the first railroad built west of the [[Mississippi River]]. Although the railroad later went bankrupt once the easy placer gold deposits around [[Placerville, California]], were depleted, Judah was convinced that a properly financed railroad could pass from [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] through the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach the [[Great Basin]] and hook up with rail lines coming from the East.<ref>Markham, Edwin "The Romance of the 'C.P.' " SUCCESS (magazine). New York: The Success Company, Vol. VI, Number 106, March, 1903. pp. 127–130</ref>

In 1856, Judah wrote a 13,000-word proposal in support of a Pacific railroad and distributed it to Cabinet secretaries, congressmen and other influential people. In September 1859, Judah was chosen to be the accredited lobbyist for the Pacific Railroad Convention, which indeed approved his plan to survey, finance and engineer the road. Judah returned to Washington in December 1859. He had a lobbying office in the [[United States Capitol]], received an audience with President [[James Buchanan]], and represented the Convention before Congress.<ref name="judah">"A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California: Illustrated. Containing a History of This Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of Its Occupancyand Biographical Mention of Many of Its Most Eminent Pioneers and Also of Prominent Citizens of Today". Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. (1891) pp. 214–221</ref>

Judah returned to California in 1860. He continued to search for a more practical route through the Sierra suitable for a railroad. In mid-1860, local miner Daniel Strong had surveyed a route over the Sierra for a wagon toll road, which he realized would also suit a railroad. He described his discovery in a letter to Judah. Also in 1860, [[Charles Marsh (railroad builder)|Charles Marsh]], a surveyor, civil engineer and water company owner, met with civil engineer Judah. Marsh, who had already surveyed a potential railroad route between Sacramento and Nevada City, California, a decade earlier, went with Judah into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they examined the Henness Pass Turnpike Company's route (Marsh was a founding director of that company). They measured elevations and distances and discussed the possibility of a transcontinental railroad. Both were convinced that it could be done. Judah, Marsh and Strong then met with merchants and businessmen to solicit investors in their proposed railroad.<ref name="judah"/><ref>Lindars, Dom. Manuscript, ''The Ditches of Nevada City,'' Chapter 24, Stories of Fire and Ice, anticipated publication date: Spring 2023.</ref><ref>"Railroad Route Discovered," ''The Nevada Journal,'' November 9, 1860, p. 2, Nevada City, California.</ref><ref>Gorman, Richard. "An Early Nevada City Odd Fellow," October, 2017. https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/. Retrieved September 13, 2022.</ref><ref>Comstock, David Allan. "Charles Marsh: Our Neglected Pioneer-Genius," ''Nevada County Historical Society Bulletin,'' pp. 9–11, 14–15, Volume 50, No. 2, April 1996, and papers compiled by David Comstock, Searls Historical Library, Nevada City, California.</ref><ref>"Henness Pass Turnpike Co.," ''Daily National Democrat,'' p. 3, March 22, 1860, Marysville, California.</ref><ref>"Another Pioneer Gone," ''San Francisco Chronicle,'' p. 3, April 29, 1876, San Francisco, California.</ref><ref>King, R. Joe. "Nevada Survey Maps," Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum website. http://cprr.org/Museum/Maps/Nevada_Survey_Maps/. Retrieved September 13, 2022.</ref><ref>Wheat, Carl I.  "A Sketch of the Life of Theodore D. Judah," ''California Historical Society Quarterly,'' p. 250, Volume IV, No. 3, September 1925.</ref>

From January or February 1861 until July, Judah and Strong led a 10-person expedition to survey the route for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada through Clipper Gap and [[Emigrant Gap]], over [[Donner Pass]], and south to [[Truckee, California|Truckee]]. They discovered a way across the Sierras that was gradual enough to be made suitable for a railroad, although it still needed a lot of work.<ref name="judah"/>