<P> One of the most prominent champions of the central route railroad was Asa Whitney . He envisioned a route from Chicago and the Great Lakes to northern California, paid for by the sale of land to settlers along the route . Whitney traveled widely to solicit support from businessmen and politicians, printed maps and pamphlets, and submitted several proposals to Congress, all at his own expense . In June 1845, he led a team along part of the proposed route to assess its feasibility . </P> <P> Legislation to begin construction of the Pacific Railroad (called the Memorial of Asa Whitney) was first introduced to Congress by Representative Zadock Pratt . Congress did not immediately act on Whitney's proposal . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> In 1852, Judah was chief engineer for the newly formed 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 through the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach the Great Basin and hook up with rail lines coming from the East . </P>

How long did it take to build the first 40 miles of the railroad