<P> The tracks reached Ogden, Utah, on March 27, 1869, although finishing work would continue on the tracks, tunnels and bridges in Weber Canyon for over a year . From Ogden, the railroad went north of the Great Salt Lake to Brigham City and Corinne using Mormon workers, before finally connecting with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit in Utah territory on May 10, 1869 . Some Union Pacific officers declined to pay the Mormons all of the agreed upon construction costs of the work through Weber Canyon, and beyond, claiming Union Pacific poverty despite the millions they had extracted through the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal . Only partial payment was secured through court actions against Union Pacific . The portion of the original railroad around the north shore of the Great Salt Lake is no longer used . In 1904, the Lucin Cutoff, a causeway across the center of the Great Salt Lake to Promontory Point, bypassed Promontory Summit . The cutoff shortened the rail route by approximately 43 miles (69 km). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Central Pacific laid 690 miles (1,110 km) of track, starting in Sacramento, California, in 1863 and continuing over the rugged 7,000 - foot (2,100 m) Sierra Nevada mountains at Donner Pass into the new state of Nevada . The elevation change from Sacramento (elev. 40 ft or 12 m) to Donner Summit (elev . 7,000 ft or 2,100 m) had to be accomplished in about 90 miles (140 km) with an average elevation change of 76 feet per mile (14 meters per km), and there were only a few places in the Sierra where this type of "ramp" existed . The discovery and detailed map survey with profiles and elevations of this route over the Sierra Nevada is credited to Theodore Judah, chief engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad until his death in 1863 . This route is up a ridge between the North fork of the American River on the south and Bear River (Feather River) and South Yuba River on the north . As the railroad climbed out of Sacramento up to Donner Summit, there was only one 3 - mile (4.8 km) section near "Cape Horn CPRR" where the railroad grade slightly exceeded two percent . </P>

The first railroad line to cross the last frontier connected