Profiting from the Transcontinental Railroad

How did railroad companies profit from the building of the transcontinental railroad?

The way that railroad companies profited from the Transcontinental Railroad was by selling their own government-granted land to farmers.

When the government began the construction of the transcontinental railroad, they gave land grants to railroad companies to aid the construction. Railroad companies then sold these lands they got for free to farmers, thereby making a profit.

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