America had a privately built and privately funded transcontinental railroad. Without the option of government land grants there presumably would have been othe

America had a privately built and privately funded transcontinental railroad. Without the option of government land grants there presumably would have been others, though their timing would have been different (they would have been built more slowly with more economically sustainable routes). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)