I've Always Wondered -- Just What IS a Transcontinental Railroad?

A "transcontinental railroad," from my Mr. Picky perspective, means you can board a train at the Atlantic Ocean and not get off until you reach the Pacific Ocean. That still wasn't possible after the May 10, 1869 Golden Spike ceremony. You could board a train in Manhattan, take it to Council Bluffs, get off the train, take a ferry across the Missouri River, get on another train, take it to Sacramento, get off that train, and then take a boat the last 75 miles downriver until you reached the Pacific.