148 years ago on June 1st, 1876
The Transcontinental Express leaves the New York area to attempt a record-breaking coast-to-coast train trip
It would stop to allow passengers to disembark, but otherwise ran 24 hours a day across tracks that connected Jersey City's Pennsylvania Railroad station (modern-day Exchange Place) to the docks of Oakland, California. The trip took 83 hours and 20 minutes, just two hours slower than Amtrak can make the trip today.
References: