Union Pacific Railroad was created in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act, charging it to bind the nation from east to west with a ribbon of steel. Beginning in Omaha and building westward, it was called to cross frontiers, and in 1869 the driving of the Golden Spike marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the fulfillment of that mission. The Omaha shops played a key role in this achievement. Beginning in 1865, master craftsmen from many trades at this site created the technology and built the equipment needed for the work, providing everything from bolts to locomotives, freight cars, and fine furniture for passenger cars. Immigrants from around the world found work in the Omaha shops and made their homes here. Union Pacific remains headquartered in Omaha and has grown into the largest railroad in North America, connecting Canada, the United States, and Mexico and continuing the work it began in 1862.