midnight
The Central Pacific , taking Sacramento for its starting point , extends eastward to meet the road from Omaha . The line from San Francisco to Sacramento runs in a northeasterly direction , along the American River , which empties into San Pablo Bay . The one hundred and twenty miles between these cities were accomplished in six hours . Towards midnight , while fast asleep , the travelers passed through Sacramento ; so that they saw nothing of that important place , the seat of the state government , with its fine quays , its broad streets , its noble hotels , squares and churches . The train , on leaving Sacramento , and passing the junction , Roclin , Auburn and Colfax , entered the range of the Sierra Nevada . ` Cisco was reached at seven in the morning ; and an hour later the dormitory was transformed into an ordinary car , and the travelers could observe the picturesque beauties of the mountain region through which they were steaming . The railway track wound in and out among the passes , now approaching the mountainsides , now suspended over precipices , avoiding abrupt angles by bold curves , plunging into narrow defiles , which seemed to have no outlet .