He used money saved from his earnings to invest later in the new railroad business after moving to California, which had become a boom state since the Gold Rush.

[3] In 1861, after hearing an intriguing presentation by Theodore Judah, he was one of the four principal investors, along with Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford (also known as The Big Four), who formed the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the western portion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America.

His position with the company was that of construction supervisor and president of Charles Crocker & Co., a Central Pacific subsidiary founded expressly for the purpose of building the railroad.

[6] In 1864, Charles asked his older brother Edwin to serve as legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad.

[7] On September 5, 1876, at the Lang Southern Pacific Station, a California Historic Landmark, Crocker hammered a golden spike into a railroad tie, the ceremonial spike was driven to celebrate the completion of San Joaquin Valley rail line.

Though the disaster rendered the infamous dispute and its resolution moot, Crocker's family donated the entire block of land to charity, in support of the Episcopal Diocese of California.

Together, they had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood:[17] Crocker was seriously injured in a New York City carriage accident in 1886,[26] never fully recovered, and died two years later on August 14, 1888.

[27][1] He was buried in a mausoleum located on "Millionaire's Row" at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.