What were three ways to get across the country before the transcontinental railroads

Walking, horses, wagons

The big motivator was the California Gold Rush (1849). Before the railroad, there were three ways to get to the west coast: (1) cross country in a wagon train (there were several routes, including the Oregon Trail); (2) by sailing ship around Cape Horn; and (3) by ship to Panama, across the mountainous and disease-ridden isthmus, then up to California in another ship.