Hello everyone and welcome to Train Talk!
Today, I’m going to tell you the story of the Golden Spike National Historic Site, which
is located at Promontory Point, Utah.
This was the site of completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and today, it features a visitor’s
center and display site with two replica steam locomotives.
Let’s dive right in!
The transcontinental railroad was a massive undertaking that linked the east and west
coast of the United States with a railroad for the first time in history.
The project was written into law by the United States Congress and approved by president
Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and construction began the following year.
Two railroads worked on the project, starting from opposite ends: the Union Pacific from
Omaha, Nebraska in the East and the Central Pacific from Sacramento, California in the west.
Later, the Central Pacific railroad became the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The Transcontinental Railroad was finally completed on May 10th, 1869, at a place known
as Promontory Summit.
A ceremony was held for the completion and telegraphs were present to tell the rest of
the nation the precise moment the railroad was completed and open for business.
Two steam locomotives were on hand for the event and made up the backdrop for the well
known photograph of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
A special laurel wood tie and series of spikes made of various precious metals were used
as part of the ceremony, the most famous of which was a spike made of gold.
It is this spike that the site was later named for, but more on that later.
The Pacific Railroad was finally finished.
With the railroad completed, goods and people could be moved across the country in under
a week.
The railroad continued to thrive and grow.
Eventually, it was decided that Ogden Utah, located directly to the east was a better
meeting point for the two railroads due to Promontory’s remote location, so Union Pacific
sold their section of track between Promontory Point and Ogden to the Southern Pacific.
In addition to the route through Promontory Point being remote, it also had steep grades
and was indirect, since it went all the way around the north side of the Great Salt Lake.
The Southern Pacific built a bypass route in 1904, known as the Lucin Cutoff.
This new route cut directly across the middle of the Great Salt Lake, using a series of
causeways and a 12 mile long bridge.
Today, this route is still used by freight traffic.
Union Pacific bought out the Southern Pacific railroad in 1996, and the bridge on the Lucin
Cutoff has been replaced by a causeway, but much of the original transcontinental rail
line is still intact.
The line through Promontory Point was finally abandoned in 1942, and the rails were pulled
up.
In the 1950’s, there was a renewed interest in preserving the original right of way through
Promontory Point due to its historical significance.
So, in 1957, Promontory Summit was established as a National Historic Site in an effort to
preserve the historic right of way and work began to restore it to how it appeared on
May 10th, 1869.
Two steam locomotives were moved to the site to perform reenactments of the golden spike
ceremony in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the completion of the railroad in 1969.
These locomotives were done up to appear as the two locomotives that were at the original
ceremony: Central Pacific number 60, the Jupiter, and Union Pacific number 119.
Unfortunately, both original locomotives were scrapped in the early 1900’s.
Following the 100th anniversary celebration, the National Park Service looked into having
their own replica locomotives built for demonstration purposes.
The Park Service first turned to the Walt Disney Company, which had built full sized
replica locomotives for the Disneyland theme park.
Disney turned down the offer because they didn’t think that they could make replicas
to within a quarter of an inch of the originals, as specified by the contract.
Eventually, the contract went to Chad O’Conner, a friend of Walt Disney and fellow train enthusiast.
It is said that Chad significantly underbid all other offers and even put some of his
own money into the project just to have the honor of building these replica locomotives.
The locomotives were built at the O’Connor Engineering Laboratories in Costa Mesa, California.
Since no blueprints existed of the original locomotives, O’Connor and his team had to
use calipers to measure and scale up all the dimensions of the locomotives from historical
photos.
The paintwork was even more of a challenge, since color film did not exist at the time.
The only resources available were written accounts of the event and the various different
shades of grey seen in the photos.
Disney animator Ward Kimball also contributed to the project, painting the original artwork
on the locomotive tenders and domes.
The two replica locomotives were completed and delivered to the Golden Spike Historic
Site in 1979.
Today, the Golden Spike Historic Site serves as an interpretive center of the impact of
the Transcontinental Railroad on the nation.
There is a Visitor’s center with various displays about the railroad construction and
two theaters.
Outside the visitor’s center, the actual site where the golden spike was driven has
been completely recreated, including a couple hundred feet of track, some wooden benches,
and a period correct American Flag.
During the summer months, both locomotives are fired up almost daily, and various demonstrations
are made throughout the day.
On Saturdays and holidays, a complete reenactment of the driving of the golden spike is held
with volunteer actors in period clothes.
In the winter months, maintenance is performed on the two replica locomotives in the engine
house, also located at the historic site.
The Park Service has guided tours of the engine house so that visitors still have a chance
to see the replica locomotives, even if they aren’t under steam.
And finally, in addition to the Visitor’s Center and re-created ceremony site, several
miles of the original right of way are preserved as driving and walking paths.
The driving of the golden spike forever changed the United States.
It meant that goods and people could finally travel across the country quickly.
It ushered in a new era in the history of the nation, bringing goods closer to market
and people closer to each other.
Within a few years of the railroad being completed, fresh produce was being shipped across the
country for the first time ever, thanks to refrigerated box cars.
It made a lasting impact on how we move goods.
And, it created a railroad that still ties the country together to this day.
A golden spike is still kept on display in the visitor’s center at the Golden Spike
National Historic Site.
The original, used in the ceremony, is now kept at Sanford University in Palo Alto, California.
Thanks for watching this episode of Train Talk!
If you enjoyed the video, let me know by liking it and leaving a comment below.
To find out more about the national historic site, visit the park website: nps.gov/gosp
Until next time, I’m Mike Armstrong.
I’ll see you down the line!
Thanks for watching.