BGuthrie Photos: UT -- Golden Spike NHS

UT -- Golden Spike NHS:

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[1] SPIKE_160714_005.JPG	[2] SPIKE_160714_007.JPG	[3] SPIKE_160714_013.JPG
[4] SPIKE_160714_016.JPG	[5] SPIKE_160714_019.JPG	[6] SPIKE_160714_022.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SPIKE_160714_005.JPG: Last Spike Driven Noon... Monday... May 10th, 1869 A rough crowd had gathered at the far set of tracks 15 yards ahead. Six million spikes and six years' work lay behind them. Now, only one section of rails was left undone. The honor of ceremonially "finishing" the Pacific railroad with a spike maul hot-wired to the telegraph line fell to two railroad barons who had spearheaded the roadbuilding: Stanford and Durant. Speeches were given and then a lengthy prayer. Governor Stanford stepped up, took the hammer, swung, and missed. Then Dr. Durant took his turn… and also missed the spike. With each swing of the mauls, the crowd of workingmen broke into spontaneous applause. James Strobridge and Samuel Reek, the crew bosses of the two roads, then took up un-wired mauls and divided the last blows between them, as the air exploded with hurrahs. With those last few swings, the billion-dollar dream of the world's first transcontinental railroad became a reality. Leland Stanford, Central Pacific Railroad President, and former governor of California. Dr. Thomas Durant, Union Pacific Railroad Vice-President, and President of Credit Mobilier of America.
2. SPIKE_160714_007.JPG: Jubilation Coast to Coast For four years Americans closely followed the progress of the Pacific railroad in their newspapers, anxious to see it completed. By May 1869, intense attention was focused on this desolate corner of northern Utah. The entire country was eager for word that the last spike had been driven. A telegraph signal sent from the tracks just 100 yards ahead triggered a truly transcontinental extravaganza. As the word went out over the wires, the nation went wild. In city after city, church bells rang, trains hooted, fire engines howled, gongs clanged, and cannons thundered. Citizen thronged the streets to watch parades. People sang The Star-Spangled Banner, prayed, and shouted themselves hoarse. Countless orators hailed this as a "great day" of national destiny.
3. SPIKE_160714_016.JPG: To commemorate the centennial of the first transcontinental railroad in America to pay tribute to the Chinese workers of the Central Pacific Railroad whose indomitable courage made it possible. May 10, 1869 - May 10, 1969 Plaque placed by The Chinese Historical Society of America
4. SPIKE_160714_019.JPG: National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Joining of the Rails Transcontinental Railroad May 10, 1869
5. SPIKE_160714_022.JPG: Competition 1869 Lacking precise instructions from Congress as to where to meet, and spurred by financial rewards for building grade, both railroad companies prepared railbed past each other for 250 miles. No parallel track was ever laid. Promontory Summit was chosen as the point for the joining of the rails.
6. SPIKE_160714_035.JPG: May 9, 1869 In this photo, taken one day before the transcontinental line was completed, a 30-foot gap in the railroad remained. A tent town quickly grew around the Last Spike Site, and two of the first businesses, the Restaurant and the Red Cloud Saloon can be seen in the background. Within days, numerous other tents would appear as the town of Promontory came into existence. Behind the crowd are some of the cars which carried Central Pacific Railroad dignitaries to the celebration.
7. SPIKE_160714_060.JPG: May 10, 1869 With an officer of the Twenty-first U.S. Infantry posed on the completed tracks and men of his regiment behind him, dignitaries of the Union Pacific Railroad stand for a photograph. Dr. Thomas C. Durant, Union Pacific Vice-President, is seen , at center, wearing the gauntlets. To his left, the gentleman with the white muttonchops whiskers is Union Pacific Director Sidney Dillon. Third person to Dillon's left is Grenville M. Dodge, Union Pacific Chief Engineer.
8. SPIKE_160714_076.JPG: The last tie laid on the completion of the Pacific Railroad, May, 1869
9. SPIKE_160714_142.JPG: September 1869 The transcontinental railroad was a commercial link which opened new markets and figuratively untied the nation with bands of rail. Seen here are Union Pacific Railroad fruit cars en route to California to be loaded with perishables for Eastern markets. For a few months in 1869 and 1870, Promontory was a vital hub in this exchange of passengers and freight.
10. SPIKE_160714_144.JPG: The Locomotives of Golden Spike -- Jupiter Life of a Locomotive: In 1868, Schenectady Locomotive Works in New York built the Jupiter for the Central Pacific Railroad. Steaming her way into history, the Jupiter hauled Central Pacific President Leland Stanford' special train to Promontory Summit for the joining of the rails. The Jupiter remained in service until the turn of the 20th century when, outmoded and unheralded, she was scrapped for the standard fee of $1,000. "More representative American locomotives of the period would be difficult to find. Both the Jupiter and 119 were of the eight wheel or 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. This style of engine was so common in the United States that it was called the American type locomotive. Introduced in 1836 it was a standard form of locomotive by the 1840's and maintained its leading position well into the 1880s." -- John H. White, Jr., Trains magazine, May 1969 Return to Promontory: Building an operating steam locomotive in the mid-1970's meant recreating the technology of a bygone era. O'Connor Engineering Laboratories of Costa Mesa, California took on the sizeable task of constructing working replicas of the original Jupiter and No.119. In 1979, after four years of work and with every dimension within 1/4 inch of the original, the Jupiter and No.119 "returned" to Promontory. Today, these magnificent machines are a tangible to the legacy of the first transcontinental railroad that tied the nation together economically and geographically. The Central Pacific Jupiter and Governor Leland Stanford's special train at Monument Point, Utah Territory, about 30 miles west of Promontory Summit. Alfred A. Hart, the official photographer for the Central Pacific Railroad, probably took this picture the day before the May 10th ceremonies. The Great Salt Lake is in the background. The telegraph (pole in foreground) made communication between end of track construction and railroad headquarters possible. The Central Pacific Jupiter and tender at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, after the last spike ceremony. Members of the 21st Infantry regimental band pose by the locomotive. Alfred A. Hart, photographer, titled this picture, "Monarch from the West." Numerous patterns for the locomotive's parts, such as the valve gear, driving wheels, tender and lead truck wheels, were created by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories. Wooden patterns were used to make sand molds into which molten metal was poured to create each casting.
11. SPIKE_160714_147.JPG: The Central Pacific Jupiter and Governor Leland Stanford's special train at Monument Point, Utah Territory, about 30 miles west of Promontory Summit. Alfred A. Hart, the official photographer for the Central Pacific Railroad, probably took this picture the day before the May 10th ceremonies. The Great Salt Lake is in the background. The telegraph (pole in foreground) made communication between end of track construction and railroad headquarters possible.
12. SPIKE_160714_150.JPG: The Central Pacific Jupiter and tender at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, after the last spike ceremony. Members of the 21st Infantry regimental band pose by the locomotive. Alfred A. Hart, photographer, titled this picture, "Monarch from the West."
13. SPIKE_160714_153.JPG: September 8, 1942 After the opening of the Lucin Cutoff in 1904, the historic rail line north of the Great Salt Lake was of minimal importance. In 1942 the last spike was ceremonially "undriven" here before a crowd of Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and state dignitaries. In a few months, the entire line between Corinne and Lucin was salvaged, with the steel directed to America's war effort.
14. SPIKE_160714_164.JPG: September 1869 Four months after completion, Promontory was a notorious boomtown composed of hotels, saloons, and gambling tents with a few stores and shops. Transcontinental passengers changed trains here until mid-1870. Many were victimized by resident gamblers and con artists. Newspaperman J.H. Beadle noted of the town: "4,900 feet above sea level, though theologically speaking, if we interpret scripture literally, it ought to have been 49,000 feet below sea level, for it certainly was for its size, morally nearest to the infernal regions of any town on the road."
15. SPIKE_160714_185.JPG: Note the cracked beam
Wikipedia Description: Golden Spike National Historic Site
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Golden Spike National Historic Site is a U.S. National Historic Site located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

It commemorates the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad where the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met on May 10, 1869. The final joining of the rails spanning the continent was signified by the driving of a Golden spike.

The Golden Spike National Historic Site encompasses 2,735 acres (11 km�). In 2002, it received 49,950 visitors. It was authorized as a National Historic Site on April 2, 1957 under non-federal ownership. It was authorized for federal ownership and administration by an act of Congress on July 30, 1965.

In 1978, a general master plan for the site was adopted with the goal of maintaining the site's scenic attributes as closely as possible to its appearance and characteristics in 1869. In 2006, a petition to the Board on Geographic Names resulted in a name change for Chinamans Arch, a 20-foot limestone arch at Golden Spike NHS. In honor of the 19th century Chinese railroad workers, the arch is now known as the Chinese Arch.
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