BGuthrie Photos: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Visitor Center: Main Displays

UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Visitor Center: Main Displays:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show? [Slideshow]

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] SPIKVC_160714_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] SPIKVC_160714_009.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] SPIKVC_160714_014.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[4] SPIKVC_160714_020.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[5] SPIKVC_160714_022.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[6] SPIKVC_160714_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[7] SPIKVC_160714_032.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[8] SPIKVC_160714_038.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[9] SPIKVC_160714_039.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[10] SPIKVC_160714_043.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[11] SPIKVC_160714_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[12] SPIKVC_160714_048.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[13] SPIKVC_160714_051.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[14] SPIKVC_160714_057.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[15] SPIKVC_160714_063.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[16] SPIKVC_160714_064.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[17] SPIKVC_160714_067.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[18] SPIKVC_160714_071.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[19] SPIKVC_160714_074.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[20] SPIKVC_160714_077.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[21] SPIKVC_160714_081.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[22] SPIKVC_160714_084.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[23] SPIKVC_160714_086.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[24] SPIKVC_160714_094.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[25] SPIKVC_160714_097.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[26] SPIKVC_160714_103.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[27] SPIKVC_160714_106.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[28] SPIKVC_160714_109.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[29] SPIKVC_160714_111.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[30] SPIKVC_160714_114.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[31] SPIKVC_160714_118.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[32] SPIKVC_160714_123.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[33] SPIKVC_160714_131.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[34] SPIKVC_160714_136.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[35] SPIKVC_160714_139.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[36] SPIKVC_160714_141.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[37] SPIKVC_160714_143.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[38] SPIKVC_160714_150.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[39] SPIKVC_160714_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[40] SPIKVC_160714_157.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[41] SPIKVC_160714_160.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[42] SPIKVC_160714_163.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[43] SPIKVC_160714_166.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[44] SPIKVC_160714_169.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[45] SPIKVC_160714_171.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[46] SPIKVC_160714_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[47] SPIKVC_160714_175.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[48] SPIKVC_160714_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[49] SPIKVC_160714_179.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[50] SPIKVC_160714_182.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[51] SPIKVC_160714_184.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[52] SPIKVC_160714_187.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[53] SPIKVC_160714_189.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[54] SPIKVC_160714_192.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[55] SPIKVC_160714_195.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[56] SPIKVC_160714_197.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[57] SPIKVC_160714_200.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[58] SPIKVC_160714_203.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[59] SPIKVC_160714_206.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[60] SPIKVC_160714_208.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[61] SPIKVC_160714_214.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[62] SPIKVC_160714_221.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[63] SPIKVC_160714_224.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[64] SPIKVC_160714_226.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[65] SPIKVC_160714_229.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[66] SPIKVC_160714_232.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[67] SPIKVC_160714_242.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[68] SPIKVC_160714_243.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[69] SPIKVC_160714_246.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[70] SPIKVC_160714_249.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[71] SPIKVC_160714_252.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[72] SPIKVC_160714_255.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[73] SPIKVC_160714_261.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[74] SPIKVC_160714_262.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[75] SPIKVC_160714_265.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[76] SPIKVC_160714_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[77] SPIKVC_160714_272.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[78] SPIKVC_160714_275.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[79] SPIKVC_160714_277.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[80] SPIKVC_160714_284.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[81] SPIKVC_160714_289.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[82] SPIKVC_160714_292.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[83] SPIKVC_160714_295.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[84] SPIKVC_160714_298.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[85] SPIKVC_160714_301.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[86] SPIKVC_160714_304.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[87] SPIKVC_160714_306.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[88] SPIKVC_160714_309.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[89] SPIKVC_160714_312.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[90] SPIKVC_160714_314.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[91] SPIKVC_160714_316.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[92] SPIKVC_160714_318.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[93] SPIKVC_160714_321.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[94] SPIKVC_160714_323.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[95] SPIKVC_160714_326.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[96] SPIKVC_160714_329.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[97] SPIKVC_160714_332.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[98] SPIKVC_160714_335.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[99] SPIKVC_160714_338.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[100] SPIKVC_160714_341.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[101] SPIKVC_160714_343.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[102] SPIKVC_160714_348.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[103] SPIKVC_160714_351.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SPIKVC_160714_026.JPG: We Built the Railroad that Built America by Ronald D. Hales
2. SPIKVC_160714_038.JPG: Setting the Line: The surveys of Judah and Dodge determined a general direction for the construction teams; but a more detailed survey was needed. Surveyors, armed with transits and levels, worked several hundred miles ahead of the tracklayers, mapping the precise route the road was to follow.
3. SPIKVC_160714_039.JPG: Trestles and Tunnels: Even thorough surveys left major obstacles like towering granite cliffs and deep ravines. But, the clever construction crews found ways to move mountains and bridge the bottomless gaps. Tunneling crews spent long hours boring through the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. In the extremely hard rock, workers managed only eight inches a day! Trestles were temporary structures, later to be replaced with more substantial earthen fills. One newspaper reported that such trestles would "shake the nerves of the stoutest hearts when they see what is expected to uphold a train in motion."
4. SPIKVC_160714_043.JPG: Irish workers wrote a song about their work with explosives like black powder and nitroglycerin: Last week a premature blast went off, And a mile in the sky went big Jim Goff. Now when next pay day came around, Jim Goff a dollar short was found. He asked the reason; came this reply, You were docked for the time you were up in the sky.
5. SPIKVC_160714_048.JPG: Leveling a Path Grading crews were the next cog in the assembly line. Workers used simple hand tools, scrapers, and horse-drawn dumpcarts to mold the terrain in preparation for tracklaying. Cuts and fills altered the land's slope to conform to the 2 percent maximum grade allowed by the Pacific Railroad Act.
6. SPIKVC_160714_051.JPG: Workers remove rock, 80 miles east of Sacramento. This cut measured 900 feet long and 45 feet deep. Chinese crews hack at the mountain by hand while others use dumpcarts to haul off the rock and fill in the ravine.
7. SPIKVC_160714_057.JPG: Rungs Of a Ladder A Sioux warrior looked down at the construction crew below. From his vantage point atop a bluff it appeared the workers were building a giant ladder across the land. The ladder had iron sides and rungs made of wooden cross-ties. Mule skinners hauled ties to the end-of-track while workers laid them out along the survey line, 2500 ties to the mile. Central Pacific built sawmills in the heavily-timbered Sierra Nevada mountains and produced identical finished ties. Union Pacific used hand-hewn ties delivered from tie-cutting camps in the mountains.
8. SPIKVC_160714_064.JPG: A Grand Anvil Chorus: The assembly line reached its grand climax during tracklaying. Eight iron men pulled rail from the iron truck and dropped it into the ties. Spikers and screwers fastened the iron truck and dropped it onto the ties. Spikers and screwers fastened the iron into place -- 3 blows to each spike, 24 spikes to the rail, 400 rails, 4,000 spikes, and 12,000 blows to the mile... "a grand anvil chorus..."
9. SPIKVC_160714_067.JPG: A Finishing Touch: A final group of workers added a finishing touch to the hastily-built road. Ties were added and gravel ballast filled-in to anchor the track. Spikes and joints were secured and final rail alignment checked. Government inspectors traveled to the end-of-track to check the quality of construction. An inspector's stamp of approval was needed for the railroads to collect financial subsidies.
10. SPIKVC_160714_071.JPG: Dot, Dot, Dot, Done: Almost seven years after Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act the work came to a halt. The final section of rail and four symbolic precious metal spikes joined the construction efforts at central Pacific and Union Pacific and the first transcontinental railroad was a reality. The opening of the railroad was considered a "Great Event" by travellers and businesses with cross-country shipping interests. But, that greatness would show itself in more significant ways. The railroad would provide a means to settle the west, enhance national unity, and make America a rising world power.
11. SPIKVC_160714_084.JPG: To the Irish who toiled on the transcontinental railroad uniting our nation The Hibernian Society of Utah March 17, 1996 Dedicated May 10, 1996
12. SPIKVC_160714_086.JPG: Original Rail Spanning a Continent: The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 mandated that American-made iron be used to fabricate all rail for the transcontinental railroad. Although steel was more durable, it was not widely available in the United States at the time. It was a costly import item primarily reserved to make specialty products, such as swords and precision instruments, for the Civil War. In contrast to steel, iron was easily accessible in the United States and cost much less. Thus, the demand for iron to use for building the transcontinental railroad helped to boost the domestic economy and iron became the material that spanned a continent, linking out nation east to west. The Shape of Rail: The section of rail before you is original to the transcontinental railroad. This type of rail is called "pear head" because a cross-section of it resembles and upside-down tear. Its unique shape was the result of heating and rolling together several bars of wrought iron. Because of this rolling process, iron rail was comprised of many layers which made the rail much weaker than if it had been made out of one solid piece of iron. Despite the pear shape design that was intended to help counter this weakness, the layers of iron made rail vulnerable to splintering under heavy weight. For this reason, iron rail was not very durable and required frequent replacement. A New Era: The transcontinental railroad brought a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity in the United States, but the use of iron rail was outdated technology even as it helped to usher in this new era. The outdated iron rail was soon replaced with sturdy steel rail, which became more widely available in the United States by the 1870s.
13. SPIKVC_160714_097.JPG: Evolution of Rail Helping to Build a Nation Steel production increased rapidly in the United States after the Civil War. Prior to the war, the United States had not produced one single steel rail. By 1873, it had produced nearly 115,000 tons of steel rail. As steel prices continued to decrease, the old iron rails disappeared from the landscape and were replaced with shiny new steel ones. The transition from iron to steel decreased railroad costs, increased efficiency and facilitated the emergence of a new, stronger, more prosperous nation from the aftermath of the Civil War. The New Shape of Rail: At first, steel rail mimicked the shape of the old iron pear rail. It was soon discovered, however, that steel's strength allowed for more cost-effective design. Thus, the pear rail was replaced with "T" rail, which required less material to fabricate due to its sleeker form. In addition, the new steel rail did not need to be replaced nearly as often as the old iron rail. For both these reasons, steel rail allowed railroad companies to operate more efficiently. Rail Today: The railroad industry has undergone many changes since the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Mammoth diesel-powered locomotives roar down the tracks in place of their steam-driven ancestors, ghost towns dot the countryside where once thriving communities supported the early railroad and airplanes have become the dominant mode of long-distance passenger travel. Despite these and other changes, basic "T" shape rail has endured. Even today, you will find "T" rail on any modern railroad.
14. SPIKVC_160714_103.JPG: The National Park Service gratefully acknowledges the gift by Southern Pacific Company of 15-1/2 miles of its right-of-way. This donation helped make this historic site possible. United States of America Department of the Interior May 10, 1969
15. SPIKVC_160714_106.JPG: Replica "Jupiter" and "119" steam locomotives designed and built by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories, Costa Mesa, California, 1979
16. SPIKVC_160714_109.JPG: Park Valley Rock Located approximately sixty miles northwest of Golden Spike NHS, near the town of Park Valley, Utah, quarries of unique red and green rock were tapped to obtain the material used to build this Visitor Center. The red rock is ferrous (iron) quartzite, and the green rock is cupreous (copper) quartzite. The only other cupreous quartzite quarry is located in China.
17. SPIKVC_160714_114.JPG: 10 Miles of Track, Laid in One Day. April 28th 1869
18. SPIKVC_160714_118.JPG: Remnant of a Tracklaying Record "I had five trains with 5,000 men at my command. Our organization was as well-drilled as any military company." -- James Strobridge (in suit on flatcar) In the rush to make distance, Union Pacific in 1868 laid seven miles of track in one day. U.P. Vice-President T.C. Durant boastfully bet $10,000 that their record could not be beaten. Central Pacific gamely accepted the challenge. Said C.P. Superintendent James Strobridge: "The two lines were only 25 miles apart in April, 1869, so I knew if I beat them, U.P. would have no room to come back." "On the 29th, the men went to work with a will, laying six miles in six hours. We had kept them on the run, and at 6:00pm, we quit with a record of ten miles and 200 feet." "Nobody was crowded, nobody was hurt, nobody lost a minute..." Proud of their accomplishment, Central Pacific erected this sign for Transcontinental passengers to see. In the race between two railroads, C.P. had the last laugh. Original sign posted on the Southern Pacific right-of-way facing east. Photo taken sometime in the 1930s.
19. SPIKVC_160714_123.JPG: Original sign posted on the Southern Pacific right-of-way facing east. Photo taken sometime in the 1930s.
20. SPIKVC_160714_131.JPG: East Meets West: Centennial painting of the last spike ceremony by American artist Frank C. McCarthy. Commissioned by Winchester-Western and presented to the National Park Service, May 10, 1969.
21. SPIKVC_160714_141.JPG: Promontory, May 1869 The town consists of a few tents, the tickethouses of both companies, their telegraph offices, hordes of grasshoppers, and swarms of sand fleas.
22. SPIKVC_160714_143.JPG: The Last Spike (replica) This replica of the original Golden Spike was part of the Official Flight Kit about Orbiter Atlantis during Space Shuttle Mission STS-38, November 15-20, 1990. By this gesture, the ribbons of iron that spanned America's first Frontier are united with the ribbons of fire that are spanning America's final Frontier. The original golden spike is at Stanford University in the art museum. Leland Stanford was the President of Central Pacific Railroad and held various political offices in California including Governor and U.S. Senator. The spike was donated to the university in 1892, the year it was founded.
23. SPIKVC_160714_157.JPG: When The "Golden Spike" was cast in 1869 by David Hewes, a golden nugget or "sprue" came attached to the pointed end of the spike. The sprue was removed to be made into mementos of this important occasion. From the sprue a total of seven tiny spikes were made to be used as watch charms. The remainder went into four rings. The spike seen here is one of the original seven memento spikes. This particular one was presented to Mr. Tilden G. Abbott, a nephew of David Hewes. Mr. Hewes always addressed Mr. Abbott as Grafton T. Abbott. Thus the inscription seen on the side of the spike. This tiny spike has been presented to the National Park Services [sic] for permanent display at Golden Spike National Historic Site.
24. SPIKVC_160714_163.JPG: Link and Pin Coupler: Used extensively before the turn of the century to join train cars together. Working with this coupler was a dangerous job for 19th century switchmen, whose first mistake was usually his last. In 1888, 518 switchmen were killed by this method of making up trains. You be careful with this one too.
25. SPIKVC_160714_166.JPG: Route to the TransContinental RailRoad
26. SPIKVC_160714_169.JPG: Western terminal of the temporary bridge across the ice of the Missouri River near Omaha, Nebraska, ca 1868.
27. SPIKVC_160714_171.JPG: North Platte Bridge, 1868
28. SPIKVC_160714_173.JPG: Sherman, Wyoming at the summit on April 16, 1868
29. SPIKVC_160714_175.JPG: Dale Creek Bridge near Laramie, Wyoming, 1868
30. SPIKVC_160714_177.JPG: Construction train of the Union Pacific near Bear River City, Wyoming, ca. 1868.
31. SPIKVC_160714_179.JPG: Citadel Rock and Bridge near Green River, Wyoming, 1868
32. SPIKVC_160714_182.JPG: Main Street, Bear River City, Wyoming, ca. 1868.
33. SPIKVC_160714_184.JPG: Union Pacific construction train near Ogden, Utah, 1868
34. SPIKVC_160714_187.JPG: Promontory, Utah, 1869
35. SPIKVC_160714_189.JPG: Original 10 miles of track laid in one day sign. Located 4 miles west of the Golden Spike visitor center, ca 1930s.
36. SPIKVC_160714_192.JPG: Truckee Depot, Truckee, California, ca 1869
37. SPIKVC_160714_195.JPG: Supply wagons on Cisco's Main Street, Cisco, California, ca 1867
38. SPIKVC_160714_197.JPG: American River at the foot of Cape Horn, 1400 feet below, ca 1869
39. SPIKVC_160714_200.JPG: Great curved trestle at Secrettown, 62 miles from Sacramento. Chinese laborers with carts are dwarfed by the trestle, 1868.
40. SPIKVC_160714_203.JPG: Hell on Wheels "... at North Platte, they were having a good time, gambling, drinking, and shooting each other." As the Transcontinental Railroad pushed westward, towns sprang up along the route. These towns, referred to as "Hell on Wheels," were composed of tents with false fronts, giving the appearance of permanent structures. Within the tents existed all sorts of vices provided by merchants and profiteers ready to relieve railroad workers of their hard-earned coin. Drinking, gambling, and prostitution were the popular pass-times of the railroad workers. Gamblers, swindlers, murders, and women "not the marrying kind," frequented Hell on Wheels towns. For every man killed on the railroad, it is estimated four were killed in these appropriately named towns. Vigilance committees were formed to run off riff-raff. Law and order arrived, but enforcing the laws was difficult, and often impossible. As the railroad moved west, many towns were abandoned, leaving behind remnants of their stories. Some Hell on Wheels towns, such as Cheyenne and Laramie, thrived after the railroad moved on, while others disappeared. The bottles on display are a part of their story and represent a record of life in these wicked and wild towns along the Transcontinental Railroad. Today, archaeological deposits found at these sites can provide information about the life of workers on the Transcontinental Railroad. For the information to be valuable, artifact collection and research at these sites must be done following scientific principles.
41. SPIKVC_160714_208.JPG: Communications: The transcontinental railroad stimulated communication. As rails reached into the wilderness, telegraph lines were strung alongside. Stage companies thrived as freight and passengers were transported from end of track into the interior. Slowly the frontier was opening to settlement. Upon the transcontinental's completion, branch lines turned [???] out to newly-established communities. A telegraph network developed. Mail delivery was improved. Under the momentum two more transcontinentals were built, and by the 1890s the frontier had vanished.
42. SPIKVC_160714_224.JPG: "Without them, it would be impossible." -- Mark Hopkins, Central Pacific Treasurer (1865) The Chinese of the Central Pacific Railroad In the 1850s, Chinese men left floods, famine, and civil war in Southeast China for the gold mines of California. Due to labor shortages, Chinese were hired in the 1860s by the Central Pacific to build the Transcontinental Railroad. Eventually the Central Pacific Railroad employed 12,000 Chinese -- 90% of the work force. After the joining of the rails at Promontory Summit, the ceremonial tie and spikes were removed. The Chinese put in the replacement pine tie and iron spikes.
43. SPIKVC_160714_229.JPG: Westside of Tracks Promontory Summit Mid-Morning May 10th 1869 HO Scale 1:87
44. SPIKVC_160714_242.JPG: Railroads and Time: For people living in the latter part of the nineteenth century, there can be no doubt of the tremendous impact railroads had on their daily lives and on the pulse of the country's economic, political and social processes -- especially for people in the remote, newly settled west. In the nineteenth century, doing things "railroad fashion" meant to do them thoroughly, efficiently and as fast as possible. The railroad quickly came to represent man's power over nature, a power that virtually "annihilated space and time." This phrase, used widely by writers of the period, articulated an overwhelming sense of the railroads's importance as a vehicle of change in how people saw the world around them. With the completion of a transcontinental railway, marking and maintaining precision time became more important than ever before. Prior to standard railway time, each city and town had its own time, often connected to "sun time" which was based on the sun's movement across the sky. As rail lines crossed various local standard times, scheduling became increasingly complicated. Timetables and timekeepers, therefore, were essential parts of railroad operations. The image of a conductor swinging out from the caboose, pocket watch in hand, became a familiar sight to Americans. A strong connection between railroads and timekeeping emerged and was strengthened as the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth: railroad time became America's time.
45. SPIKVC_160714_246.JPG: Railroad-Approved Pocket Watches: American watch making companies like Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, Howard, Illinois and Ball produced watches which conformed to the Standard Code of Railroad Operating Rules adopted by the railroads in 1887. Hamilton watches, as this 1914 advertisement in Collier's suggests, were favorites among railroaders.
46. SPIKVC_160714_249.JPG: Standard Time: Up until the National Railway Time Convention adopted a National Time Standard in 1883, each railroad company maintained its own standard time with little coordination with other companies. In the late 1870s, the Union Pacific Railway operated its trains across six different time standards. The National Time Standard was based on a national time hour set by zones separated by the 7th, 90th, 105th and 120th meridians west of the Greenwich, England prime. This standard, still in use today, was legalized by Congress in 1918.
47. SPIKVC_160714_252.JPG: The mainspring, a piece of hardened, tempered steel about 20 inches long, when coiled inside the barrel acts as the powerhouse furnishing the energy to run the watch.
48. SPIKVC_160714_255.JPG: Basic specification included: be open faced, size 18 or 16 [approximately 1.7 inches in diameter], have the winding stem at 12 o'clock, be lever set, use plain Arabic numbers printed bold and black on white dial, have bold black hands, have a minimum of 17 jewels, adjusted to at least 5 positions and isochronism, keep time accurately within a gain or loss of only 30 seconds per week, have a double roller and steel escape wheel.
49. SPIKVC_160714_265.JPG: The drive train consists of the mainspring and barrel, three wheels and an escape wheel [not included here]. Its function is to reduce the power of the mainspring, extending its operating time to 36 hours.
50. SPIKVC_160714_268.JPG: The balance wheel and hairspring are coordinated to swing or vibrate 18,000 times an hour, or 300 times a minute, or 5 times a second.
51. SPIKVC_160714_275.JPG: Time Schedules: Three things characterized the daily activities of a steam railroader's life: coordination with other workers, coordination with machinery, and coordination with time. Railroad companies produced time scheduled specifically for workers which included the names of the local jewelers charged with maintaining watches.
52. SPIKVC_160714_277.JPG: Railroad Pocket Watch, ca 1863 Before standard specifications for timekeeping were implemented, many railroaders used watches like this.
53. SPIKVC_160714_284.JPG: The consequences of intense time regulation in the railroaders' lives affected all aspects of their railroading experience. The "old turnip," often worn in the bib pocket over their heart, was a constant reminder of this time consciousness and today served as a symbol of this unique American lifestyle.
54. SPIKVC_160714_292.JPG: 1924 Book of Rules. Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad System Each rail company included in its operating manuals and rule books specifications for keeping time and maintenance of timepieces, and stipulated that each employee responsible for time schedules was to keep and consult reliable timekeepers. Through the implementation of standard time, watch inspection systems, and a telegraphically transmitted time series procedures for the maintenance of correct railroad time were accepted. This vastly improves the safety and reliability of American railroads at the turn of the century.
55. SPIKVC_160714_301.JPG: With the completion of a transcontinental railway, marking and maintaining precision time became more important than ever before. Prior to standard railway time, each city and town had its own time, often connected to "sun time" which was based on the sun's movement across the sky. As rail lines crossed various local standard times, scheduling became increasingly complicated. Timetables and timekeepers, therefore, were essential parts of railroad operations.
56. SPIKVC_160714_306.JPG: Replicas of the Last Tie and Last Spikes: On May 10, 1869 the transcontinental railroad was symbolically completed with four spikes of gold and silver. They were carefully set into holes predrilled in a polished tie of California laurelwood. After a brief ceremony, these were removed and replaced by iron spikes driven into a standard tie of white pine. The laurel tie was displayed in San Francisco until destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.
57. SPIKVC_160714_312.JPG: "The Last Spike": The original, of 17.6 carat gold, weighed 18 ounces and was valued in 1869 at $350. Presented by David Hewes of San Francisco, and now on exhibit at the Stanford University Museum, Palo Alto, California.
58. SPIKVC_160714_314.JPG: Nevada Silver Spike: "To the iron of the East and the gold of the West Nevada adds her link of silver to span the continent and wed the oceans..." Original is now at the Stanford University Museum.
59. SPIKVC_160714_316.JPG: The Last Spike
60. SPIKVC_160714_318.JPG: The last tie laid on the completion of the Pacific Railroad, May 1869
61. SPIKVC_160714_321.JPG: Arizona Iron-Silver-Gold Spike: Commissioned by newly appointed Governor Safford of Arizona Territory, the spike was engraved "Ribbed with iron clad in silver and crowned with gold Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded a continent and dictated a pathway to commerce. Presented by Governor Safford." This spike currently belongs to the Museum of the City of New York.
62. SPIKVC_160714_326.JPG: The Second Gold Spike: Weighing 9.5 oz and valued at approximately $200, a second gold spike was not engraved at the time of the ceremony. The spike was later inscribed "With this spike, the San Francisco News Letter offers its homage to the great work which has joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.["] The current whereabouts of the spike is unknown.
63. SPIKVC_160714_332.JPG: Golden Spike National Historic Site "A journey across the plains was a formidable undertaking, that required great patience and endurance. Now all is changed... The six months' journey is reduced to less than a week. The prairie schooner has passed away, and is replaced by the railway coach with all its modern comforts." -- Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 11, 1869 (1) Last Spike Site: You can see two painstakingly researched and recreated icons of railroading history at the Last Spike Site. Central Pacific's Jupiter and United Pacific's No 119 steam out most days, except during the winter. Summer hours are 10:30 to 5:00; spring and fall hours are 9:30 to 4:00. (2) Visitor Center: Museum exhibits inside show tools and equipment used to build the transcontinental railroad in 1869. A short video tells the story of the great race to Promontory. During the summer, park rangers give talks about railroad history throughout the day. Ask at the information desk inside for today's program schedule. Reenactors recreate the driving of the Golden Spike every May 10th as well as on Saturdays and holidays during the summer. Ask inside about the next date you might see the rails ceremonially joined again. (3) Big Fall Trail: * Start Point: Big Fill Trail parking, 3 miles east * 1 hour walking time * 1.5 mile easy walk Hike out through cuts and fills to see the legacy of hand-building a railroad. A guide booklet available at the trailhead points out the most significant features. (4) Easy Auto Tour: * Start point: 3 miles east on Highway 504 * 20 minutes driving time on tour road * 20 mph is the limit See spectacular vistas while exploring the cuts and fills necessary to climb the Promontory Mountains. A booklet describing both auto tours is available for sale inside. (5) West Auto Tour: * Start point: 7 miles west of here. Follow the signs as you leave the parking lot. * 30 minutes driving time on tour road * 20 mph is the limit Drive the historic Central Pacific grade past the place where ten miles of track were laid in a single day (6) Backcountry Byway: Take plenty of gas, water, and an extra spare tire if you want to follow the transcontinental grade into the backcountry. This route crosses dry washes as it skirts unsafe trestles and culverts, so high-clearance vehicles are recmomended. Fuel is not available along the 90-mile grade. Gas up at Corinnne, Wendover, or Snowville. Maps are available in the visitor center.
64. SPIKVC_160714_335.JPG: (1) Last Spike Site: You can see two painstakingly researched and recreated icons of railroading history at the Last Spike Site. Central Pacific's Jupiter and United Pacific's No 119 steam out most days, except during the winter. Summer hours are 10:30 to 5:00; spring and fall hours are 9:30 to 4:00. (2) Visitor Center: Museum exhibits inside show tools and equipment used to build the transcontinental railroad in 1869. A short video tells the story of the great race to Promontory. During the summer, park rangers give talks about railroad history throughout the day. Ask at the information desk inside for today's program schedule. Reenactors recreate the driving of the Golden Spike every May 10th as well as on Saturdays and holidays during the summer. Ask inside about the next date you might see the rails ceremonially joined again.
65. SPIKVC_160714_338.JPG: (3) Big Fall Trail: * Start Point: Big Fill Trail parking, 3 miles east * 1 hour walking time * 1.5 mile easy walk Hike out through cuts and fills to see the legacy of hand-building a railroad. A guide booklet available at the trailhead points out the most significant features. (4) Easy Auto Tour: * Start point: 3 miles east on Highway 504 * 20 minutes driving time on tour road * 20 mph is the limit See spectacular vistas while exploring the cuts and fills necessary to climb the Promontory Mountains. A booklet describing both auto tours is available for sale inside. (5) West Auto Tour: * Start point: 7 miles west of here. Follow the signs as you leave the parking lot. * 30 minutes driving time on tour road * 20 mph is the limit Drive the historic Central Pacific grade past the place where ten miles of track were laid in a single day
66. SPIKVC_160714_341.JPG: (5) West Auto Tour: * Start point: 7 miles west of here. Follow the signs as you leave the parking lot. * 30 minutes driving time on tour road * 20 mph is the limit Drive the historic Central Pacific grade past the place where ten miles of track were laid in a single day (6) Backcountry Byway: Take plenty of gas, water, and an extra spare tire if you want to follow the transcontinental grade into the backcountry. This route crosses dry washes as it skirts unsafe trestles and culverts, so high-clearance vehicles are recmomended. Fuel is not available along the 90-mile grade. Gas up at Corinnne, Wendover, or Snowville. Maps are available in the visitor center.
67. SPIKVC_160714_343.JPG: The Southern Paciﬁc Monument Golden Spike National Historic Site An Icon Restored: In 1965, the National Park Service assumed ownership of the aging monument, which had been damaged by years of weathering and vandalism. The interior had also been severely damaged by ground water that had wicked up into the monument through its buried base. Early restoration attempts unintentionally contributed to the damage by using materials that did not allow for evaporation of water trapped inside the monument. Based on state of the art technology, the National Park Service began a new repair process in 2001. Restoration and preservation steps included: * Removing the concrete monument from the ground to prevent further moisture absorption and allowing it to dry * Transferring the monument to its present location * Replacing old stucco, paint, and patches with a new, breathable masonry coating * Protecting the monument through regularly scheduled maintenance Significance of the Monument: In 1916, the Southern Pacific Railroad (formerly the Central Pacific Railroad) placed the monument near the site where the nation's first transcontinental railroad was completed. For decades, it stood there, a lonely reminder of the driving of the last spike on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. Today, the handsomely restored monument remains an icon of westward expansion, the settlement of northern Utah and commemorates an historic event that transformed America.
68. SPIKVC_160714_351.JPG: National Historic Site Golden Spike "The last rails laid, the spike is driven, The Pacific Railroad is completed." Here at Promontory, Utah, at 12:47 P.M. on May 10, 1869. The driving of a Golden Spike completed the first transcontinental railroad. Climax of a dramatic railroad-building race between the Union Pacific building from the east and the Central Pacific building from the west. This event symbolized attainment of a long sought goal - a direct transportation route to the Pacific Ocean and the China trade. And it achieved the great political objective of ending together, by iron bonds the extremities of Continental United States, a rail link from ocean to ocean." United States Department of the Interior
Multi Column: Number of columns of thumbnails to appear per page (normally defaults to 3): [1 col] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
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.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (UT -- Golden Spike NHS) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2016_UT_Spike_Big_Fill: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Big Fill Loop Trail (50 photos from 2016)
- 2016_UT_Spike_Auto: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Auto Tour (42 photos from 2016)
- 2016_UT_SpikeVC_Lucin: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Visitor Center: Lucin Cutoff (29 photos from 2016)
- 2016_UT_Spike: UT -- Golden Spike NHS (57 photos from 2016)
- 2003_UT_Spike_Big_Fill: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Big Fill Loop Trail (4 photos from 2003)
- 2003_UT_Spike_Auto: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Auto Tour (3 photos from 2003)
- 2003_UT_SpikeVC: UT -- Golden Spike NHS -- Visitor Center: Main Displays (2 photos from 2003)
- 2003_UT_Spike: UT -- Golden Spike NHS (11 photos from 2003)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [History 1800s (excl wars)] [Park (National Park Service)] [Transportation (Rail)]
2016 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Seven relatively short trips this year: two Civil War Trust conference (Gettysburg, PA and West Point, NY, with a side-trip to New York City), my 11th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Utah, Nevada, and California), a quick trip to Michigan for Uncle Wayne's funeral, two additional trips to New York City, and a Civil Rights site trip to Alabama during the November elections. Being in places where people died to preserve the rights of minority voters made the Trumputin election even more depressing. Number of photos taken this year: just over 610,000.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Limiting Text: You can turn off all of this text by clicking this link: [Thumbnails Only]
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].