Existing comment:
According to the park sign, "By April of 1869, the Union Pacific was working its Mormon and Irish graders day and night in order to meet the scheduled deadline for completion of the railroad. Below you is the last cut that they made along the transcontinental route. Cuts such as these were necessary to maintain a smooth and steady grade and to keep within the 2 percent maximum rise (186 feet per mile) mandated by the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862." |