Mike and Roxanne travel east

Golden Spike National Historic Site Nov 4, 2007

We are now off to see the Golden Spike National Monument.

As soon as railroads beginning linking the eastern seaboard people envisioned it reaching across the entire continent. By the beginning of the Civil War 31,000 miles of railroad tracks crisscrossed the eastern states but none went any further west than the Mississippi River. A railroad across the continent was thought to be able to boost trade, shorten e=emigrant's voyages, and help the army control the Indians in the areas.

In California a young engineer Theodore Judah had his own plan for a transcontinental railroad. By 1862 he had already surveyed a route through the Sierra Nevada and persuaded Sacramento merchants to form the Central Pacific Railroad. That same year Congress authorized the Central Pacific to start building tracks towards the east. At the same time the Union Pacific was already authorized to start in Omaha and head westward.

The Central Pacific broke ground in January 1863 and the Union Pacific in December but neither made much headway as money, men and supplies were being used for the Civil War effort.

Finally at the war's end work started in earnest on both ends. The Central utilized Chinese's and Irish laborers while the Union used, veterans, ex-slaves and other immigrants, 10,000 total on both sides.

Work continued until both grounds were nearly Promontory Summit in 1869. Here on May 10 the Central's Jupiter and the Union's 119 met and the last spike (a symbolic golden spike) was driven uniting rail service across the nation.

The Central had laid 690 miles of track over the rugged Sierra Nevada's and other mountain ranges, cutting a total of 16 tunnels. The Union laid 1086 miles of track across the plains and high desert deserts of Wyoming.

The original spike is on display in Stanford, California with a copy here at the Visitor Center.

The railroad was complete and the frontier would soon disappear forever much as the buffalo before it.

We made one last stop on the way home at the Thiokol Propulsion Labs. Here they have a Rocket Display. We were able to walk around and view, the Minuteman, Polaris, Patriot missiles as well as the propulsion rockets for the shuttle.