Utah Travel Tips | Utah.com

History will come alive on August 11, when enthusiasts gather at Promontory, Utah, to celebrate the era of steam, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Old West.

Golden Spike National Historic Site is located at Promontory, marking the spot where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet on May 10, 1869, to complete America's first Transcontinental Railroad.

Every August a "Railroaders Festival" is held at the Golden Spike site, drawing railroad and history buffs from around the country. Festival visitors can take cab tours of two steam locomotives, Jupiter and old No. 119. They are fully functional replicas of the original locomotives that met here in '69 for the "Wedding of the Rails" ceremony.

The festival also offers handcar rides, spike driving contests, an old-time fiddler concert, 1860 fashion show, buffalo chip throwing, historic railroad displays, games, food and other entertainment.

The completion of the railroad was a major, defining event in American history. The railroad opened the continent to settlement and spurred commercial development. A journey that once took four to six months on foot was reduced to just six days, and the dangers and hardships facing westward travelers were greatly reduced.

Railroad crews of the Union Pacific, including some 10,000 Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, had pushed west from Omaha, Nebraska. At Promontory they met crews of the Central Pacific, who had built the line east from Sacramento, California. The Central Pacific crews had included over 12,000 Chinese laborers.

Union Pacific's No. 119 and Central Pacific's "Jupiter" lined up facing each other on the tracks. The famed "Golden Spike" was presented by David Hewes, a San Francisco construction magnate. Engraved on its head was the notation, "The Last Spike." Other ceremonial spikes were also presented. A highly polished tie of laurelwood was placed under the rails. Spikes made of gold are too soft to drive into a railroad tie, so the ceremonial spikes were dropped into pre-bored holes.

Steam Engine "Immediately thereafter, the precious metal spikes and laurelwood tie were removed and replaced with a pine tie, into which three ordinary iron spikes were driven. A fourth iron spike, and a regular iron spike hammer, were both wired to the transcontinental telegraph line so that the Nation could "hear" the blows as the spike was driven.

"(Central Pacific President Leland) Stanford took a mighty swing at the spike, and struck the tie instead. (Union Pacific Vice-President Thomas) Durant, still not feeling too well, took a feeble swing, and did not even hit the tie! Finally, a regular rail worker drove home the last spike, and the telegrapher, W.N. Shilling of Western Union, sent the long awaited message, "D-O-N-E." The time was 12:47 p.m., Monday, May 10, 1869."

Golden Spike National Historic Site was created in 1965, "for the purpose of establishing a national historic site commemorating the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States..."

The Historic Site is open daily year-round. Reenactment ceremonies are held on Saturdays and holidays at 11 am and 1 pm during the summer months, with participants dressed in period customs.

Steam demonstrations, with Jupiter and No. 119 moving down the tracks, take place everyday during the summer season (May 1 - Labor Day).

Promontory is located approximately 40 miles northwest of Ogden, Utah, some 690 miles east of Sacramento and 1,087 miles west of Omaha. To get there from Salt Lake City go north on I-15. A few miles past the Brigham City exit you will see the signs directing you west on Hwy 83 to the Historic Site.

East Meets West at Promontory Summit