Golden Spike National Historic Site, Utah
With the the opposing Southern States gone from the Union, during the Civil War, Congress approved the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
The news reported that in May, 1869 the Union and Central Pacific railroad tracks were joined with a Golden Spike at Promontory Point. Minor trivia
facts, it was actually 4 special spikes and it was at Promontory Summit.
There is so much trivia and history surrounding this endeavor that never makes the history books --- but then again, most of the interesting parts of
history never do. But just a couple of the far less than positive facts that resulted from this endeavor include the final death knell in the way of
life for the Plains Native Americans. And besides being exploited in all ways, there were many Chinese laborers who died, and in the major land grab,
there were many miles where the grading overlapped, but no tracks were laid.
As always with history, the simple facts of dates and the who, what and where is not the really interesting history --- the why and the multiple sides
of interpretation etc is what brings history alive. But I digress.
The RR no longer runs through here and the engines, the Juniper, the wood burning steam engine from the west, and Engine 119, the coal burning steam
engine from the east were sold for salvage way back around 1900. However, the replicas are very accurate and the building of them is a story by
itself. They even used the heights of the people in the original picture of the meeting to keep the scale correct.
It is well worth the visit, if for nothing else than to admire the replica engines. They are gorgeous works of art, and so authenic. Back then, it
was the Victorian Era and the engineers took great pride in having brightly painted and polished machines. This place is out of the way, but worth a
visit, we think so anyway.
Oh, the docents who volunteer with these engines are so dedicated and they put the engines to bed in a garage every night. During the winter, the
engines are polished, painted, and what ever maintenence is required to keep them sharp.
Off to bed
A fun side trip
Oh, another side note 2,000 gallons of water will get a steam locomotive approximately 15 to 30 miles. Then they'll have to stop and fill up to get
the next 15 to 30 miles.
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