Today in Technology History
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May 10
On May 10, 1869, the final spike was laid in the tracks of the transcontinental railroad across the United States.
The need for a rail line crossing the country was obvious, since untold hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars were spent transporting goods, materials and people across America's vastness, using only human and animal power. With money from the U.S. Congress, two companies started building a line from the Mississippi River to California; one company (the Central Pacific) laid tracks west to east, the other (the Union Pacific) headed west.
The terrain made the work difficult: both companies had to cross mountain ranges and bring supplies over great distances. Also, since work began during the U.S. Civil War, manpower was limited. Thousands of immigrants from China, Ireland and Germany worked the rails; they were joined by many veterans after the war ended.
Despite the difficulties, both sides worked remarkably quickly. In fact, the Central Pacific crew once succeeded in laying an astonishing 10 miles of track in a single day.
The two sides met at Promontory Summit, Utah. (The choice of a meeting place was a matter of contentious dispute.) Locomotives from each side (the Jupiter and the No. 119) rode face to face and hundreds of workers and onlookers gathered to watch the final spike -- made of gold -- driven into the tracks.
These words were engraved into the golden spike: "May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world."
Related links:
Click here to visit the excellent online museum of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Click here to read more about the final spike ceremony.
This year marks the 132nd anniversary of the "Golden Spike Ceremony." For the past 50 years, a group called the "Golden Spike Association" has sponsored re-enactments of the ceremony. Click here and here to read about the re-enactments.
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