75th Transcontinental RR U.S. Stamp
At the time, it was a big event–the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. It was May 10, 1869. The crowd that gathered at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory was said to number between 500-3,000 people, which included special dignitaries and Chinese, Irish and American laborers who had helped to build the rail line that tied the nation ocean-to-ocean.
Meeting head-to-head were the steam engines Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (called the Jupiter). The crowed gathered near the engines to watch the ceremonial driving of the “Golden Spike,” also called the final spike. Leland Stanford and David Hewes, who created the idea for a final spike, ceremoniously hammered the golden spike into a special laurel wood cross-tie. At exactly 12:47 p.m., the spike was driven and a telegraph tapped out the word “Done,” letting the nation know that the greatest technological feat of the 19th Century was complete.
Construction and operation of the rail line was authorized by the Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864, during the American Civil War. The railroad was built between 1863 and 1869. The line would cross the great plains and high mountains, westward by the Union Pacific and eastward by the Central Pacific. When completed, the rail line was also known as the Overland Route.
The railroad opened the nation to safer and more timely travel, moved much more commerce and people back and forth across the nation, and helped in the development of the West.
An interesting note, in 1879, the Supreme Court of the United States formally established, in its decision regarding Union Pacific Railroad vs. United States (99 U.S. 402), the official “date of completion” as November 6, 1869.
The U.S. postage stamp pictured above was issued in 1944, marking the 75th anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This past May 10, 2011, ceremonies were held at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, celebrating the 142nd year of the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. You may have missed this special event, but you can take a summer vacation and visit the site, located 32 miles west of Brigham City, via State Highways 13 and 83.
The visitor center is open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are interesting exhibits, films, and ranger presentations. Starting May 1 and running through summer, locomotives run at various times for photo opportunitiies–no train rides–giving the feel of what it must have felt like to see and be at Promontory Summit in 1869. For more information or opertion times call (435) 471-2209, ext. 29. Also, visit www.nps.gov’gosp/index.htm to learn more about Golden Spike National Historic Site and to plan your visit.
Source: wikipedia.com
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