Golden Spike

On the way from Idaho back to Salt Lake we stopped by the Golden Spike National Historic Monuement in Northern Utah. Erika says we went here when I was a teenager. I have absolutely no recollection of the visit. So I am counting this year's visit as my first time here.

This is where the transcontinental railroads met back at the turn of the twentieth century.

The steam trains still run daily, at least back to where they keep them at night. This whole leg of the train route is now largely unused. Twenty years after building the railroads, they built a new one out across the Great Salt Lake. The original route was too steep and traffic moving through was too slow. I didn't know that; so it was fun to learn something new.

The 119 train came from the east. They started in the midwest. East of the Mississippi there was already an extensive train network. Then they just laid track across the plains.

The Jupiter train started in the west. They didn't build as many miles of track as the 119 crew because they had to cross the Sierra-Nevadas, blasting through miles and miles of rock and utilizing thousands of Chinese workers to build their side. They also had to raise the grade for their tracks in many places.

It was a really educational visit.

But this is really is the middle of nowhere!