(Photo courtesy Stewart Library, Special Collections) Men who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 ride on a float in 1919 during a parade in Ogden to mark the 50th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Photographs taken during the parade are featured in "Spike 50: Golden Spike Parade in 1919,” a free exhibit at Union Station, 2501 Wall Ave., Ogden, through May 31. The image is indelible — the meeting of the Central Pacific No. 119 and Union Pacific 60, aka The Jupiter, at Promontory Summit in 1869. It was a defining moment in our nation’s history. Now, as we mark the 150th anniversary, the transcontinental railway offers up lessons for those who listen and serves as an inspiration for what we could hope to achieve. On the simplest level, the driving of the “Golden Spike” unified a nation — literally and figuratively — that, just a few short years outside of the Civil War, was far more divided than we can comprehend today. Its completion was marked with celebrations from coast to coast. The hammers meant to drive the final spike were outfitted with wires that would register the event via telegraph to Omaha and Sacramento, but the rail boss who swung the hammer missed. It turns out, swinging those hammers wasn’t easy. But the real spike was eventually driven into the ground. Like so much of our nation — then and now — the railroad was built by migrant laborers unwanted in much of the country except for their ability to work. Robert Gehrke It was an amalgamation of the Chinese migrants, Irish who escaped famine, newly freed slaves and Latter-day Saints driven West to flee religious persecution who laid the 1,800 miles of track, humble people of modest means willing to do backbreaking labor. The Chinese workers were paid about two-thirds what the Irish rail workers received and were often tasked with the most dangerous jobs, like being lowered in baskets to blow holes in the sides of the mountains. By most estimates, a thousand people were killed in the process, and those who survived were denied U.S. citizenship. In addition to the iconic photograph of the trains meeting at Promontory, celebrants hoisting champagne bottles (which were cropped out of some later prints of the photo), there is another image. This is one of eight Chinese railroad workers laying the last rails to complete the line moments before the Golden Spike ceremony. They were there. They were just not seen. It is vital, said Max Chang, a board member of the Golden Spike Foundation, to “widen the lens” of history. Chang was recently invited to tell the story of these workers to a class of mostly Latin American and South American students. The teacher, he said, felt like the students needed to hear the story “to understand that other groups have gone before them and faced similar situations.” Racial prejudice and mistreatment weren’t the only tarnish on the Golden Spike. The project was plagued by corruption and self-dealing. The coming of the railroad led to the eradication of the bison and hastened the conquering of the Plains Indian tribes. Like so much of our history, the railroad’s story needs to be understood with context and nuance. The threads that weave their way through the history of the railroad across 150 years are relevant today. We are, it seems sometimes, a hopelessly divided nation, grappling — then as now — with inequality and challenges. Still, we have it in ourselves to accomplish remarkable things. A century after the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the nation came together to celebrate again, this time sending a man to the moon. “That day we didn’t care what political party we were, we didn’t care what race we were or gender,” Chang said. “We didn’t care because we all did this together.” There is inspiration in those grand achievements and a challenge to keep dreaming, because our divisions fall away when we can unite behind a great purpose. Then anything becomes possible. “The greatness of America is never behind us,” Chang said. “It’s always ahead.” So what is the next impossible thing we will accomplish?<doc-sep>“Dot, Dot, Dot. Done!” That message, sent 150 years ago Friday by telegrapher W.N. Shilling from Promontory Summit, Utah, set off celebrations as the driving of the Golden Spike completed the Transcontinental Railroad. On Friday, at the Golden Spike National Historical Park at Promontory Summit, a reenactor keyed the same message. A crowd of thousands gathered to mark the most famous moment in American railroading and one of the seminal events in U.S. history, making May 10, 1869, a date to remember. The three dots represented the final strikes of the silver maul tapping in the last spike. “Done” meant the completion of the Pacific Railway, linking Sacramento and Omaha, Neb., 1,776 miles, decades in the planning and six years in the making. Celebrate the transcontinental railroad on a weekend escape in Utah » Advertisement (Los Angeles Times) The Central Pacific’s Jupiter from the west and Union Pacific’s No. 119 from the east, both steam locomotives, faced off. On hand again Thursday were Jupiter and 119, this time replicas of the originals, built for the 110th anniversary in 1972. They are tiny by newer standards, each weighing about 60 tons loaded with coal (No. 119) or wood (Jupiter), beautifully ornate, as were the originals. Their whistles sang and bells rang to mark the beginning of the main ceremony Bands played, a children’s choir sang, and the Postal Service sold first-day-of-issue stamps commemorating the event. Among the dignitaries ange when confirmedwere Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert and Lance Fritz, Union Pacific’s chairman, president, and chief executive. Reenacted figures included Central Pacific’s Leland Stanford, Union Pacific’s Dr. Thomas Durant and Gen. Grenville Dodge. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham was the keynote speaker. The national anthem, bells, cannons and a flyover marked the ceremony’s culmination. Advertisement Hello, Big Boy The Big Boy No. 4014 rolls out of a Union Pacific restoration shop at the Cheyenne, Wyo., Depot Museum on May 4. (P. Solomon Banda / Associated Press) Remember the Chinese immigrants who built America’s first transcontinental railroad » 150 years ago, they were working on the railroad: La Mesan organizes celebration of Chinese laborers’ record-setting day » Golden Spike festivities had gotten off to a spectacular start six days earlier and 460 miles east in Cheyenne, Wyo., with the christening of No. 4014, one of 25 Big Boys, Union Pacific’s largest and best-known steam locomotives and with a connection to Southern California. Advertisement On a sunny Saturday morning, the massive locomotive, gleaming black, fresh from the restoration shop where it had spent more than two years, was wreathed in steam as it rolled to a stop in front of the depot. That depot is now a museum, and 2,000 spectators had bought tickets to be there and cheer every blast of 4014’s melodious whistle. As many as 5,000 people gathered in Laramie, Wyo., the first stop on the locomotive’s five-day journey to Ogden, Utah, and thousands more came to trackside all along the route. This behemoth, built in 1941 for Union Pacific, remained in service until 1959. So famous was the Big Boy that seven survive in parks and museums, but only No. 4014 has steam in its belly. It had spent its retirement on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona until Union Pacific brought it home in 2014. Advertisement “Good morning, steam-town,” said Lance Fritz, Union Pacific’s head, in opening the ceremony. “We’re here to celebrate the Big Boy and our railroad’s long relation with Cheyenne.” Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon also spoke, as did Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr, who said the previous evening felt like Christmas Eve. Fritz’s wife, Julie, helped him break a bottle of Champagne over 4014’s coupler. With Ed Dickens, head of the nine-member Steam Crew that performed the restoration, at the throttle, the Big Boy began its journey to Ogden, double-headed with another preserved Union Pacific steam engine, No. 844 — smaller than No. 4014 but still imposing. Dickens played Big Boy’s whistle like an orchestra wherever spectators clustered. A miles-long motorcade of chasers jammed the highways. After the celebration Advertisement Once the celebratory crowds have left Promontory Summit, the Golden Spike National Historic Park will return to its normal routines, with plenty to see and do. In season, the two locomotives operate under steam. The re-enactors perform on summer Saturdays and holidays. The visitor center brings the long-ago triumph of the Golden Spike alive, with a video and displays of the primitive tools and light, flimsy rail that hastened this fragile railway across the West. There’s a replica of the golden spike; the original is normally at the Stanford University Art Museum.. Don’t miss the chance to drive the Central Pacific’s abandoned right-of-way on the West and East Grade Auto Tours. Although I love the visitor center and the steam locomotives, a lonely drive along the old right-of-way brings me closer to an understanding of the vast, harsh, emptiness that faced the laborers. In their way, they were the heroes of the Golden Spike. Advertisement IF YOU GO The Golden Spike National Historic Park is 32 miles west of Brigham City, Utah, which is 60 miles north of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15. The visitor center, museum, and bookstore are open year round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Locomotive steam demonstrations run from May 1 through mid-October, and guided tours of the locomotives in the engine house are an excellent alternative during the balance of the year. Reenactments of the Last Spike Ceremony take place on Saturdays and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the auto tours are available year round. Advertisement Info: Golden Spike National Historical Park, (435) 471-2209 The Big Boy will operate occasional trips in the future, and the Union Pacific Rail Car will also tour around Union Pacific’s 23-state system. For details when they become available: Union Pacific Heritage Steam. travel@latimes.com @latimestravel<doc-sep>PROMONTORY, Utah (AP) — Music, speeches and the firing of cannons rang out Friday at a remote spot in the Utah desert where the final spikes of the Transcontinental Railroad were hammered 150 years ago, uniting a nation long separated by vast expanses of desert, mountains and forests and fresh off the Civil War. Thousands streamed to the celebration at Golden Spike National Historic Park northwest of Salt Lake City — the signature event of several days of festivities marking the railroad’s anniversary. Visitors came from as far as China, many decked out in old-fashioned dresses, top hats, bonnets and scarves. Visitors came from as far as China, many decked out in old-fashioned dresses, top hats, bonnets and scarves. The 1869 completion of the 1,800-mile rail line shortened cross-county travel from as long as six months in wagons and stagecoaches to about 10 days on the rails and served as a unifying moment for the nation. It became a pivotal moment in United States history that dramatically changed how people traveled and did business. “It psychologically and symbolically bound the country,” said Brad Westwood, Utah’s senior public historian. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt marveled at how engineering, courage and risk-taking came together to make it possible. “The story of this site says so much about our country,” Bernhardt said at the event, which included a reenactment of an iconic “champagne toast” photo of railroad workers perched atop facing trains giving cheers to the epic feat. “The joining of the two rail lines created a new sense of connectedness that helped form a common national identity.” The festivities featured many moments and remarks that highlighted the vital contribution of the Chinese workers who put in long hours in brutal conditions and haven’t always received their proper due throughout history. The ceremony started with a Chinese “lion dance,” and the first speaker was Chinese historian Connie Young Yu. She lamented that descendants of Chinese workers were hardly a part of the 100th anniversary celebration in 1969. “Today we take this opportunity at the 150th to reclaim our place in history,” Young Yu said. “To honor the courage, fortitude and sacrifice of the Chinese railroad workers and their legacy in America.” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao commended the estimated 12,000 Chinese workers who “risked everything” to build what she called “one of the greatest infrastructure projects” in U.S. history that unleashed explosive economic growth. Freeman Lee came from his home in Sacramento, California, to “feel the presence” of his great-grandfather, who was among the Chinese workers who helped build the railroad. He proudly pointed out a page dedicated to his great-grandfather in a souvenir magazine for the event. “It’s long overdue,” Lee said about the recognition. Bill Hanmer drove with his wife from their Middletown, Virginia, home to check off a bucket list item. The 73-year-old pilot and train enthusiast said he desperately wanted to attend the 100th anniversary event but couldn’t afford it. “It was a grand gesture to bind the nation after the Civil War, but it was also a story of human capital and what it took.” The couple woke up before dawn to be at the site by 6 a.m. to avoid getting stuck in long lines of cars that stretched for miles on a two-lane country highway that was the only way in and out. “I’ve been waiting for 50 years to come back,” Hanmer said. “It’s a special event. It was a history-changing event.” The laying of the final rails in 1869 triggered a famous telegraph that set off celebrations around the nation: “The last rail is laid. The last spike is driven. The Pacific railroad is completed. The point of junction is 1,086 miles west of the Missouri River and 690 miles east of Sacramento City.” The bells at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall rang in celebration, a hundred guns were fired in New York, and American flags were hung in cities across the nation. The golden spike included an inscription: “May God continue the unity of our country as this railroad unites the two great oceans of the world.” The railroad was built using horses, oxen, hand carts, wagons and the “brawn” of mostly Irish immigrants working on the portion that came from the East and mostly Chinese workers on the part that came from the West, said Westwood, the public historian. They worked day and night and risked their lives blasting through rocks with black powder explosives and shoveling snow on frigid mountain peaks. Westwood said the railroad was built by the “most discriminated and least appreciated people in America.” The epic construction project had a dark side, leading to the near annihilation of the bison, eventual loss of land for Native American tribes and the deaths of several hundred railroad workers, he added. “It was a grand engineering feat,” Westwood said. “It was a grand gesture to bind the nation after the Civil War, but it was also a story of human capital and what it took.”<doc-sep>
Thousands celebrate Golden Spike’s 150th anniversary with music, fireworks and a historic reminder of how ‘the nation was united’ (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Jupiter and No. 119 arrive on Friday May 10, 2019, for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit where the two rails met back on May 10, 1869. < > Promontory • The story of the transcontinental railroad, historian Jon Meacham told an audience at the spot where the two threads of that railroad were tied together 150 years ago Friday, “is the story of America, for better or for worse.” Meacham helped tell that story at the recently re-designated Golden Spike National Historic Park on Friday, giving the keynote address at a ceremony full of re-enactment, music, prayers and dignitaries including two senators, a governor, a congressman, an ambassador, two cabinet members, spiritual leaders and a railroad CEO. The ceremony was witnessed by thousands, including railroad enthusiasts, history buffs and Chinese Americans and Irish Americans paying tribute to their ancestors who made up the bulk of the labor that built the railroad that linked the Atlantic and Pacific. Meacham began by saying “everything was falling apart” in America in 1862, a year into the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation to create the rail line from the then-fractured Union states to the distant California coast. Approving the railroad was, Meacham said, “a far-sighted act for a commander-in-chief buffeted by the winds of war.” Lincoln and those who envisioned the railroad “knew that a nation connected just might be a nation united,” Meacham said. When the railroad was completed on May 10, 1869, four years after the Civil War’s end and Lincoln’s assassination, Meacham said, “the nation was united at [Promontory], if not in spirit, then in fact.” Meacham said the fact that the transcontinental railroad was accomplished while the nation remained sharply divided — it was, he said, “an era of prevailing white supremacy,” and before women had the vote — is something Americans today can take to heart. Many of the elements that brought divided people together to make the transcontinental railroad happen, Meacham said, “seem all too elusive in our own time. … We, you and I, are caught in a moment of reflexive dispiritedness.” Still, he said, “our common welfare depends not on what separates us … but what unites us.” “If people want to know what is possible, come here,” Meacham said, pointing to the ground where the Jupiter and No. 119, replicas of the locomotives that met 150 years ago, stood and blew their steam whistles. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, decked out in a 19th century morning coat and top hat, was jubilant. “We are truly celebrating like it’s 1869,” Herbert said. Herbert echoed Meacham’s optimism, saying that the transcontinental railroad showed that “even in difficult times of deep division, great things can be accomplished.” Elaine Chao, U.S. secretary of transportation, called the transcontinental railroad “one of the greatest infrastructure projects in this country,” reducing a six-month cross-country trip by wagon train to five days by rail. She called the railroad’s creation in 1869 “every bit as consequential as the digital revolution that binds the world today.” Chao, who is Chinese American, also praised the thousands of Chinese laborers — at least 15,000, by most historical estimates — “who risked everything to make the transcontinental railroad a reality” even though “many of the Chinese laborers did not have the opportunity to bring their families with them or become U.S. citizens.” Historian Connie Young Yu, herself a descendant of Chinese rail workers, said that at the Golden Spike’s centennial in 1969, only one descendent — her mother — was present at the ceremony at Promontory. That oversight was corrected this time, as hundreds of Chinese Americans were in the crowd, and Chinese culture was well represented on stage. A “lion dance” was performed at the start of the ceremony, and Chinese workers were included for the first time in the annual re-enactment of the driving of the Golden Spike. And the Chinese, along with Irish, free blacks and Mormons, were depicted in “As One,” a 30-minute musical-theater presentation about the railroad’s creation and completion. The People’s Republic of China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, tried to bridge past and present.