One
hundred and forty-five years ago tomorrow the two coasts of the United States
became connected by rail. It was May 10th, 1869.
At that
time, the state of Utah was still a territory and a spot called
"Promontory" was about to receive the attention of the world and mark
a place in American history.
It was
there where the final rail was laid linking the Union Pacific tracks out of
Omaha with the Central Pacific tracks out of San Francisco.
Five
years of labor had gone before to bring the two to Promontory, Utah.
Leland
Stanford, President of the Central Pacific, took a silver plated sledgehammer in
his burly hands and took aim at the gold spike in the final rail.
America
was listening for that clank. Telegraph operators were at the ready. The
Railroad's future was bright. Two engines were puffing in anticipation. The
Union Pacific number 199 and the Central's number 60, better known as the
Jupiter, waited to touch iron noses. All was set Sanford swung the silver
hammer at the bright golden spike…
...and
he missed.
Somehow,
now that seems appropriate. The railroads future was never perfect. Progress
took a different route and a new track eventually bypassed Promontory. Then, as
irony would have it, the old rails were needed for steel during the 2nd world
war and they were removed. Promontory today has no tracks, only a memory in
May.
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