ABOVE: Following the ceremony, Jupiter and No. 119 were moved southwest of the last spike location for photos, which is where A.J. Russell captured this image of Samuel S. Mon- tague, Central Pacific’s Chief Engineer, shak- ing hands with his counterpart in the Union Pacific, Grenville M. Dodge. COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RIGHT: The Jupiter has left the engine house and is steaming through the sagebrush around the east leg of the Promon- tory wye on a cool May morning in 2012.


ha while the previously-established Central Pacific was authorized to build east from Sacramento. Both companies received a set amount of money, plus generous land subsidies, for every mile of track they put down.


Central Pacific broke ground at Sacramento in January 1863 and be- gan pushing a line over California’s rugged


Sierra Nevada Mountains.


Union Pacific didn’t get started until a year later, in the spring of 1864, when it began grading west through Nebras- ka. Both roads were initially hampered by a lack of manpower due to the Civil War.


After the end of hostilities in 1865 the work progressed at a more rapid pace. Union Pacific’s work crews of Irish, Italian, and German immigrants, as well as former Union and Confeder- ate veterans, spiked down over 1000 miles of rail through the plains of Ne- braska and Wyoming. Central Pacific’s


42 MAY 2013 • RAILFAN.COM workforce


of mostly Chinese immi- grants had a much tougher time tra- versing the rugged mountains of Cali- fornia and Nevada, but still managed to lay nearly 700 miles of track despite the fact that practically all Central Pa- cific materials, including rail and loco- motives, had to


sail 15,000 miles


around South America’s Cape Horn. By the end of 1868 both railroads were approaching Utah Territory. Sur- vey and grading crews, working far


ahead of the steel gangs, eventually passed each other — with little govern- ment supervision, instead of stopping where they met they kept grading side- by-side in order to claim more land sub- sidies and money. When this was dis- covered the government intervened, designating Promontory Summit, 55 miles west of Ogden, as the meeting point. An official “joining of the rails” was set for May 8, 1869, but because of delays it was pushed back to May 10th.


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