The Golden Spike

We've made it to Ogden, Utah and hoped to be free of smoke; no such luck as you can see from the haze in the background.

We are at the Golden Spike National Historic Site.  The Transcontinental Railroad was completed here and they do a reenactment of the ceremony to drive the final spikes.  They used a special Laurelwood tie and 4 spikes of gold, silver and copper from the 2 railroads and the State of California and the Nevada Territory.  The tie is one of 4 reproductions of the original which is under glass in the museum building.

The Jupiter and the 119 are exact replicas to within 1 inch.  The are painted according to a description found in a late 19th century journal.  They are Victorian era, so they are very ornate.

This is the Jupiter doing a blowdown to get rid of sediment in the boiler.  The Jupiter is a wood fired steam engine.

 Above is the fireman and below is the engineer.

Tom above, Linda below with the Jupiter

Some of the reenactors.

 The 119 was a coal fired steam engine. 

The reenactment lasts about 30 minutes or so and they often have people from the audience play a part.  Some of us with cameras with members of the press.  Tom was a Bishop from the local Morman Church with some of his wives (a couple of the women in our group were sitting with him).

The 2 presidents of the railroads with their gold spikes, they set them in pre-drilled holes. Eventually they have the fireman come out to drive the spikes, but carefully, because after all they are gold and silver.

 As it was done, the telegrapher sent the first live message back east to tell everyone in the country the deed was done.

The volunteers posed for pictures and the locomotives stayed on display all day.  They do another reenactment in the afternoon, but not another arrival of the engines.