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On May 11, 2024, the Golden Spike Foundation completed our Driving of the Spike tours. In 2024 the Golden Spike Foundation recognized the contributions of the railroad workers of the Central Pacific Railroad and followed the route to Sacramento, California, and back. In October 2023, the Golden Spike Monument visited eight metropolitan areas between Lexington, Kentucky, and Utah; including many stops are near the original Union Pacific transcontinental railroad route.
The highlight of each lively Whistle Stops was the opportunity to view the Golden Spike Monument up close on a flatbed trailer. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the monument from this perspective before it is installed at Golden Spike State Monument in Brigham City in 2025.
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Salt Lake City, Utah
Wells, Nevada
Sacramento, California
Logan, Utah
Tremonton, Utah
Honk & Wave Event
Ogden, Utah
Box Elder County, Utah
School visits
Promontory, Utah
Lexington, Kentucky
St. Louis, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Steam locomotives Jupiter and #119 will live forever in our country’s history for the part they played in the “Wedding of the Rails.”
After months of long days and dangerous, back-breaking labor, Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers met in Promontory, Utah, joining their respective rail lines to form a single track connecting the eastern portion of the United States to the west–this historic feat called for a big celebration.
The celebration brought dignitaries from across the country. Union Pacific Vice-President Thomas Durant’s arrived via a private coach pulled by the mighty #119 steam locomotive. Leland Stanford, president of Central Pacific, came from California in his private rail car hitched to the Jupiter steam locomotive.
On May 10, 1869, Jupiter and #119 came nose to nose in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad. This historic moment, captured for all the world to see, solidified these two steam locomotives’ place in history.
Like our social media pages to learn news about the tour, follow along, and tag #drivingofthespike as you see the Golden Spike Monument on the road!
