Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-12-18 | Page 10 | Know Utah

I. I i K KNOW UTAH H I By ALBERT L F. F PHILIPS I Changes In officials of ot the Southern Pacific railroad rail all road which become effective January 1 recall some som old railway history of ot Utah since It was at Promontory Pi-omon- Pi tory Point in Boxelder county that the ran rail lIn line uniting unit unit- ing ing- tho east with the west was completed Th The Central Pacific now the Southern Pacific railway reached the state line lne between Utah and California In 1867 1861 The Union Pacific was pushing pushing- Its rails rail rapidly from the cast Both were anxious to reaca reach a trado trade depot in Utah and while the point at Promontory Point on May 10 1869 was the goa goal In November of ot the same year congress decided th the city of Ogden should be ethe bethe the junction of ot the two lines It had been a race for the point In Utah after atter th the Central Pacific had reached the state line Under Unde the charter the Central Pacific was to build to th the tho California state line and the Union Pacific to th the same point but which ever company reached the state stat line first was to build eastward or westward as the case might be a m effect a a. junction with the other Under the provisions of ot th the charter chart r the government g was to issue to the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific bonds at the rate of ot per mile of completed completed com corn road From the western base of the Sierra Nevadas where the mountains were expected to add greatly g to the cost of ot construction the bond Issue was to be per mile mUe and for the portion of ot the route between the Rocky mountains and the Sierras the bond issue was fixed at per mile In addition to the right of ot way the government g gave the road ten alternate sections of ot public lands five full sections on each side of the track for each mile of ot railroad built Each company was t therefore anxious to construct as many miles mUes as possible S S S SIn In five years 2000 miles of ot railroad was built The road was pioneering White labor was difficult to obtain and Chinese were employed Two thousand were used at first and this later was increased to and arid during during- the las months of ot the construction Chinese were employed Tho The lines Unes met at Promontory Point on April 28 18 1869 1860 the distance from Ogden being three fifty miles and upon that date the he Southern Pacific performed the marvelous feat ol ot laying laying- ten miles of track In one day Twelve da days s 's later ater on May 10 tho the golden spike was driven which connected the rails raUs of the tho two companies S The last tie laid was of ot polished California laurel It t carried a silver plate on inscribed The Tho Thelast Thelast last tie laid in the completion of the Pacific railroad May 10 1869 When the tie was placed in position Leland Stanford then president of the Central Pacific Pa Pa- chic drove the last spike which was wao of ot California gold old while telegraph wires received the taps of ot the hammer hammel- a and ard d transmitted them all over the tho country a S Another golden olden spike spile was driven on the Southern Pacific when tho the Lucin cut off was dedicated At this cere ceremony Edwin H. H Harriman drove th the spike l In the first instance the participants were few in inthe inthe inthe the latter railway magnates from all over th the United States were present present- No such congregation of ot railway railway rail rall- way magnates has ever been together to witness the driving driving- of a sold gold spike since then