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Show ; 'WEDDING OF RAILS' A DRAMATIC SCENE immediately that the great task was done as Dr. Thomas C. Durant vice president of the Union Pacific, drove home a silver spike and Gov Iceland Ice-land Stanford of California, an offi. cial of the Central Pacific, pounded down the golden spike. The spikes driven, the two locomotives, locomo-tives, which had been brought up to the rail ends, moved forward until they touched, the christening wine was poured over the touching noses of the two iron horses and the ceremony of the "wedding o the ratls" was complete. i j The climax of the epic achieve-i achieve-i ment in railroad building came on , May 10, 1869. It was a colorful and 1 dramatic scene. There, at Promon-. Promon-. tory Point, was gathered a great 1 crowd of railroad men and laborers ; to witness the laying of the last tie l which was to be clinched with spikes j of silver and gold, furnished by sev-. sev-. eral states and territories. (After , the ceremony, both the tie and spikes , were removed and placed in various ;storic museums.) Building of the first transcontinental transconti-nental telegraph line had sped ahead of the road for the iron horse, so by this time the country was spanned by telegraph wires to the main cities. Although those in charge of the ceremonies didn't realize it at the time, actually they created the first "national hook-up." By an arrangement of signals and hooking up of telegraph wires so they would register the blows, both coasts and intermediate cities were apprised |
