Golden Spike

Dad and Dan planned a daytrip for us to all go see the Golden Spike National Monument where the locomotives met connecting the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. May 10, 1869 was the day that the meeting was celebrated!!
The trains were really neat, although they were replicas. The Jupiter was the train for the Central Pacific and ran on wood. The 119 was for the Union and it ran on coal. The steam locomotives were heavy and huge- and only ran from 15-30 miles per hour.
The joining of lines was a huge moment for our Country in it's time. They had the last spike hooked to the telegraph, so when the spike was driven in, it sent a signal immediately all over the Country that the East and West coast were joined at last! The celebration of this moment was modest at Promontory, but in California, canons sounded, and parades and celebration on the East coast.

Isn't our junior conductor so adorable?!