Here’s the true story of the most famous moment in railroad history. It occurred on May 10, 1869. The finishing of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah was a big event. A huge crowd was gathered, including many railroad and government officials. The last tie was specially made of California laurel. The last spike was $400 worth of gold. The tip was a gold nugget that was later made into rings for Leland Stanford (President of the Central Pacific), Oliver Ames (President of the Union Pacific), President Grant, and Secretary of State William Seward. First, the last tie was placed by Chinese laborers. The photographer was told: “Now’s the time – shoot them!” When the workers heard the word “shoot!”, they ran away thinking Indians were attacking. The crowd, drunk on champagne, got a kick out of that. The Chinese were herded back and then it was time for the climactic moment. The silver-headed hammer was attached to a wire that was connected to all the telegraph keys in the nation. When it hit the spike, the whole country would know. Unfortunately, Stanford swung and missed. The telegraph operator send the message “Dot Dot Dot Done” anyway. The golden spike is still in the Stanford University museum. The tie was destroyed in the San Francisco Earthquake.
– Lawrence 66-67
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