The Golden Spike: How the Transcontinental Railroad Changed America
Completed in 1869, the first transcontinental railroad linked the coasts and transformed the nation. Here's the story of the people who built it.
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Before 1869, traveling from the East Coast to California meant a grueling months-long journey by wagon, a dangerous sea voyage around South America or a trek across the Isthmus of Panama. The first transcontinental railroad changed that almost overnight, and with it changed the nation.
The Pacific Railway Act
In 1862, in the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. It authorized two companies to build the line: the Central Pacific, building east from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific, building west from the Missouri River near Omaha. The government supported the companies with land grants and bonds for each mile of track.
Conquering the Sierra Nevada
The Central Pacific faced the toughest terrain: the steep granite of the Sierra Nevada. Crews blasted tunnels through solid rock, sometimes progressing only inches a day, and endured brutal winters with massive snowfalls.
Much of this work was done by Chinese immigrant laborers, who by many estimates made up the large majority of the Central Pacific's workforce. They faced dangerous conditions and lower pay than white workers, and their essential contribution was overlooked for generations.
Racing across the plains
The Union Pacific built across the Great Plains with a workforce that included many Irish immigrants and Civil War veterans. Because the companies were paid per mile, the effort became a race, with crews laying track at remarkable speed in the final stretch.
The golden spike
On May 10, 1869, the two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. A ceremonial golden spike was tapped into place, and a telegraph message, "DONE," flashed across the country, setting off celebrations from coast to coast.
A transformed nation
- Travel time across the country dropped from months to about a week.
- Trade and settlement in the West accelerated, and goods moved coast to coast.
- Standardized time: railroad scheduling needs later led to the adoption of standard time zones in 1883.
The costs
The railroad also brought devastating consequences for Native American nations, whose lands were crossed and divided, and it hastened the destruction of the great buffalo herds that Plains tribes depended on.
Visit the site today
The Golden Spike National Historical Park in Utah preserves the site. Replica locomotives recreate the famous meeting, and visitors can walk and drive along the original railroad grade.
