Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony, which commemorates the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah on May 10, 1869. On that date, two railroads were connected with a ceremonial golden spike at Promontory Summit.
In conjunction with Spike 150 events this week, TEXRail’s eighth train set was featured at the Stadler U.S. Grand Opening ceremony in Salt Lake City. TEXRail was the first train project that Stadler finished in the United States with full Buy America Compliance.
Because TEXRail is being featured during Spike 150 week, Trinity Metro officials decided to name its eighth train set Spike in honor of this historical railroad anniversary.
TEXRail’s Spike train will soon make its way to Texas and will be in operation this summer.
In other Golden Spike news, on May 9 Union Pacific hosted a celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The ceremony was held today at Ogden Union Station, a day ahead of Utah’s celebration at Promontory Summit where the Golden Spike was originally tapped into place. Union Pacific no longer has tracks near Promontory Summit. They were removed to support the scrap metal projects during World War II.
“This celebration is Union Pacific’s way of reflecting on our ancestors’ remarkable achievements that connected the nation while reminding us of the enormous responsibility we have for our nation’s future,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president – Corporate Relations and chief administrative officer. “We are proud our employees live and work in thousands of the communities we serve, delivering steel to construct schools and stores, lumber to build homes, the food we eat, clothes we wear and electronics we rely on.”
The May 9 ceremony featured Union Pacific’s iconic steam locomotives, Living Legend No. 844 and Big Boy No. 4014. The two met, recreating the historic image taken at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. The Big Boy is one of eight left in the world. It’s newly refurbished and the only one in operation. Following the steam meet, Union Pacific Chairman, President and CEO Lance Fritz and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert were joined by Margaret Yee and Sandy Dodge to tap a ceremonial spike. Yee’s ancestors were among thousands of Chinese immigrants who forged the transcontinental railroad for Central Pacific. Dodge is a descendent of Gen. Grenville Dodge, Civil War veteran and Union Pacific’s chief engineer during construction.