Spike150 - Jamie Foster
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May 9, 2019
Ogden, Utah
My wife Lynn and I drove from Colorado Springs, CO to Ogden, Utah in time to see the first big event of the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike weekend celebration, the culmination of the "Race to Ogden" by Union Pacific's #844 and UP "Big Boy" #4014 (first run since the renovation project started five years ago). The following photos show some of the Ogden #DONE ceremony and surrounding activities like the Utah State Railroad Museum.
UP's "Big Boy" #4014
UP #844
Ed Dickens at the controls, senior manager, Union Pacific Heritage Operations
Union Station, Ogden, Utah
This is the UP "Torch Relay Car" for the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah (and environs). It's now part of the Utah State Railroad Museum's collection. I happened to be in Guadalupe, CA in January of 2002 when that torch car pulled by UP #2002 locomotive came through with the torch lit. Story/Pics here (way back when I was the webman for the Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum).
All my photos from Ogden on May 9th are here.
May 10, 2019
150th Golden Spike Celebration at Promontory Summit, Utah
I joined who knows how many thousand (Spike150 estimated 38,000 people visited May 10-12) of my railroading friends today at Promontory Summit, UT to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike that marked the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869. (Unless you're from Strasburg, CO which tends to argue the point; they'll have their 150th at Comanche Crossing on August 15, 2020. That's just up the road from us, so we're going!)
As with yesterday's fun at Union Station in Ogden, UT with the arrival of the Big Boy UP #4014 and her traveling companion, UP #844, there were so many people that I couldn't get much in the way of great pictures of either the equipment or even what was happening on stage. So, the photos here give you a feel for what attending the event looked like. I'm sure there will be plenty of closeup shots on social media from those who were close up.
The ceremony turned out to have quite the list of dignitaries, including Utah Governor Herbert, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Secretary of Transportation (whom we worked with back when she was at Labor and I was with the California Space Authority), Mitt Romney, Rep. Bishop, Lance Fritz of the UPRR, the Irish ambassador to the U.S. (who offered a champagne toast!), the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. (by video), and more.
Part of the reason for so many dignitaries is that the Golden Spike National Historical Site recently was upgraded to a full-fledged National Historical Park.
The keynote was given by author Jon Meacham, and without a doubt, gave the best speech of the day. A recording is here. My favorite quote, roughly, "a country is unified by its passion for what we love in common."
Did you know that on that very day in 1869, the real last spike (not the golden ceremonial spikes) and rail were wired to the telegraph system so that the world could actually "hear" the driving of the last spike on the railroad. #DONE
Interesting map showing why Promontory Summit is no longer on the existing rail line.
Did you notice that 5/10 (May 10th) and Spike150 share the same digits?
Re-enactment on May 10, 2019
World premiere of "As One," a musical written to commerate the occasion, was broadcast live to classrooms across the country. Here's a recording.
All my photos from Promontory Summit on May 10th are here.
May 12, 2019
Ogden, Utah
Almost entirely by accident, we ended up at the right place at the right time to catch the #4014 and #844 leaving Ogden for the return to Cheyenne! Lynn became an official train chaser when she dashed across a busy road with crutches and her broken foot to catch a glimpse of the passing train.
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