Leftover West

Promontory Summit, Utah, Golden Spike National Historic Site, No. 2 (replica engines) , 2010
120 mm color photograph


The official meeting point of the Transcontinental Railroad is Promontory Summit in Utah.
As with all publicity stunts, however, the official story is much simplified and largely fabricated.

The steam engines present at the museum site are in fact steam engines, but they are replicas
of the original engines that met near the site. The rails have long been removed, but replaced later
for the purposes of the interpretive site.

The "golden spike", which was at least partially made of gold, is in Palo Alto, CA.
The laurel tie present at the ceremony in 1869 was removed to San Francisco,
where it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The replica last tie, made of pine,
was torn apart by souvenir hunters shortly after the ceremony.

In any case, travelers still had to disembark and cross the Missouri River by boat.
The actual coast to coast railroad met on the Kansas Pacific Railroad
in Comanche Crossing, Colorado, in August, 1870.

Promontory Summit, Utah, Golden Spike National Historic Site, No. 1 (replica engines) , 2010
120 mm color photograph

Promontory Summit, Utah, Golden Spike National Historic Site, No. 3 (replica engines) , 2010
120 mm color photograph

Wendover, Utah, (barracks detail), 2010
120 mm color photograph

Bonneville Salt Flats/ Great Salt Lake, No. 4, 2010
120 mm color photograph

Bonneville Salt Flats/ Great Salt Lake, No. 6, 2010
120 mm color photograph

Bonneville Salt Flats/ Great Salt Lake, No. 5, 2010
120 mm color photograph

Austin, NV, No. 1 (cemetery), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Austin, NV, No. 2 (cemetery), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Austin, NV, No. 3 (cemetery), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Ely, NV, (downtown), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Eureka, UT, (downtown), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Eureka, UT, (playhouse), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Salt Lake UT Vicinity, No. 1 (Diesel), 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Salt Lake UT Vicinity, No. 2, 2010
120 mm black and white photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (fields), 2010
120 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (gate, Deer Creek), 2010
120 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (hop kilns), 2010
120 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (hop ranch remains), 2010
120 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (derelict harvesting machinery), 2010
35 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (derelict harvesting machinery No. 2), 2010
35 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (structure), 2010
35 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (barn), 2010
35 mm color photograph

Sloughhouse, CA (Hoosier tires at hop ranch), 2010

home

Western