What two railroads met in northern Utah to form the first transcontinental railroad?

The Railroad Act of 1862 put government support behind the transcontinental railroad and helped create the Union Pacific Railroad, which subsequently joined with the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, and signaled the linking of the continent.



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In 1862 Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Acts which designated the 32nd parallel as the initial transcontinental route and gave huge grants of lands for rights-of-way. The legislation authorized two railroad companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct the lines.

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A crowd gathered on May 10, 1869, to witness the driving of a ceremonial golden spike connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad lines to complete the Transcontinental Railroad.

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As Central Pacific laid tracks eastward, Union Pacific was working westward and the race to Promontory Summit, Utah, where they would eventually meet on May 10, 1869, was on.

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The Railroad Act of 1862 put government support behind the transcontinental railroad and helped create the Union Pacific Railroad, which subsequently joined with the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, and signaled the linking of the continent.

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The Central Pacific and the Union Pacific were the two companies charged to build the Transcontinental Railroad. Although the government funded and approved the building of the Transcontinental Railroad before the Civil War, the main construction of the railway began after the Civil War around 1865.

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In addition to transporting western food crops and raw materials to East Coast markets and manufactured goods from East Coast cities to the West Coast, the railroad also facilitated international trade. The first freight train to travel eastward from California carried a load of Japanese tea.

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The Union Pacific entered Ogden on March 8, 1869. By March 15 it was at Hot Springs, by March 23 at Willard City. On April 7 the first train steamed across the newly completed Bear River bridge and entered Corinne. At the same time the Central Pacific was still about fifteen miles west of Monument Point.

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From May-December 1869, Promontory was the terminus of the transcontinental railroad (the junction point for Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads).

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That year it became clear however, that the railroad would not meet in Salt Lake City but instead would connect at Promontory Summit, Box Elder County, on the barren edge of the Great Salt Lake. May 10, 1869, the eastern and western lines of the world's first transcontinental railroad met beyond Salt Lake City.

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A pyramidal monument marks the spot where the golden (last) spike was driven on May 10, 1869, linking the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. Replicas of the Central Pacific's Jupiter and the Union Pacific's No. 119, the two engines used during the final stages, are on display.

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