Engineering360: "The Transcontinental Railroad at 150"

That is impressive for that era. Couldn't have been easy. I'd bet a lot of people said, "Where're we gonna get all that iron/steel?". And that was just the beginning.

An interesting part of the ceremony, was the instant communication to the rest of the country via telegraph.

On pages 26 and 27 of the May TRAINS issue: At 12:47pm on May 10, 1869, "The silver spike maul on the [David] Hewes golden spike, resting on the south rail, completed a circuit sending a telegraph message east and west, setting off cannons and bells in cities and towns from coast to coast." Sort of like going "viral" today . . .

What was it the engines said

Pilots touching head to head

Facing on a single track

Half the world behind each back

I can't remember who wrote that. I just saw ir 65 years ago. JHF