Stairway to Promontory
The cut below you on the Union Pacific grade is a good example
of the stair step construction method used by the railroads. The
workers were set to grading, scraping and blasting on several
different levels of a cut at once. This method increased efficiency
and speed in building the railroad. Excavation on this cut was
most likely terminated about April 9, 1869, when the
decision was made that the
railroads would meet at
Promontory. This decision
called a halt to the great
railroad race which had
previously resulted in 250
miles of parallel grading in
northern Utah.
Don't miss the rest of our virtual tour of Golden Spike National Historical Site in 660 images.