Hi, I'm Eric.
I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.
I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.
Hi, I'm Eric.
I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.
I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.
24 March 2025 • 38 km / 24 mi (map)
Today our company took a company-wide holiday. I happened to be in Salt Lake City, so I decided to go visit Golden Spike National Historical Park, which commemorates the point at which the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869.
Ironically, most of the rail line no longer exists. A shorter and easier route was constructed a few decades later. Most of the iron in the rails was taken up and put to new use during the war effort in the 1940s.
A short bit of the rail line remains at Promontory and much of the old grade remains as it was originally constructed.
During summer months, the park conducts a re-enactment of the meeting of the locomotives arriving from opposite sides. During the rest of the year, a team comprised largely of volunteer train enthusiasts lovingly maintains the steam engines (which are carefully-constructed replicas of the originals). Every so often, park visitors are invited to visit the Engine House where this maintenance occurs.
This was a highlight of the trip!
The actual golden spike that was driven is no longer there, but a golden-colored tie has been placed at its location.
A portion of the rail grade that is no longer in service has been converted to a gravel “auto tour” road. I drove a short part of that tour route and enjoyed seeing what must have been a difficult route to build, given the technology of the time.
button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)
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