Steam & Excursion > Promontory, gold spike, near miss 1869

Generalized map of competing steam railroads building roadbed past each other to gain land and funds in 1869. Some beds can be seen on google satellite.

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A trip to the Golden Spike Monument is well worth the drive. A couple of years ago, Boiling Man and I followed the row east from Lucin to Promontory and beyond. Many old culverts and trestles are evident, in addition to the row itself. Also quite evident are the locations where UP and CP surveying and grading crews worked past each other.

Promontory Summit has to be considered one of the premier spots to visit if one is a true fan of American railroad history.

S_W

Thanks for the post ... you can drive along the original ROW as part of a BLM backroads scenic byway route for a long way from Promontory towards Montello, NV ... it ain't no stinkin' freeway so pay attention along the route, but it is well worth the effort ... there is not much between Promontory NHS and Wells, NV so make sure you've got fuel, water, food etc.

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

My wife and I made the pilgrimage to Promontory in 2001, just after the 9-11 attacks. I thought, this is what the US is all about--building things! Just a few miles away is the Thiokol plant, where rocket boosters for space exploration are made. Quite a combination!

Pilgrimage strikes me as the correct word here.
SR

Inside this map is also the section were the CP laid 10 miles of track in a day. I've heard the sign is still in place.

Any thoughts on the steam terminal at Terrace? Any visitors? Anything on Google?

The "10 miles" section was near Rozel on the map. I think there's a copy of the sign there, but the original is in the museum at the visitors center.
At Terrace probably the most intact thing is the cemetery, but it's fairly easy to make out the location of the roundhouse and other shop buildings. I've included a few photos. These are of Terrace, because you asked about it, but there is much much more to see. This really is a place worth visiting, both the Golden Spike site and the CPRR RoW to the west of it.
Do your homework before you go out there and all these abandoned sites really come to life.
I'm working on plans to go back next year with an airplane and shoot these places from above. I'm thinking Terrace and the rest of the line will be very obvious from the air!
SR Bush
Dutch Flat

Photo 1. The Terrace Cemetery with the mainline in the foreground.
Photo 2. Roundhouse pits.
Photo 3. Yard tracks at the east end. Off to the left is the main line.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/14 11:19 by BoilingMan.

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Cool.

I should re-iterate, Signor's book has a lot of info on the area. Worked my way through it again last night and the photos are invaluable. Also detailed out my Ogden questions.

It would be interesting to hear current roadbed condition info. I don't see driving a Jeep all the way out there. More like a heavy truck/camper or light SUV, both with lots of F.S. Road mileage.

t4p.

The road really isn't too bad, most of it is pretty much a common everyday dirt road. But there are dozens of small creek beds that the RR crossed with short bridges. (See photo: Exhibit "A") When you get to these, the road goes off the side and down through the streambed. They're all dry and I would think most any pick up could do it. I did it in my old '64 Land-Rover, but if the bet involved enough money to cover repairs- I'd wager I could do it in my all-wheel-drive Audi...
Keep in mind this is an old RR RoW, and spikes are out there- a good spare is a good idea!
SR

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