May 10 2019 - Sesquicentennial of the Transcontinental Railroad's Golden Spike

What was it the Engines said,
Pilots touching,--head to head
Facing on the single track,
Half a world behind each back?

From Opening of the Pacific Railroad by Francis Bret Harte

Today marks 150 years since the "wedding of the rails" when the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad were officially joined at Promontory Summit in Utah. At exactly 12:47 pm, the last iron spike was driven, finally completing the line. It was an event that marked a new era in long-distance overland travel. It is also the event that helped draw me to model early American railroads.

As a kid, I had a recording of Ludovic Kennedy's documentary Coast to Coast, which featured a short re-enactment sequence with the two replica locomotives at Promontory Summit. Apart from Disney's the Great Locomotive Chase, this was the only footage I had of trains from this era, so I watched and rewatched this sequence many times over. Even though it's old, I still get a kick from watching this again.

The words inscribed on the fourth side of the spike, May God continue the unity of our Country, as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world, were fitting for the occasion. The concept of the overland railroad had been debated by congress and explored for many years. But, when Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, America was embroiled in the Civil War. Establishing a reliable overland link was seen as an important move to strengthen the Union's ties with the western states, particularly California, which was struggling with the idea of secession.

If you are keen to find out a bit more about the Golden Spike and the famous locomotives, I recommend you watch the following videos from ToyManTelevision's channel on YouTube. I have also included a link to the original documentary about how they built the replica locomotives that reside at Promontory today. Enjoy them if you watch.

John Ott's locomotive art prints

A month or so back I ordered two of John Ott's locomotive art prints that he has for sale on his early rail website http://www.ottgalleries.com/. The prints are in the style of the lithographs produced by locomotive builders in the mid 19th century.

When I enquired about purchasing the prints, I found that John has been very busy indeed and has completed many more prints than he has listed on his website, including a new version of the Central Pacific's Jupiter 4-4-0.

The new version is a likely colour scheme based on the latest research. As much as I like the Jupiter's blue colour scheme displayed on the replica at Promontory presently, I felt that if I was going to hang something on my wall I wanted it to be as authentic as possible. So I ordered a print of the Jupiter with her likely colour scheme. I also ordered a print of the 119. Both engines captivated my imagination as a young boy and are largely responsible for my interest in early railroads.

John Ott's prints of the Jupiter and the 119 hang on the wall along with a golden spike. (Unfortunately not real gold).

John was very helpful and shipped the two prints very promptly all the way to New Zealand. The prints spent some time with the local picture framers and I now have them back ready to go on the wall.

John has really put an incredible amount of research and detail into these prints. If you are a fan of early railroads, you won't be disappointed with these prints. They are fantastic and my kids think they are great too. Hopefully, they inspire another generation of early rail modellers.