Have you seen the TV series Hell on Wheels? You haven’t?! Five binge-worthy seasons originally aired on AMC and as of this writing are available on Prime Video… for a small fee. It revolves around the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. A monumental and fascinating feat, the Central Pacific Railroad started near Omaha, Nebraska heading west while the Union Pacific Railroad started in Sacramento, California heading east. They met in 1869 at Promontory, Utah where a golden spike was driven to celebrate the event. Me LOVED this National Park. Every day, replicas of the actual steam locomotives are brought out on the tracks for people to see and watch move up and down the tracks.

The incredible feature of this park is that they offer the option of driving your vehicle on the very same rail beds that were built by the railroads 150 years ago using many Chinese and Irish workers. The tracks are gone but the cuts through the rocks are still there including The Last Cut made through the rock before finishing the project.

Geological features along the rail bed include the Chinese Arch so named in memorial of the many Chinese laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad.

As they came close to finishing at Promontory, a challenge was presented to lay 10 miles of track in one day. The feat was accomplished on April 28, 1869

This is the ceremonial location of the actual golden spike which is now on display in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.