Promontory Point

In the spring of 1869, the Central Pacific was building east, the Union Pacific was building west, and I guess it was pretty clear they were going to meet somewhere in northern Utah. They both had built railroad grade well past the other - creating parallel roadbed for 250 miles from Wells, Nevada, to Echo Summit, Utah. Each was laying track as fast on the new roadbed as it could. On May 10th, they connected their track work at the summit north of Promontory Point, completing the first transcontinental railroad in North America.

I had been more focused on getting out to the Spiral Jetty, so we didn't spend much time at the Golden Spike Historic Site. We did catch the tail end of a staged reenactment of the ceremony, although I wish they could have had the whole scene recreated, including the face to face steam locomotives. But they keep those safely tucked away in a nearby engine house -- I suspect they still bring them out for special occasions.

The twin rail grades wind down the hill to the east. Neither has any track as the railroad long ago shifted its route farther south, skirting the southern tip of Promontory Point, and across the Great Salt Lake itself. But the 19th century hand-built grades present a technological contrast to the massive Orbital ATK Aerospace complex, which sprawls across the desert mountainside above the old railroad

I guess this is where they test rocket engines and other propulsion systems. Orbital ATK, which was just acquired by Northrop Grumman, builds rockets, missiles, satellite components, and apparently an awful lot of regular ammunition, too. Sort of your ultimate arms merchant - defense contractor. Unfortunately, I don't have any shots of their complex and the old railroad lines running by it, but the facility shows up well on Google Earth - the railroad a little less so.