Some people just don't know their history

[Clutch Cargo]

At the Ceremony, Senator Leeland Stanford of California representing the Central Pacific drove the Gold Spike,and missed at his first swing, to the delight of the workers present, and the Nation.(The spike was wired directly to the telegraph.)..:-)
Two spikes, one solid gold one solid silver in a pre-drilled Laurel tie
Niether one was plated.

the silver one is at stanford.(He had HUGE inteests in the Central Pacific and the Comstock Lode). I can`t remember where the Gold one is.

Of course they were all drunk......Thomas Durrant had just been released from being kidnaped by Get`em Youngs thugs on the way to the ceremony. :-)

once the UP paid the wages due to the Mormon boys they let him go.
the final spike was scheduled to be driven on May 8th 1869.
However due to the kidnaping it was postponed to May 10th. :-)

The workers were all out of a job the next day....

Drunk.............I sure hope they all were. It was an impossible job.
......Well Done Boys!!


Kurt

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

Actually, it was only gold plated. Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? It wouldn't be very useful as a spike, that's for sure.

I believe it was gold, and not just gold plated. There was a hole prepared in the tie for the spike and the spike was just gently tapped into it. There were also a couple other spikes used in the ceremony, and one of these was plated, but the one engraved "Last Spike" was gold. After these spikes were driven the spikes and tie were removed and replaced by a regular tie and spikes. The last of these iron spikes was the one wired up to the telegraph line to announce the completion.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Junctionfan

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

Actually, it was only gold plated. Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? It wouldn't be very useful as a spike, that's for sure.

Some would have stole it, go to Vegas for the booze, women and Black Jack.[:D]

Awww, forget the booze and the black jack. [;)] [:D] [8D]

[Anonymous]

This is what happens when revisionist histories are all that are available in the public schools. Some go so far as to minimize the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King under the theory that impersonal forces determine outcomes, not people. (You can imagine the embarrassment caused by the like of James J. Hill.)

The children of the future will never have heard of land grants, homesteading, land-grant universities or the Credit Mobilier, but they will have Marilyn Monroe's filmography down cold.

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

Actually, it was only gold plated. Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? It wouldn't be very useful as a spike, that's for sure.

Some would have stole it, go to Vegas for the booze, women and Black Jack.[:D]

[Anonymous]

Waaddda ya mean "They don't know who it was..."

Wait... are we speaking about the same RR?

[Train Guy 3]

Wait a minute. [:O] We built a railroad across the country? Was this recently?[%-)]

[Modelcar]

.....The word that is posted above of a track worker driving the spike is the story I've read somewhere in history....The officals probably were too drunk to even see the spike....But all seriousness, in thinking of the younger generations not knowing of the golden spike, etc....I'd say many of what ever generations don't even know what railroads ARE.....Probably if asked about railroads purpose now, there would just be a puzzled look on their faces....

[bobwilcox]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? ..

It is on display at Stanford University.

[espeefoamer]

It was an unknown track worker. Several of the officials tried to drive in the spike,but they all missed. So someone was pulled off the track gang to do the job.

[Anonymous]

And who was the man that did it?

Don't use google, now...

[adrianspeeder]

Doesn't suprise me, but aren't you a little wound up over a trivia fact?

I figure if we know it, thats all that matters.

Adrianspeeder

[DrummingTrainfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CopCarSS

Actually, it was only gold plated. Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? It wouldn't be very useful as a spike, that's for sure.

As true as that is it's still saddening. What's next? People not knowing the first transcontinental railroad...the first RR in America? Even though it is trains it is also American history that everyone should know.

[CopCarSS]

Actually, it was only gold plated. Do you know what would have happened to a spike made out of gold? It wouldn't be very useful as a spike, that's for sure.

[SchemerBob]

I was watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" repeats on GSN a few nights ago and a woman got to an $8000 question that was, "What was the last spike driven on the Trancontinential Railroad made out of?" And you know what, THIS PERSON DIDN'T KNOW! She called her dad and HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!! Then she asked the audience and like 80% said that the spike was made out of gold. DUH!!

I know that not everyone knows everything about trains, but that is, or, at least SHOULD be in every history book! That question was so easy it just made you sick that she didn't know it!