Historic Locomotives
Central Pacific Railroad’s Jupiter and Union Pacific Railroad’s No. 119
Foil prints by artist Robert Kern, 1960s
These artworks from the Museum’s Library commemorate the two famous locomotive engines which met at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869, completing the first trans-continental railroad route in the United States. To mark the completion of the route, a ceremonial “Golden Spike” was driven into the final tie on that day.
Built between 1863 and 1869, the 1,912-mile transcontinental line extended the existing eastern railway network from Omaha, Nebraska, to Oakland, California, shortening the cross-country travel time from six months to about seven to ten days.
Jupiter, Foil print by Robert Kern
No. 119, Foil print by Robert Kern
Photograph showing the meeting of the two engines from the book Makin' Tracks: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad in the Pictures and Words of the Men Who Were There by Lynne Rhodes Mayer and Kenneth E. Vose (1975)