For anyone interested in the history of America’s first transcontinental railroad, Golden Spike National Historic Site is the place to delve into the West’s greatest engineering achievement.

Located 32 miles west of Brigham City, in the desert region of Promontory, the Golden Spike marks the place where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads linked on May 10, 1869. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the railroad made Promontory important. By 1904, however, another section of easy-grade track had been completed at Ogden, taking that city closer to the commercial center of Salt Lake City. Many of the small railroad communities soon tapered off and, by 1940, the land along the tracks returned to parched desert and Promontory’s glory days passed into history.

Every May 10, the Golden Spike Anniversary commemorates the historic event, including two steam engine replicas in the ceremony.

In August, during the Railroaders Festival, the smell of burning cinders fills the air as two reproduction steam engines race along the tracks to meet head-to-head at the Golden Spike.