This left the bridge unsafe for the heavy engine, and the engineer refused to cross. When the Durant Special reached the river at the Devil’s Gate Bridge, the locomotive’s engineer saw the raging water had removed some of the bridge supports. While Durant was delayed, the rain-swollen Weber River continued to rise. The delay caused Durant substantial embarrassment, cost his original locomotive her place in history, and moved the Golden Spike Ceremony to May 10. There to greet Durant were over 400 laid off tie cutters, who had been waiting three months to be paid.ĭurant’s coach was immediately chained to the siding and after a delay of nearly two days, the men’s pay arrived. Like Stanford, Durant originally chose a different locomotive to take part in the Golden Spike Ceremony.Įn route to Promontory for the ceremony, which was scheduled for May 8, the Durant Special was forced onto a siding and stopped at the little town of Piedmont, Wyoming, not far from the Utah border. 119 received the call to pull Union Pacific Vice-President, Thomas Durant, and his contingent of dignitaries to Promontory Summit. Her sale brought the railroad a scrapper’s fee of $1,000.ĭuring November 1868, Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey, built Union Pacific locomotives No. The locomotive that had once been the proud Jupiter, ran on the Globe until the early 1900’s when, despite efforts of her last engineer to save her, the railroad sold their historic locomotive to scrappers. There she had a loyal following and only one more change awaited “Ol’ One Spot.” Being the first locomotive on their railroad, the GVG&N renamed her No. 1195 was sold later that same year to the Gila Valley, Globe, and Northern Railroad in Arizona. 1195 was converted into a coal burning locomotive. Even her pilot, which had vertical slats, was replaced with one having horizontal slats. The name change was accompanied by even greater changes such as a new boiler and new bonnet. The Jupiter name was dropped in the 1870’s when the locomotive was repainted. In 1885, Central Pacific was absorbed into the Southern Pacific Railroad system. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.After her glorious moment in 1869, Jupiter continued service as a Central Pacific passenger locomotive. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.Īll postage stamps are available for purchase at Post Offices locations, online at and by toll-free phone order at 1-800 STAMP-24. The Transcontinental Railroad stamps are being issued as Forever stamps. 119 locomotives that powered the trains carrying the officers and guests of the two train companies to the “Golden Spike Ceremony.” Centered between them, a third stamp portrays the famous golden spike that was a prominent part of the ceremony. Two separate stamps feature the Jupiter and the No. Reminiscent of traditional 19th century oil painting techniques, the three distinct designs of the Transcontinental Railroad Forever stamps evoke the spirit of the era. Many crews of Mormon workers helped make the final push across Utah. The workforce, totaling more than 20,000 at its peak, also included immigrants from many nations - Germany, Italy, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Poland and others - as well as African-Americans and former Civil War soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies. The completion was marked by the “Golden Spike Ceremony,” held on May 10, 1869, when rail lines built by the Central Pacific from the west and the Union Pacific from the east were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah.Ī large immigrant labor force - including a majority of Chinese and Irish laborers - carried out most of the backbreaking and often dangerous work that made the achievement possible. Postal ServiceĮvent parking is available through the Spike 150 Foundation website.ĭedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to rsvp at: /transcontinentalrailroad.īuilding the transcontinental railroad during the 1860s was one of the great achievements of the era. Mike Mirides, Salt Lake City District Manager, U.S. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #RailroadStamps. The first-day-of-issue event for the Transcontinental Railroad Forever stamp is free and open to the public. Postal Service will commemorate this 19th century marvel with a magnificent set of Forever stamps. Marking the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the U.S. Postal Service Celebrates 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad
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