The Last Cut

By April of 1869, the Union Pacific was working its Mormon and Irish labor forces day and night to meet the scheduled deadline for completion of the railroad. The last cut made along the transcontinental route was necessary to maintain a smooth and steady grade and to stay within the 2 percent maximum rise, 106 feet per mile, mandated by the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. Excess rock left from excavation was neatly stacked with the largest rocks on the bottom to stabilize the rock pile and keep debris out of the cut. Excavated materials like these were often used as fill to build up the adjacent grade along the route.

Howell, Utah · United States