Transportation
19
As western settlement increased, various groups voiced the need for an overland railroad, including Utah pioneers who petitioned Congress in Mar. 1852. The Enabling Act of 1862 authorized construction. The first rails were laid by Central Pacific in Sacramento, Cal. on Oct. 26, 1863, and by Union Pacific near Omaha, Neb. on July 10, 1865. Strong and determined men hewed the iron road to complete a gigantic task that ended with the driving of the Golden Spike at Promotory, Utah on May 10, 1869. In lieu of cash settlement on his contract, Brigham Young accepted as partial payment from Union Pacific $600,000 in iron and rolling stock, with which Utah Central Railroad was built from Ogden to Salt Lake City and dedicated on Jan. 10, 1870.
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Salt Lake City, Utah · United States
