First Transcontinental Railroad

A continuous chain of rails from the Atlantic to the Pacific, long envisioned by pioneer railroaders and frontier tamers, became a reality at 3:00 pm on August 15, 1870, at a point 928 feet east of railroad milepost 602 near Comanche Crossing. Named for a usually dry but sometimes rampaging creek, Comanche Crossing lies about 3/4 of a mile east of present day Strasburg, Colorado. Kansas Pacific Railroad crews driving west from Kansas and east from Denver spiked the last rails to give the nation its first truly continuous coast-to-coast railroad. On the final day, the crews laid a record-breaking 10 1/4 miles of track in 9 hours to win a barrel of whiskey that foremen had placed midway in the final gap.

Strasburg, Colorado · United States