Six years after the groundbreaking, laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. It was here on May 10, 1869, that Leland Stanford drove The Last Spike (or golden spike) that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad. The spike is now on display at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, while a second "Last '' Golden Spike is also on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. In perhaps the world 's first live mass - media event, the hammers and spike were wired to the telegraph line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide -- the hammer strokes were missed, so the clicks were sent by the telegraph operator. As soon as the ceremonial "Last Spike '' had been replaced by an ordinary iron spike, a message was transmitted to both the East Coast and West Coast that simply read, "DONE. '' Travel from coast to coast was reduced from six months or more to just one week.
where did the east and west railroads meet
at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory