Golden Spike Cultural Landscape Report

Circulation

The principal contributing landscape features associated with this historic landscape are related to circulation. Of primary importance are the parallel grades of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads. While the grades were under construction, the two companies moved supplies forward by rail car along completed segments towards the end of the tracks. In the first 6-9 months after the joining of the rails at the Last Spike Site, the grades incorporated into the transcontinental route consist generally of the CP grade to the west of Promontory and the UP grade to the east of Promontory. However, within a year, contractual agreements between the two companies had resulted in the CP assuming responsibility for the segment of railroad between Promontory and the new transfer point at Ogden. One of the consequences of this contractual agreement was that the CP abandoned the section of the UP's grade that included the Big Trestle — a notoriously unstable structure. Instead, the CP rerouted the line over its own adjacent Big Fill (see Figure 16). For the next 36 years, all transcontinental railroad traffic funneled through Promontory Pass over the CP- and UP-constructed grades. The on-line grade received routine maintenance, while the parallel and now surplus grades were left unfinished and allowed to deteriorate.

After completion of the Lucin Cutoff, the segment of the transcontinental line eliminated by the cutoff was referred to as the Promontory Branch. It continued to function as a local, mixed use line for both freight and passenger traffic, and as an alternative route when the Lucin Cutoff was impassable due to storms or maintenance. As such, after 1904, the Promontory Branch received less attention in terms of maintenance and upgrading than the transcontinental line. However, it would continue to serve local traffic until 1942, when the Southern Pacific Company received permission to retire the line and salvage the rails for reuse at various national defense project sites. The current condition of the two grades reflects this construction history.

Portions of the original transcontinental line on the west and east slopes, have been rehabilitated for use as a vehicular route. "Rehabilitation" has consisted simply of the application of gravel to the grade surface in order to decrease wear and erosion from vehicles. The flat surface of the grade maintains a fairly standard width of between 12 and 16 feet, while the base of the grade prism varies widely depending upon the character of the underlying landform. Wider portions of the grade are believed to be the locations of former sidings, used for passing trains. Although the transcontinental line has been adapted for a new use, neither the alignment nor the physical dimensions of the grade have been altered.

Conversely, the segments of surplus parallel grades appear in some areas as archaeological sites. This condition reflects the fact that some parts of it were never finished (the Union Pacific grade on the west slope), and that one of the segments that was finished, was used only for a short period of time (the Union Pacific grade on the east slope). In some areas, mostly the level areas in the Promontory Summit basin, erosion and sedimentation has obscured the grade. On the east slope, shrubby vegetation has encroached on the grade making it difficult to distinguish and threatening its integrity.

In addition to the railroad grades, the landscape contains other features associated with circulation, most notably early supply roads (later used as ranch roads) that intersect, and in some places parallel, the railroad grade. Because of the delays incurred by the cut and fill projects in the rugged Promontory Mountains, only a few portions of the rail line could be used for moving supplies to the end of construction. Wagons were used to haul supplies beyond the end of the tracks to the workers along the grade and in the nearby camps. As a general rule, wagon supply roads were established in the immediate vicinity of the railroad grade during construction, to allow for the movement of supplies as well as the periodic maintenance of both the railroad and the telegraph line. However, this was not done on the west and east slopes of the Promontory Mountains, where the rugged terrain and the corresponding high costs of materials and labor prohibited the establishment of a service route alongside the grade. Along this portion of the route, the access "roads" simply crisscrossed throughout the surrounding landscape and accessed the grade at a number of different points (Figure 42). Within the more level summit basin, a wagon road did parallel the south side of the railroad grade. As indicated previously, this road was in place by the time that the township was surveyed in 1885; it likely existed much earlier, since it appears to have connected the town of Corinne with the railroad station at Promontory (Figure 43).

Figure 42. Photograph of the UP's Big Trestle and surrounding area showing the access tracks through the sagebrush. Source: A.J. Russell photograph, 1869.

Figure 43. Copy of a portion of the 1886 GLO survey plat of T10N, R6W. Source: BLM, Salt Lake City, UT.

Summary

Circulation is an extremely important landscape characteristic for Golden Spike NHS. The transcontinental railroad is itself a circulation system. Part of the history and character of this resource is the fact that completed segments served to facilitate the completion of other segments under construction. Thus, "circulation" is important not only for the period after completion of the transcontinental line, but as part of the process of construction. For this landscape characteristic, contributing landscape features include the transcontinental railroad grade (later known as the Promontory Branch) and the parallel "surplus" grade. (Figures 44 through 46). Included in this contributing category are the segments of track reconstructed by the park service over the original grade alignments. Noncontributing landscape features under this general characteristic include the pedestrian and vehicular access systems (including the visitor center parking area and auto tour pull-outs) designed and constructed by the National Park Service. The county access road that provides access to park headquarters also would be counted as a noncontributing feature.

Figure 44. View to the east of the parallel grades of the CP (left) and the UP (right), east slope. The UP grade was abandoned in 1870. Source: HRA 2000.

Figure 45. View to the west of the parallel grade of the CP (right) and the UP (left), west slope. Unfinished UP grade shows stair-step cut. Source: HRA 2000.

Figure 46. View to the east along the reconstructed tracks near the Last Spike Site. Main line is to left, reconstructed UP siding to right. Source: HRA 2000.