[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3452-H3453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE GOLDEN SPIKE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Bishop) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on May 10, 1869, a Salt Lake paper 
wrote that the people of Utah--the great pioneers of the Rocky 
Mountains--received with acclamation the glad news of the completion of 
the mighty work to which as a people they had contributed their part; 
and hand in hand with the great circle of States and territories, now 
rejoicing in union over the event, did thank God for its 
accomplishments.
  They were referencing the Golden Spike which had been driven 
completing the first transcontinental railroad.
  That date, May 10, will forever stand as a tribute to the men of 
vision who foresaw the potential of an empire stretching from coast to 
coast in the United States, bound together not only by iron rails but 
also by a common interest.
  From the time of the Civil War when this project started until three 
or four decades later when the railroad system was completed, America 
changed. In 1860, the United States was third in the world in 
production of wheat. When the railroad was completed, we were first. In 
1860, England produced three times as much coal as the United States. 
When the railroad was complete, not only did we lead the world, we were 
producing 110 million tons of coal more

[[Page H3453]]

than Great Britain. During the Civil War, England was producing six 
times as much steel as we were, but when the railroad was complete, 42 
percent of all steel was being produced in the United States--much of 
that going to the railroad.
  During the Civil War, there were only 30,000 miles of railroad track 
in America. But when the system was complete, there was 167,000 miles 
crisscrossing this country. Today we still have more railroad track 
than any other country, 39 percent more than the number two country of 
Russia, and more than the rest of the top 10, which include in order 
China, India, Canada, Germany, Australia, Argentina, and France and 
Belgium combined, even more than nation number 139 on that list, the 
country of Lichtenstein, which has all of 5\1/2\ miles of railroad 
track.
  The railroad made our economic explosion possible. The railroad made 
us an industrial giant. Before the railroad came, it was difficult to 
move goods or even transport people. But once the spike was driven, 
that was the kick-start to what we were going to do. Now, 150 years 
later, we are celebrating the coming of the Central Pacific's Jupiter 
with the Union Pacific's Engine 119 meeting together in Utah's 
backyard. The railroads still move goods, and they also provide 
passenger service.

                              {time}  1215

  I still remember as a kid my parents taking me to the Ogden train 
depot for a trip somewhere into Idaho, probably Boise. I was in my 
Sunday best. As we went up to the observation car, I could look out and 
see the beauty of this America passing us by.
  It is an American national historical park. It is a place where the 
American story is without equal.
  In LaRue County, Kentucky, there is the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace 
National Historical Park.
  In Seneca, New York, there is the Women's Rights National Historical 
Park.
  In Ohio, you can visit the Dayton Aviation National Historical Park 
where you can walk into the bicycle shop where Orville and Wilbur 
Wright first started to conquer the skies.
  The Golden Spike National Historical Park is going to recognize in 
Promontory Summit in Utah, the place where the world changed, where not 
only was history made that day, but also the Herculean efforts of those 
who organized this, as well as the immigrant manpower of Irish coming 
from the east and Chinese from the west, who provided the muscle to 
accomplish this project.
  A national historical park is accomplished by an act of Congress, but 
the Spike 150 Commission, chaired by Doug Foxley and Spencer Stokes, 
has mobilized a literal army of history lovers who will host a series 
of events befitting this historic moment.
  It has already started with a horse parade in Brigham City, a hoedown 
in Tremonton, and a country church service on Sunday. It will also 
culminate this Friday when we invite all of you to come to Utah to see 
the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, which 
encouraged the pioneering of both the spirit and economy of America. 
When that Golden Spike was driven, America welcomed a new frontier.

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