Videos

Travel back in time to the moment when the dream of trains travelling across America became a reality-and witness the hardships endured to make this dream come true. In the 1860's America was a divided nation. The Civil War tore the country's spirit apart, and mountains, deserts and wild rivers divided the country geographically. At a time when the nation desperately needed a symbol of unity, Congress authorized the building of a railroad that would make the country one. The Union Pacific built from the East. The Central Pacific built from the West. It was one of the most extraordinary events the country had ever seen. Construction crews built across hundreds of miles of desert, pushed into mountians as high as 8,000 feet and crossed one river alone 31 times. The Iron Road recounts the six years of harsh labor, searing heat, Indian attacks, and frountier lawlessness that railroad men endured in their quest to build America's first transcontinental railroad. Currently Not Available

You're part of history, Charlie Brown! Get a Peanuts view of history when Charlie Brown tells the story of America's first transcontinental railroad! Of course, no one can tell the tale like Charlie Brown, but here's some background information. The task of building the iron horse's route falls on two companies. The Union Pacific Railroad works westward across the plains. The Central Pacific moves eastward across imposing mountians. The work proceeds at a feverish pace, exacting a huge economic and human toll - but in 1869, the two lines meet. Now America truly does stretch from sea to shining sea! All that remains is to drive the golden spike that marks the railway's completion. Are you ready, Snoopy? For Children of all ages. This episode is one of eight included on a two-disc dvd set. DVD/Color/194 minutes - $19.99

Witness the exciting story of the spanning of a continent by the Union Pacific Railroads. From Omaha in the Nebraska Territory and Sacramento in California, these two railroads raced relentlessly in oppposite directions to join at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869. This reenactment documents the many hazards faced by the laborers during the prolonged construction across prairies and mountains. With the driving of the last spike of the transcontinental railroad, the end of the frontier and the nation's rise to an industrial power was eminent. DVD includes special features: Historic site photos slide show and Film restoration overview. DVD/20 minutes - $16.95

This film tells the story behind the precious legacy of one man, whose work provides historians an accurate glimpse of the West as it was 125 years ago. Andrew J. Russell was born on March 20, 1829 in Walpole, New Hampshire. He grew up in New York, where his family worked in canal and railroad construction. Originally a painter, as an army captian during the Civil War he was assigned special duty as photographer for the United States Military Railroad. After the war, Russell became facinated with the national project of constructing a transcontinental railroad. During 1868 and 1869, his camera recorded the incredible progress of the Union Pacific Railroad building west from Laramie to Promontory Summit. Covering the May 10, 1869 "Wedding of the Rails" for Frank Leslie's Illustrated, Russell made a series of photographs which included one of the most famous images in American history. Well aware of the importance of the event, he wrote: "The great railroad problem of the age is now solved. The continental iron band now permanently unites the distant portions of the Republic and opens up to commerce, navigation, and enterprise the vast unpeopled plains and lofty mountain ranges that divide the East from the West." Currently Not Available

The driving of the Golden Spike on May 10, 1869, at Promontory, Utah, was truly a momentous occasion. East and West were now joined by bands of iron, in a ceremony that touched off parades and celebrations all across the country. Amidst the lonely, desolate landscape of Promontory, the trains which carried dignitaries to the ceremony stood out as symbols of industrial progress. With their brilliant, finely detailed finishes and polished brass and metal surfaces, the locomotives especially have gained permanent places in America's heritage; Central Pacific Railroad's Jupiter and Union Pacific's No. 119. In 1975, the O'Connor Engineering Laboratories of Costa Mesa, California, was contracted by the National Park Service to replicate these two locomotives as precisely as possible, using drawings and in many instances only photographs as guides. Forgotten forms of craftmanship were relearned as parts were cast, machined, crafted, and assembled, then the appropriate finishes had to be lovingly applied to make the engines sparkle. The challenge was immense, the results truly fantastic: today, these locomotives operate daily through the summer at Golden Spike NHS. Currently Not Available