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Walk
Through History
During the first months of 1869, the valley to
the east of the Promontory Mountains was filled
with construction camps of the Union Pacific and
Central Pacific Railroads. Many of these camps
became short-lived "Hell-on- Wheels" towns with
names like Deadfall, Last Chance, and
Junction City. Today, virtually nothing
remains of these construction camps, however, the
workers' legacy of a hand built railroad has been
preserved.
Not since tunneling through the Sierra
Nevada Mountains had the Central Pacific confronted
such hard work. Likewise, the eastern approach to
the Promontory Mountains was some of the most
difficult construction faced by the Union Pacific
crews.
Workers encountered tough limestone rock,
through which several large cuts had to be blasted.
Crews also faced deep ravines that had to be filled
or bridged. Because of the great railroad
construction race across Utah, the eastern slope of
the Promontory Mountains became one of the steepest
grades on the entire transcontinental route. In
addition to the cuts, fills, trestles, and steep
grades, this route also featured several extremely
sharp curves.
Hiking the 1 1/2 mile loop trail will
allow you to see first-hand some of the railroad's
most difficult hand-hewn achievements, including
the Central Pacific's Big Fill and the site of the
Union Pacific's Big Trestle.
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