Thursday, June 08, 2006

"Last Spike" Foundry name

From: "Donald Gordon" dgordon@macnexus.org

Just a quick note to correct some information on your site concerning the foundry that made the last spike. It is refered to as "William T. Garret." The correct spelling should be GARRATT. It is referenced in a number of directories, including the Sacramento Directory of 1853-54, on page 148.

—Don Gordon

Dollars per mile of track

How much money did the government pay the railroads for each mile of track laid?

—D.L., Dimmitt Middle School

Happy Rails - 12 guys in the desert

From: "Chris Graves" caliron@att.net

Thank You all for sharing our recent Nevada experience; your accompanying Chuck Sweet, Bob Chugg and I is sincerely appreciated!

For those that have an interest, here is a list of those [who travelled] just to get hot, dusty and dirty, chasing history:

Jack Bower, Auburn, Cal., retired electrical contractor
Chuck Clark, Auburn, Cal., retired electrical contractor
Peter Wade, Sacramento, Cal. P E, Calif. Dept. of Water Resources
Tony Carpenter, Sacramento, Cal. P E, Calif. Dept. of Water Resources
Bill Anderson, Folsom, Cal. retired CalTrans, now Pres't. Folsom, El Dorado, Sacramento Historical Railroad Ass'n
Shen-Chih Cheng (Sam), Cerritos, Cal. photographer, and OUR OFFICIAL PHOTO GUY!
Dave Turner, Las Vegas, Nev., printer
Rob't Chugg, Ogden, Utah retired Park Ranger, Golden Spike Nat'l Park Service
Chuck Sweet. Ogden, Utah
Gene Luevano, Los Angeles, US Dept. of Home Land Security, Railroad Protection Section
Lou Henkel, Okemos, Mich. retired (this is the wild man that drove non-stop from Nebraska to Wells, Nev., to join the fray)

... Again, THANK YOU for joining us, it was a grand tour, and a super grand group. ...

—G J Chris Graves, NewCastle, AltaCal'a


Twelve guys in the Nevada desert, June, 2006.