The Golden Spike Ceremony celebrating the joining of the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railways at Promontory Summit, Utah, May 10, 1869.

The most famous photograph associated with the first transcontinental railroad is Andrew J. Russell’s “East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of Last Rail.” Also known as  “The Champagne Photo,” it was one of many glassplate exposures taken of the ceremony by three photographers who were present at the Golden Spike Ceremony. To see who is in the photograph go to https://www.nps.gov/gosp/learn/historyculture/a-moment-in-time.htm