The first transcontinental railroad opened for through traffic on May 10, 1869.
The ceremonial connection took place at Promontory Summit in Utah Territory, where Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks met. Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, drove the ceremonial golden spike with a silver hammer. The line connected the existing eastern rail network with the Pacific coast.
The railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 and measured about 1,911 miles. Central Pacific crews worked eastward from Sacramento, while Union Pacific crews worked westward from the Missouri River region. The famous ceremony marked the connection at Promontory, although later extensions were needed to provide a continuous rail route all the way to Oakland and San Francisco Bay.