page_title: Golden spike
hierarchical_section_title: Golden spike
caption_attribution_description: English: The original Golden Spike used to connect the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways in 1869 near Ogden, Utah. This spike was driven in by Leland Stanford and is on display at the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University.
context_page_description: The golden spike is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The term last spike has been used to refer to one driven at the usually ceremonial completion of any new railroad construction projects, particularly those in which construction is undertaken from two disparate origins towards a common meeting point. The spike is now displayed in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
context_section_description: The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The term last spike has been used to refer to one driven at the usually ceremonial completion of any new railroad construction projects, particularly those in which construction is undertaken from two disparate origins towards a common meeting point. The spike is now displayed in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.
caption: The original "golden spike", on display at the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.6 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2012:10:07 17:23:01", "Image Artist": "William E Jennings", "Image Copyright": "(c) 2009 William E Jennings (JenningsFotos.Com)", "Image ExifOffset": "308", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "918", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7527", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "12800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:10:07 16:15:44", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:10:07 16:15:44", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1040241/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "49/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "28", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "55", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "55", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5616000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1872000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "720302255", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 105, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM"}