<P> Six years after the groundbreaking , laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit , Utah Territory . It was here on May 10 , 1869 , that Leland Stanford drove The Last Spike ( or golden spike ) that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad . The spike is now on display at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University , while a second `` Last '' Golden Spike is also on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento . In perhaps the world 's first live mass - media event , the hammers and spike were wired to the telegraph line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide -- the hammer strokes were missed , so the clicks were sent by the telegraph operator . As soon as the ceremonial `` Last Spike '' had been replaced by an ordinary iron spike , a message was transmitted to both the East Coast and West Coast that simply read , `` DONE . '' Travel from coast to coast was reduced from six months or more to just one week . </P>
<P> Six years after the groundbreaking , laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit , Utah Territory . It was here on May 10 , 1869 , that Leland Stanford drove The Last Spike ( or golden spike ) that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad . The spike is now on display at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University , while a second `` Last '' Golden Spike is also on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento . In perhaps the world 's first live mass - media event , the hammers and spike were wired to the telegraph line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide -- the hammer strokes were missed , so the clicks were sent by the telegraph operator . As soon as the ceremonial `` Last Spike '' had been replaced by an ordinary iron spike , a message was transmitted to both the East Coast and West Coast that simply read , `` DONE . '' Travel from coast to coast was reduced from six months or more to just one week . </P>
where did the east and west railroads meet
where did the east and west railroads meet
at Promontory Summit , Utah Territory
at Promontory Summit , Utah Territory