Andrew J. Russell

A high cliff standing in an isolated position, commanding from its top an extensive view up and down the river. This rock is nearly three hundred feet in height and is a well-known landmark to the emigrants who have in former times passed this way.

  

A recently completed rail trestle at Promontory, Utah

 

Skull Rock, Wyoming. The name of this rock is derived from the peculiar 

formation of the boulders lying at its base. It is situated three miles 

south of the railroad, in the mining district of Dale Creek Canyon.

  

The standpoint for this view is nearly two thousand feet above the 

railroad, which can be seen winding through the bottom lands three miles 

away. Farther off can be seen the dim outline of Green River City, Utah.

 

U.S. Senator James Patterson (New Hampshire) 

and party on the Devil’s Gate Bridge

 

Source: The Atlantic

Andrew J. Russell

In the late 1860s, photographer Andrew J. Russell traveled west to document the construction of the Union Pacific Railway in Wyoming and Utah, including the famous “golden spike” moment on May 10, 1869, when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads were joined in Promontory, Utah, creating the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Russell captured images of the railway construction as well as the wide-open landscape of the American West and its inhabitants.

A gathering of Shoshone Indians

 

East and West shaking hands at laying last rail. The ceremony took place on May 10, 1869, 

marking the placement of the “golden spike” at Promontory Summit, Utah.

 

Members of the Rocky Mountain Glee Club, 1864-1869

 

Mormon Family, Great Salt Lake Valley. The man is surrounded by 

his family of wives and children, enjoying the noonday rest.

 

Officers of the Union Pacific Railroad at the laying of 

the last rail at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869

 

Source: The Atlantic