In 1869, both the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies were moving full steam ahead. The competition to see who could reach Utah Territory first was over, but the race to finish the railroad wasn't. Jack Casement, one of the people in charge of construction for the Union Pacific Railroad, took pride in the fact that his crews had laid five miles of track in one day. When Charles Crocker, one of the people in charge of the Central Pacific Railroad, heard of this, he ordered his crews to work harder, and they laid six miles of track in a day. Casement heard of this and beat Crocker by having his crews lay seven and a half miles of track in a day.Eventually, it came to a point where Charles Crocker bet Thomas Durant, President of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, $10,000 that his crews could lay ten miles of track in one day. Such a feat had never been attempted, and Durant thought that he could easily make money off the bet, so he accepted.
On April 28, 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad crews got up and were at work by 7:00 AM. The crews worked as quickly as theyc ould, quicker than they ever had. The crews only got one break that day, a lunch break, then it was right back to work. Their speed was unmatched by any before them, as they averaged about a mile of track per hour. By the end of the day, the crew had laid 3,520 rails, used 55,000 spikes and 14,080 bolts, and laid a few feet more than 10 miles of track.
Although Durant lost the bet, there is no record of him ever paying Crocker. Ten miles of track in a single day was the world record at the time, and it remains the record today. The site of the completion of this amazing feat can still be visited by taking an auto tour along the old transcontinental railroad grade from Promontory Summit.
*Photo is public domain
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