Corinne in Box Elder County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Locomotives of Golden Spike - Jupiter

The Locomotives of Golden Spike - <i>Jupiter</i> Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 27, 2014

1. The Locomotives of Golden Spike - Jupiter Marker

Captions: (left, center) The Central Pacific Jupiter and Governor Leland Stanford’s special train at Monument Point, Utah Territory, about 30 miles west of Promontory Summit. Alfred A. Hart, the official photographer for the Central Pacific Railroad, probably took this picture the day before the May 10th ceremonies. The Great Salt Lake is in the background. The telegraph (pole in the background (sic, foreground)) made communication between end of track construction and railroad headquarters possible.; (bottom left) The Central Pacific Jupiter and tender at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, after the last spike ceremony. Members of the 21st Infantry regimental band pose by the locomotive. Alfred A. Hart, photographer, titled this picture, “Monarch from the West.”; (right, center) Numerous patterns fro the locomotive’s parts, such as the valve gear, driving wheels, tender and lead truck wheels, were created by O’Connor Engineering Laboratories. Wooden patterns were used to make sand molds into which molten metal was poured to create each casting.; (bottom right) Central Pacific Jupiter Principal Dimensions. Click on this image to enlarge it a read the chart.

Inscription. ”More representative American locomotives of the period would be difficult to find. Both the Jupiter and 119 were of the eight wheel or 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. This style of engine was so common in the United States that it was called the American type locomotive. Introduced in 1836 it was a standard form of locomotive by the 1840’s and maintained its leading position well into the 1880s.” (John H. White, Jr., Trains magazine, May 1969)

Life of a Locomotive
In 1868, Schenectady Locomotive Works in New York built the Jupiter for the Central Pacific Railroad. Steaming her way into history, the Jupiter hauled Central Pacific President Leland Stanford’ special train to Promontory Summit for the joining of the rails. The Jupiter remained in service until the turn of the 20th century when, outmoded and unheralded, she was scrapped for the standard fee of $1,000.

Return to Promontory
Building an operating steam locomotive in the mid-1970’s meant recreating the technology of a bygone era. O’Connor Engineering Laboratories of Costa Mesa, California took on the sizeable task of constructing working replicas of the original Jupiter and No.119. In 1979, after four years of work and with every dimension within 1/4 inch of the original,

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the Jupiter and No.119 “returned” to Promontory. Today, these magnificent machines are a tangible to the legacy of the first transcontinental railroad that tied the nation together economically and geographically.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1836.

Location. 41° 37.076′ N, 112° 33.105′ W. Marker is in Corinne, Utah, in Box Elder County. It can be reached from Golden Spike Road (22000 West Road) near 6400 North Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Corinne UT 84307, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Utah’s Cache Valley

and in the West Desert.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in Colorado Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: September 8, 1942 (a few steps from this marker); May 10, 1869 (a few steps from this marker); The Locomotives of Golden Spike - No. 119 (a few steps from this marker); September 1869 (within shouting distance of this marker); May 9, 1869 (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named September 1869 (within shouting distance of this marker); Competition 1869 (within shouting distance of this marker); Last Spike Driven (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Corinne.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 27, 2014

2. The Locomotives of Golden Spike - Jupiter Marker

The marker is located beside the viewing stand.