High in the Utah desert in 1869, a ceremonial golden spike marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. On the 150th anniversary of this feat, Ed speaks with a National Park Service ranger, a poet, a descendant of a Chinese American railroad builder, and a Native American tribal leader. Together, they paint a portrait of technological triumph—and its human and environmental costs.
Transcontinental
Ed Ayers visits the site where the transcontinental railroad was completed. He considers the project's human costs, and discovers how the environment and photography played key roles on the rails.