The Golden Spike: How a Photograph Celebrated the Transcontinental Railroad

The Golden Spike: How a Photograph Celebrated the Transcontinental Railroad — page 3
Railroad workers in 1868 remove rock and soil called digging out a cut in Echo Canyon Utah After getting his shot of the workers and the ancient tree in early January Russell moved on He and his three assistants including Stephen Sedgwick a young man with a keen interest in history did their best to keep up with the railroad crews The Union Pacific’s foremen and their many workers moved along at a furious pace often laying down 4 miles 6 4 km or more of track in a day Russell and his aides had to take photos of more than the work itself They were also expected to photograph the towns and scenic wonders through which the railway line passed That required them to travel back forth and sideways along the route looking for and documenting whatever Russell thought was most significant In the 1860s taking photos especially outdoors was a slow painstaking procedure Including the processing phase taking a single shot could consume two hours or more So it was not unusual for Russell to fall behind the work crews forcing him to catch up on his way to another camera setup