Most of us have heard the story of the Golden Spike. The last spike of the Transcontinental Railroad was driven on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit in Utah. This joined the railheads of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads.

But, was this the final link in the Transcontinental Railroad?

When the two railheads joined, it was then possible to take a train from Omaha to Sacramento. Two links still had to be made to make it a true Transcontinental Railroad.

I scanned a couple stamps about railroad history from my Stamp Collection.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the 1944 stamp that commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad. Perhaps I need to find one and add it to my old collection.

So, where were the two missing links? The missing links were two bridges. One of them crossed the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska and the other was in California and was needed to connect Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay.

The bridge across the Missouri was not completed until 1873, but by that time there was another alternate route on the Kansas Pacific that allowed a train to go from coast to coast on the same rails.

The missing link in California was the Mossdale Bridge that crossed the San Joaquin River. The bridge had been delayed and was not completed until September 1869 about four months after the final spike was driven at Promontory Summit.

In Omaha the railheads were only separated by the Missouri River, but in California the railhead was in Sacramento until the completion of the Mossdale Bridge.

The Mossdale Bridge is vertical lift drawbridge and is a beautiful structure. I have stopped to take pictures there several times as it is not far from where I live.

Whether it is a clear day or a foggy day, the bridge is still beautiful. Someday I hope to catch a picture with a nice sunset. However, the bridge is not on the way home from work. It is in the opposite direction and the route to it has heavy traffic. Perhaps someday.

Steven