Transcontinental railroad celebrates 150 years

Some of the first Chinese immigrants to the United States earned a special place of honor at the May 10 celebrations in Promontory Summit, Utah, marking the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

More than 12,000 Chinese workers helped build the 912-mile (1,467-km) railroad linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The final spike, a gold one, was driven at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.

The Chinese laborers employed on the critical construction endured harsh working and living conditions. They also blasted and chiseled 15 tunnels through the hard granite of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Hundreds died.