Utah event celebrates Transcontinental Railroad anniversary

PROMONTORY, Utah (AP) - Music, bells and cannon fire rang out Friday at a remote spot in the Utah desert where the final spikes of the Transcontinental Railroad were hammered 150 years ago, uniting a nation long separated by vast expanses of desert, mountains and forests and fresh off the Civil War.

An estimated 20,000 people swarmed to the celebration at Golden Spike National Historic Park northwest of Salt Lake City - the signature event of several days of festivities marking the railroad's anniversary. Visitors came from as far as China, many decked out in old-fashioned dresses, top hats, bonnets and scarves.