Spike 150: A Celebration of National Importance

Ogden, and all of Utah, is going to be crazy the couple of days surrounding May 10th. See https://spike150.org/. Ogden was once a focal point of transcontinental railroad operations, it was once said “you can’t get anywhere without coming to Ogden” as Ogden was a junction for both east-west and north-south rail lines. It resumes that role as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, the event which signaled the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. We are expecting at least 75K visitors to descend on Ogden each day during the celebration. The Union Pacific Railroad is bringing their newly restored Big Boy locomotive, the 844, and their heritage fleet to Ogden as the main attraction. On the actual date of the anniversary, the celebration moves to the Golden Spike National Historical Park https://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm, the site where the spike was actually set into place.

As many of you know I’ve been involved with the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Golden Spike Chapter for many years, so all this excitement about trains is nothing new to me and our crew of members and volunteers working on the restoration of the D&RGW narrow gauge locomotive 223. If you’re interested in finding out more you can find all the details on our web site. http://www.save223.com

So, why am I talking about this when The S4 Group is focused on retrofitting and upgrading building automation systems to make buildings more efficient and provide a cost-effective migration path to new technology? It’s because we appreciate the innovative technology of the time when the Golden Spike was driven in 1869. The transcontinental railroad helped unite the war-torn country recovering from the Civil War and made the West accessible to homesteaders, ranchers, miners, and others seeking their fortunes. Much in the same way that S4 technology helps you to unite legacy buildings with new technology and make the building owner’s life better. In addition, S4 values community service and community involvement. It’s a part of our DNA!