Auburn Great Race Celebration
Francisco Castillo, Director of Public Affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, will present a commemorative Golden Spike during the Auburn City Council meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, July 9, 2018. A custom panel highlighting Auburn’s railroad connection will also be gifted to the city for display.
Central Pacific Railroad reached Auburn on May 13, 1865. Its arrival created a whole new section of the community. Due to the area's geography, the railroad was placed about a mile east of the major settlement at the time, Wood's Dry Digging. The city expanded eastward and began to merge with the older part of town and a new railroad depot.
Over a two-year period beginning in 1909, the Southern Pacific — which had merged Central Pacific into its system in 1870 — double-tracked the area in Auburn, creating an eastbound line and a westbound line. A major trestle was constructed, which now passes over Interstate 80 and has become one of Auburn's most recognizable symbols.