Historical reports say it was a well-orchestrated endeavor. Thousands of men and horses, wagons and equipment were used to place wooden ties, lay the rail, then hammer it in with spikes.

Only a handful of local and out-of-state workers, and a few big machines are used to lay track for commuter rail. Meyer says that a crane is used to pick up the concrete ties, place them, and then pick up the rail. Metal clips are used to connect the rail to the ties.

After the tracks are pieced together, a lightweight, angular rock known as ballast is spread on the top of the rail. A machine then grabs the rail and pushes it up on top of the ballast. The ballast keeps the rail in place, and also limits how much it can expand due to heat, said Meyer.

Ron Wilson, a locomotive engineer for the Golden Spike National Historic Site, said that the iron rail used on the transcontinental railroad was "more susceptible to heat and cold" than the steel rail used today. It would expand in the heat, and then the track would lift off the ground, causing derailments.

Also, the iron rail had a tendency to "peel back like a banana" when something heavy ran over the top of it. It wasn't safe, he said, but was used because it was American-made. The states had yet to refine steel as well as Europe did, and the bill authorizing the transcontinental railroad required that American materials be used.

"They knew when it was going down that it was not right," Wilson said.

But, said Guisto, the railroad itself left a lasting legacy that changed how Americans moved across country. And the 10-mile record still stirs admiration.

"It was just an amazing feat," said Guisto.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com