SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- For Cheryl Marcell, president and CEO of California State Railroad Museum Foundation, the First Transcontinental Railroad was a "great miracle" more than a century ago.
"150 years ago, dignitaries and local citizens gathered here to recognize a truly remarkable feat. The completion of the transcontinental railroad is the single largest, greatest technological accomplishment of the 19th century," she said.
The California capital of Sacramento Wednesday held a series of activities to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the nation's First Transcontinental Railroad that shaped the United States and put it on a path to economic prosperity.
The celebrations started with a huge procession in the area of Old Sacramento City re-creating a historic moment that took place on May 8, 1869, when the railroad was completed, featuring historic flags, music, the coveted Gold Country fire brigade and horse-drawn carriages.
The revelers wore colorful costumes, with some of them playing history characters in period attire such as the Big Four major investors of the 19th century rail project like Leland Stanford. They walked in the procession starting from the California State Railroad Museum, marched along the streets of Old Sacramento City, and ended at the railway station near Front & K Streets.
Players from the Sacramento Vintage Base Ball Club also played lively music to the cheers of hundreds of spectators, including elementary school students, to mark the sesquicentennial of the railroad's completion.
With key local and state dignitaries in attendance, an official public ceremony was held to unveil a new granite monument and bronze plaque at "mile marker zero" at the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad located at Front & K Streets.
The transcontinental railroad helped connect the country, shape the nation and put the United States on a path to economic prosperity, said Lisa Mangat, director of California State Parks.
"It's really important to kind of start the event by really taking a moment to celebrate each of those individuals since that time, 150 years ago, that recognized the significance and the importance, and that it was worthy of preservation," said Mangat.
"It was going to be an important part of California history, the nation's history, and frankly, the world," she added.
Sacramento began as a place where people flocked to seek their fortune, said Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, a culture and leisure arm of Sacramento that promotes tourism and travel in the city.
"The railroad has played a key role in attracting those dreamers and in shaping the region's identity. We could not be America's farm to fork capital if it were not for the beginning with the trains delivering produce up and down this region and across the state," Testa said.
Sacramento played a pivotal role in the completion of the close to 2,000-mile continuous railroad line, said Michael Ault, executive director of Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
"Chinese workers composed two thirds of the Central Pacific Railroad workforce over the final four years," Ault added.
Ty Smith, director of California State Railroad Museum, also praised the contributions of Chinese railroad workers who shed their sweat and blood to build America's first huge railroad.
"Their contribution changed everything forever, and it would not have happened without the Chinese workers' experience" with the rail project, said Smith.
