US #5380
2019 Union Pacific No. 119 – Transcontinental Railroad
• One of three stamps celebrating the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
• Stamp pictures the No. 119 locomotive which represented the Union Pacific Railroad and the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set:&n... more
US #5380
2019 Union Pacific No. 119 – Transcontinental Railroad
• One of three stamps celebrating the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
• Stamp pictures the No. 119 locomotive which represented the Union Pacific Railroad and the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Transcontinental Railroad
Value: 55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: May 10, 2019
First Day City: Promontory Summit, Utah
Quantity Issued: 50,400,000
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset (with gold-foiled highlights)
Format: Panes of 18
Tagging: Phosphor, Block Tagged
Why the stamp was issued: To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad and the No. 119 locomotive’s role in its history.
About the stamp design: Pictures the No. 119 locomotive which carried officers and guests to the Golden Spike Ceremony in Promontory Summit, Utah. Original painting by artist Michael J. Deas.
Special design details: Stamp includes gold foil highlights which add to its splendid design.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at Golden Spike National Historic Site in Promontory Summit, Utah.
About the Transcontinental Railroad set: Three stamps arranged to represent the joining of eastern and western portions of the Transcontinental Railroad at the Golden Spike Ceremony in Promontory Summit, Utah, 150 years ago. Stamps picture the Jupiter and No. 119 locomotives which carried officers and guests to the Golden Spike Ceremony in Promontory Summit, Utah. The third stamp pictures the ceremonial golden spike that connected the western and eastern portions of train track. Original paintings of the locomotives were by artist Michael J. Deas, while the golden spike was illustrated by Kevin Cantrell.
History the stamp represents: Union Pacific No. 119 was the eastern train of the “Golden Spike” ceremony for America’s First Transcontinental Railroad. The event took place May 10, 1869, in Promontory Summit, Utah, and changed the course of history forever.
The Union Pacific Railroad was established on July 1, 1862, by Congress in the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. President Abraham Lincoln signed off and hoped to build a railroad from the Missouri River to the West Coast. This marked the beginning of the construction of the United States’ First Transcontinental Railroad.
Dry Thomas Clark Durant was the main owner of the Union Pacific Railroad and oversaw much of its construction. Most of the work was done by Irish immigrants. After six years of slowly moving toward Utah, in May 1869, the eastern portion of the Transcontinental Railroad was finally complete.
Thomas Durant boarded a train pulled by the engine Durant’s Special, but was not able to make it all the way to Promontory Summit. High river levels damaged a bridge that the train needed to cross, and it could only support the weight of the lighter passenger cars. The engine pushed the cars across the bridge, and No. 119 was called from Omaha to retrieve the cars. It joined Central Pacific’s Jupiter on May 10 and became an unlikely piece of history.
Less 
