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Gold cup and rail spike
18-karat gold cup and spike given to John Skelton Williams, president of the Seaboard Airline Railway, upon its completion at
Richmond in 1900. Williams consolidated a dozen lines into a system providing through service from Washington, D.C., to Tampa,
Florida. It was entirely owned by southerners—briefly—then taken over by Wall Street. Driving the spike tripped a telegraph
key that sent a message along the railroad's route announcing its completion.
Image rights owned by the Virginia Historical Society. Do not use without permission.
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