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Golden Spike Award (rail)

The Golden Spike Award (formally the George Falcon Golden Spike Award) is a recognition presented by the Rail Passengers Association to "honor work done to advance the cause of a robust national rail system in the U.S."

Since the 1960s, the 60+ recipients have mostly been members of Congress, as well as celebrities, railroad workers, and advocates. The award is among the most prominent honours in the American passenger rail advocacy community.

History

The award's name and physical form come from the ceremonial tradition of driving a Golden spike as the last spike when completing a railroad in the U.S.: for example, a golden spike was used to complete the First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869.

The award was conceived in the mid-1960s by George Falcon, publisher of Key magazine, an entertainment and dining guide serving the Los Angeles and Orange County area. Falcon was inspired by actress Debbie Reynolds, an avid train enthusiast whose father had worked as a conductor on the Southern Pacific Railroad. Reynolds became the award's first recipient; Walt Disney was the second.

Falcon was an early and active member of the National Association of Railway Passengers (NARP), which was founded in 1967. As his involvement with the organisation deepened, the Golden Spike evolved from a personal initiative into an official NARP award. Originally the prize consisted solely of a golden spike; by the 1970s the presentation form had evolved into a golden spike mounted on a wooden plaque bearing a brass inscription plate.

Since 1984, the NARP (later Rail Passengers Association) Board of Directors Executive Committee has approved all recipients. Falcon continued to supply the physical awards and publicise recipients in Key magazine until his death in 2003, after which the award was formally renamed in his honour as the George Falcon Golden Spike Award.

Recipients

The following is a list of known recipients, compiled from Rail Passengers Association records and from some industry/local news sources. A number of sources suggest that Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) received the award at some point, but no official or contemporaneous record is available.

Relationship to other Rail Passengers Association awards

The Golden Spike Award is the oldest and most prominent of several awards presented by the Rail Passengers Association. Other awards include:

  • John R. Martin Passenger Train Advocacy Award – named after a late president of NARP, given at the discretion of the Chairman and President to individuals who have provided many years of exceptional service to rail travellers.
  • Youth Passenger Citizenship Award – presented on occasion to students and young people demonstrating exceptional leadership or passion in improving the passenger train experience.
  • Tracks to the Future Leadership Award
  • NARP Academic Award – established in 2011, given annually to university and college professors with a distinguished record in advancing knowledge of passenger rail in the United States and Canada.
  • Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award – given annually to a railroad worker who has done the most to improve the safety of railroad passengers; awarded in memory of Dr. Gary Burch, one of eight passengers killed when Amtrak's Silver Star derailed in 1991.

See also

References

External links