This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/12/2026
On May 10th, 1869, a new chapter in American history began with the laying of the final railroad tie of the Pacific Railroad, joining the East and West Coasts together at a rate previously unheard of; trips that took months could now be done in as little as a week. At the time, the famed photographer Andrew Russell took his famous photo of the ceremony where the cowcatchers of the Central Pacific's Jupiter and the Union Pacific's No. 119 met, with Samuel Montague and Grenville Dodge shaking hands at the center. This famous photo inspired the creation of these bespoke Colts, ordered and crafted to pay homage to this pivotal moment. The guns were built as black powder frame guns at the factory and shipped in-the-white to the noted engraver Leonardo Francolini, who had the frames converted to a screwless configuration, maximizing the coverage area. Each gun is dedicated to one of the railroad companies, with the gun that represents the West Coast and the Central Pacific Railroad depicting the Jupiter, and the gun representing the East Coast and the Union Pacific Railroad depicting Engine 119. The barrels replicate the famous photo as closely as possible, with the figures done in sculpted steel with gold accents, including the instruments of the 21st U.S. Infantry Band, watch chains, and most impressively, the exchanged bottles of beer and champagne are gold, silver soldered to a wire and pinned to the barrel, allowing them to extend just beyond the muzzle, as if straining so hard that they escaped their physical confines. The locomotives are integrated into the barrel, with the smokestacks serving as the skeletonized front sights, and their steel bodies fit onto barrel approximately 2 - 1/2" back from the muzzle. Peering in through the open windows, Francolini's signature can be seen on each gun. The only other deviation from the photo is the addition of three characters on the East gun: an engineer is in the cab of 119, and below him are a pair of people, a man and a woman, representing David and Lynette Grunberg, who commissioned the set. The balance of the barrels is embellished with thin gold tendril floral scrollwork, and gold inlaid "COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .45". The ejector rod tubes are embellished with floral scroll en suite and are further decorated with gold inlaid "CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD" on the West gun, and "UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD" on the East gun. The backs of the barrels and ejector rod tubes have relief railroad track borders, with gold ties and platinum rails. The frames have numerous scenes throughout, relating to the railroad and its history. The left side of the East gun is dominated by a scene of an Indian attack, with gold horseback Indians attacking a blued train with gold boiler straps and headlight, with a French grey passenger train and background; a banner to the right reads "INDIAN ATTACK", woven in with the scrollwork. The right side of the frame depicts a quartet of gold men working to lay a rail, with a steel background and rail; another interwoven banner reads "LAYING TRACK". The loading gate depicts a golden fireman stoking the fire of a locomotive, with an open boiler door in the cutout, with a gold fire raging. The left side of the recoil shield shows workers starting a tunnel through the Wasatch mountains, with the workers and tools executed in gold, with a steel tunnel enveloping them. The interwoven banner reads "TUNNEL 2 NEAR WAHSATCH". The left side of the frame has a raised portrait of General Grenville Mellon Dodge, the chief engineer for Union Pacific, with a banner underneath that reads "GEN. GRENVILLE M. DODGE". Underneath the portrait of the general is a surveyor holding a range pole for his counterpart on the West Coast gun, who has the transit. The right side of the rollwork has a white gold plaque engraved "10 MILES OF TRACK LAID IN ONE DAY APRIL 28th 1869", a duplicate of the sign that was made by Central Pacific when the feat was accomplished. The cylinder is banded with more of the gold and platinum railroad track at the rear, and the chambers are decorated with relief inlays of a spike hammer and a rail tong on the right, and a peace pipe and an Indian medallion with eagle feathers. The chambers that are covered by the strap and the frame are decorated with scrollwork. The top of the grip has a gold plate with Colt's patent dates, while the strap has an incredible three dimensional rendering of Union Pacific 119 thundering out of the grips, with the boiler, headlight, stack, and cowcatcher made of steel, with gold highlights, and billowing smoke that rolls up and onto the grips. The ivory grips were made by Paul Persinger in Texas, and are embellished with steel medallions on both sides, left with a locomotive arriving at the Union Pacific station to Nebraska, with gold locomotive and station. The small insert towards the top has a gold coal burning locomotive rolling forward towards the viewer, with smoke billowing onto the grips. The right side has three gold workers with a handcart on the mouth of a French grey tunnel, surmounted by the logo of the Union Pacific. The hammer and trigger guard has thin floral tendril scrollwork ensuite. The West gun is similarly embellished, with a three dimensional depiction of Jupiter barreling out of the backstrap with smoke billowing over the backstrap and onto the grips, and steel medallions, with left medallion depicting a gold Chinese worker carrying tea into the mouth of a tunnel for his fellow workers, supplanted by a gold version of the Central Pacific Railroad. The right medallion shows a train getting ready to depart from the Sacramento station, with the train and station in gold, supplanted by a Western locomotive, with smoke flowing onto the ivory grips. The frame has scenes ensuite with the East gun. On the right side is a golden Governor Sanford using a spike hammer to drive the Golden Spike home, surrounded by workers and the front of Jupiter; abutting, in the scrollwork, is a banner that reads “DRIVING THE GOLDEN SPIKE”. The gate depicts a pair of workers using nitro glycerin to blast rocks as part of the construction of the Summit Tunnel in the Sierras, with the works executed in gold and the unstable nitro as rose gold; the banner integrated in the scrollwork “BLASTING THE SUMMIT TUNNEL”. The right side of the scrollwork is a white gold portrait of Theodore Judah, the chief Engineer for Central Pacific, over a banner that reads “THEODORE JUDAH”. Underneath the portrait of Judah is a surveyor, looking through the transit on the range pole being held on the East gun. The recoil shield depicts the C.P. Huntington in gold as it travels along the Secret Town Trestle. The left scrollwork has two works in buffalo robes inspecting the track while riding the cowcatcher; the banner in the scrollwork is engraved “INSPECTING TRACK”. The left side of the frame shows the moment that the telegraph operator sent “DONE” in morse code when the golden spike was hammered home, with the banner reading "SENDING "DONE" OVER THE WIRE". The cylinder is en suite with the East gun, but instead has “DONE” in morse code, a telegraph key, a railroad sledge hammer, and the Golden Spike. The case for the guns is equally as impressive, and was crafted by Francolini specifically for these guns, made of white quarter sawn oak and birch plywood. The rear is fit with mirrors so that every element on the guns is visible, and the glass is Tru View museum glass. The carrying handles are gold plated railroad spikes, and the drawer handles are 1/4 size spikes. Gold plated plaque across front reads “East Meets West” with scroll borders. Two methods of display are available for the guns: the first is to insert steel posts that screw into the backstrap/trigger guard hole and allow for the guns to be placed muzzle to muzzle, recreating the Promontory scene. The other option is a French fitted drawer, cut for both guns, two small compartments with pulls after railroad wheels, and accessories comprising a pair of oil bottles designed with “60” and “119” for the locomotives in gold, and Martin Huey turnscrew, wiping rod, frame wrench, and brush, with ivory handles and gold-plated brass ferrules engraved with scroll. Also included are a second pair of guns in classic configuration with 7 – 1/2" barrels, blued and case color frames, and with serial numbers “1EAST” and “1WEST”, intended to secure the serial numbers so the project could not be duplicated. They are engraved on the backstrap “ENGINE 119” and “JUPITER”, respectively, paying homage to the locomotives. The set is accompanied by numerous awards that they have won, including a Silver Certificate from the National Rifle Association and the associated medal, 2014 Concord North Carolina C.C.A. Show Award for Best Single Weapon 1946-Present, North Carolina C.C.A. Show Howard Dove Award, and 10 Best Arms Award from the NRA dated 2017. Other accessories include a Rampant Colt statue and a commemorative Bowie knife made to display with the guns, with gold filled script “Awarded For Faithful Service / Maybe God Continue the Unity of our Country as this Railroad unite the two Great Oceans of the World” on one side, the other with “Transcontinental Railroad / 1869 / Jupiter / Central Pacific RR // Promontory Summit Utah // No. 119 / Union Pacific RR” with a scene of two locomotives meeting. The guns are also accompanied by extensive documentation, including letters from Francolini and Colt, extensively describing the guns, photos, and a copy of “American Engravers III: Masterpieces in Metal by America’s Engraving Artisans”, where these guns are the central foldout piece. CONDITION: As expected, the guns remain in essentially the same condition as they were sent to Dave Grunberg. Engraving is crisp throughout and well cut as befits an artist of Francolini’s talent. Some accessories with scattered handling marks, the bowie with some fine oxidation to blade. This is an outstanding pair of guns, orchestrated from the moment of conception as a pair that is unlikely to ever be replicated.
Barrel Length
(ALL) 7 - 1/2"
Caliber/Bore
(ALL) .45 Long Colt
Serial Number
(A) EAST1 (B) WEST1 (C) 1EAST (D) 1WEST