The award itself originally was just a golden spike. Going back to the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, golden spikes were used by railroads in ceremonies to mark the completion of important projects. By the 1970's, the award became a golden spike mounted on a wooden plaque with a brass inscription plate.
Mr. Falcon was an active early member of NARP, which was founded in 1967. As he became more active in NARP, the Golden Spike evolved into a NARP award. Since 1984, the NARP Board of Directors Executive Committee has approved all choices for recipients. Mr. Falcon continued to provide the awards and publicize them in Key through 2003, the year he passed
away.
| mid 1960's-1973 |
Debbie Reynolds |
|
| Walt Disney |
|
| Lowell Thomas |
|
| August A. Busch, Jr. |
|
| Sen. Howard Cannon (Nev.) |
|
| 1974 |
Johnny Cash |
Promotion of trains through songs |
| 1976 |
Barron Hilton, president of Hilton Hotels |
Services to travelers |
| American Freedom Train |
U.S. bicentennial exhibit on rails |
| 1978 |
California State Sen. James R. Mills, President Pro Tempore |
Devotion to California rail issues |
| Los Angeles County Supervisor Baxter Ward |
Work on southern California rail issues |
| Anthony Haswell |
Founder of NARP |
| 1979 |
NARP President Orren Beaty |
Work on balanced transportation |
| 1980 |
Sen. Birch Bayh (Ind.) |
Work to preserve Indiana passenger trains |
| Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt |
Work on Phoenix commuter service |
| 1981 |
Board of Directors, Metropolitan Transit Development Board, San Diego |
First new light rail system in U.S. |
| City of Los Angeles |
Work on intermodal aspects of Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal |
| Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), chairman of Senate Commerce Committee |
Work on rail issues |
| Amtrak President Alan Boyd |
Improvements to Amtrak |
| Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum |
Preservation of railroad heritage |
| 1982 |
Amtrak |
For handicapped-accessibility design of new Superliner equipment |
| Rep. James Florio (D-N.J.), chairman of House Commerce Transportation
Subcommittee |
Work on Amtrak issues |
| California Gov. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. |
Support of new Spirit of California |
| Rep. Robert T. Matsui (D-Cal.) |
Support of California rail projects |
| NARP Director Don Maxwell |
Efforts to save Cardinal |
| 1983 |
Ira Fistell, ABC Radio |
For writing America by Train, travelers’ guide to national rail
system |
| City of Anaheim, Cal. |
New Anaheim Stadium Multimodal Transportation Center |
| Amtrak President W. Graham Claytor, Jr. |
For various improvements to Amtrak |
| 1984 |
NARP President John R. Martin |
Effort to save Spirit of California |
| NARP Director Leif E. Lange |
Effort to save Spirit of California |
| 1985 |
City of Santa Ana, Cal. |
New Regional Transportation Center |
| NARP Executive Director Ross Capon |
10 years of service |
| 1986 |
Sen. Mark Andrews (R-N.Dak.), chairman of Senate Transportation Appropriations
Subcommittee |
Leading Senate fight to save Amtrak |
| Rep. Silvio O. Conte (R-Mass.), ranking member House Transportation
Appropriations Subcommittee |
Support of public transportation |
| 1987 |
People of Baltimore County, Md. |
Assistance to victims of Colonial accident |
| 1988 |
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), chairman of Senate Transportation
Appropriations Subcommittee |
Commitment to passenger trains |
| Rep. William Lehman (D-Fla.), chairman of House Transportation Appropriations
Subcommittee |
Work toward balanced transportation |
| California Assemblyman Jim Costa |
Development of rail network in California |
| 1989 |
Rep. Lawrence Coughlin (R-Pa.), ranking member House Transportation
Appropriations Subcommittee |
Support of Amtrak |
| NARP Assistant Director Barry Williams |
10 years of service |
| 1990 |
Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) |
Work to save Chicago-St. Louis corridor |
| NARP Director Samuel E. Stokes, Jr. |
Dedicated work toward balanced transportation |
| 1991 |
Arthur L. Lloyd |
On his retirement from Amtrak, for contributions to public awareness
of passenger rail in the West |
| 1992 |
Rep. Al Swift (D-Wash.) |
Leadership on his bill for a gas-tax penny for Amtrak and a passenger
rail trust fund |
| 1993 |
Sen. George Mitchell (D-Me.) |
Work toward Boston rail link and Maine service |
| 1994 |
Gov. William Weld (R-Mass.) |
Work toward Boston rail link |
| State Rep. John Businger (D) |
Work toward Boston rail link |
| 1995 |
Mayor John Robert Smith, Meridian, Miss. |
Work to alert public officials of need for national system |
| 1996 |
Sen. William V. Roth, Jr. (R-Del.) |
For work on dedicated funding for Amtrak and ISTEA flexibility for
states |
| 1997 |
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) |
For advocacy of intercity passenger rail service outside the Northeast |
| NARP Membership Director Jane Colgrove |
Ten years of service |
| 1998 |
Sen. John H. Chafee (R-R.I.) |
For work on ISTEA flexibility for states and improved public transportation |
| Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) |
For work on ISTEA I, Washington Union Station, and dedicated funding
for Amtrak |
| Former Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) |
For support of passenger rail during 36 years in Senate, and for "Megalopolis
Unbound" (1966) which laid foundation for Northeast Corridor |
| Tim Gillespie, former Amtrak Government Affairs Vice President |
Important contribution to the progress intercity passenger rail has
enjoyed in the U.S. |
| 1999 |
Gov. Tommy G. Thompson (R-Wis.) |
Encouraging bi-partisan support for nationwide intercity passenger
rail |
| 2000 |
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) |
For hard work to secure for states the right to invest their federal
transportation funds on intercity passenger rail projects |
| Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D.-N.J.) |
For long, distinguished career of successfully and significantly increasing
federal funding for passenger rail nationwide |
| 2001 |
John R. Martin |
Awarded posthumously for many vital contributions during his 21 years
as president of NARP |
| 2002 |
Sen. Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) |
For advocating saving and upgrading our national intercity passenger
rail network and for developing high speed rail corridors |
| Rep. Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y.) |
For support of an authorization with adequate funding to continue Amtrak's
nationwide network |
| Doras Briggs |
For untiring advocacy and creation of California's station host program |
| 2003 |
Sen. Patty Murray (D.-Wash.) |
For work to prevent shutdown of Amtrak in 2002 and provide reasonable
funding in 2003 and strong support for mass transit in general |
| Rep. C. W. Bill Young (R.-Fla.) |
For work to prevent shutdown of Amtrak in 2002 and to provide adequate
funding for Amtrak in 2003 |
| 2004 |
Sen. Tom Carper (D.-Del.) |
For work to include rail titles in surface transportation legislation
and in general to keep nationwide rail service |
| Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R.-N.Y.) |
For work over many years for high speed rail development and for our
national rail passenger system |
| 2005 |
Senator Arlen Specter (R.-Pa) |
For, "his long service on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Thanks in part to (his) hard work, our national rail passenger system continues to operate and report growing ridership and had reasonable prospects for weathering the current crisis." |
| Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D.-Ore.) |
For his strong support of Amtrak in Congress, and for working "tirelessly throughout his career in support of light rail and pedestrian-friendly land use planning." |
| Rep. James L. Oberstar (D.-Minn.) |
"Representative Oberstar has one of Capitol Hill’s most extensive records in support of a modern transportation system. He has worked tirelessly both in defending Amtrak and in promoting development of world-class high speed rail." (Presented at the NARP Board Meeting in Minneapolis in October) |
| 2006 |
| Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) |
For his work to complete an Amtrak reauthorization and his defense of a National rail passenger network. |
| Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) |
For his tireless work in the Senate to properly fund Amtrak and particularly for his defense of Amtrak's Cardinal. |
| Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) |
For his work to raise Amtrak funding last year and continuing efforts to complete a reauthorization bill. |
| Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) |
For her work to raise Amtrak funding last year and constant pressure to put out the facts about Amtrak. |
| 2007 |
| Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) |
For his leadership and committee roles in the House and later the Senate to secure funding for Amtrak, expand state-supported service through Illinois, and protect long-distance trains. |
| Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) |
For his steadfast support of both Montana’s Empire Builder and the entire national Amtrak network, and for his chairmanship of the Congressional Rail Caucus. |
| 2008 |
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) |
For being a strong supporter of passenger train development, both intercity and commuter, and for working to save a threatened freight rail line. |
| Rep. John Olver (D-MA) |
For consistently being an articulate voice in favor of a balanced transportation system in which passenger trains play a growing role. |
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