When Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced their merger deal Tuesday to form “America’s first transcontinental railroad,” it puzzled some who recalled the golden spike driven in 1869 at Utah’s Promontory Summit. That last spike only connected two railroads from Omaha, Neb., to Sacramento, Calif.

Two of the largest U.S. railroads, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, are planning to merge. The companies made the announcement Tuesday morning. The $85 billion deal would create America’s first transcontinental freight railroad.