Carbon County Railway History

This page was last updated on September 1, 2006.

by Don Strack

Additional Sources:

Columbia Mine — History of the original mine served by Carbon County Railway
Geneva Mine — History of the geneva Mine in Horse Canyon, served by Carbon County Railway
Carbon County Railway Locomotives

Overview

The Carbon County Railway that we know today was actually the second railroad company to carry that name. The subject railroad of this history was built in 1922-1923 by Columbia Steel Corp., a West Coast steel company.

The first Carbon County Railway was incorporated on November 20, 1899. Its proposed route was from the mainline of Rio Grande Western at or near Scofield Station, south to Clear Creek (ex Mud Creek), to the coal mines of the Pleasant Valley Coal Co., a distance of about seven miles. A second route was from the mainline of Rio Grande Western at or near Mounds Station, north for five miles, then east up Grassy Trail Creek for 12 miles to Sunnyside in Whittmore Canyon, a total distance of about 26 miles. The road's incorporators were William G. Sharp, William F. Colton, and Robert Harkness — in other words, Rio Grande Western Railway

The first Carbon County Railway was organized by the RGW in 1899 to build branches to the Winter Quarters mines of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company (also an RGW subsidiary) and the new Clear Creek mines of Utah Fuel, along with the new Utah Fuel mines at Sunnyside. Rail service to Sunnyside began on November 19, 1899. On December 15, 1900, RGW operated its largest coal train to date when it moved 1,000 tons in 36 cars from the Sunnyside mine, that's 27 tons per car, a far cry from today's 110-ton monster coal cars. Initially, all coal from Sunnyside was made into coke at Castle Gate, to support the smelters in Salt Lake City, which at the time, was the smelting capital of the west. Additional coke ovens were soon built at Sunnyside, and the mine became the number-one supplier of coke in the west (in 1907, they were shipping 350 tons of coke per day to the Anaconda smelter alone).

The first Carbon County Railway went away with the reorganization of the Gould properties into a new Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in July 1908, and the two branches became the Rio Grande's Clear Creek Branch and Sunnyside Branch.

The second Carbon County Railway was organized on July 28, 1922 as a subsidiary of Utah Coal & Coke Company, which itself was a subsidiary of Columbia Steel Corporation. (Utah corporation, index number 15468) Its intended purpose was to construct, own, operate and maintain a railroad between a junction with the mainline of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad at mile post 13 on D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch, and the mines and mining properties lying in a general southeasterly direction from that junction point, a distance of about 4.79 miles. The connection to the D&RGW was named Columbia Junction, and was four miles from the end of the Sunnyside Branch.

The construction of the Carbon County Railway was approved on August 24, 1922, following a public hearing on August 15, 1922, and grading work starting on September 5, 1922. Upon receiving federal ICC approval on January 20, 1923 to build its road, the railroad said that it expected work to be complete by May 1, 1923. Formal operation commenced on July 5, 1923. First coal was shipped from the Columbia Mine in mid September 1923. There were 200 miners working at the time.

On January 20, 1923 the Carbon County Railway received Interstate Commerce Commission approval for the construction of its proposed 4.79 mile long railroad. The application was made on August 7, 1922, just a week after the company was incorporated in the State of Utah. (76 ICC 485)

A public hearing was held before the Public Utilities Commission of Utah in Salt Lake City on August 15, 1922. The construction of the railroad was approved on August 24th. The railway's stock was owned by the same individuals who also controlled the Utah Coal & Coke Company. (Utah corporation, index number 571)

The stated purpose for the construction of the Carbon County Railway was to furnish coking coal for the by-product ovens that were built by the Columbia Steel Company's iron mill at Ironton, Utah. (76 ICC 486)

The construction contract for the 4.7-mile line was let to Reynolds-Ely Construction Company and the Wasatch Grading Company, with grading work starting on September 5, 1922. (43 Val Rep 65)

The contractor for the grading of the line was Reynolds & Creer, and their sub-contractor, Woods & McMahoon. The rate paid for the grading work was $30.00 per month for the teams and 35 cents per day for the dump carts. Waterman Brothers furnished the equipment, and were forced to file a lien in Carbon County to obtain a $120.00 bill owed them by the Woods & McMahoon contractor. (Carbon County Miscellaneous Records Book 3-H, p. 332)

The construction of the Carbon County Railway was expected to be complete by May 1, 1923. (76 ICC 486)

The 4.79 mile long railroad was completed between a junction on the D&RGW Sunnyside Branch, to the coal mine and mining properties of the Columbia Steel Corporation at Columbia. (124 ICC 351)

Operation commenced on July 5, 1923. (124 ICC 352)

Originally the railway requested ICC permission to become a carrier in interstate commerce, including coal destined for out of state destinations. In December 1926, the railroad applied to abandon their interstate operations. From the time of first operation, in July 1923, to September 1926, more than 99.6 percent of the traffic transported by the railroad consisted of coal destined for the iron plant at Ironton. During 1925, the coal tonnage moved was 327,574 tons (about 7,490 carloads, or about 20 cars per day), with only an additional 805 tons going out of state. In the 1926 hearings, the company tried to show a deficit from interstate operations, but the deficit was found by the ICC to equal the rental paid by the company for locomotives and "roads", the 1.3 miles of the tipple yard tracks at the Columbia mine. In its denial for abandonment of interstate operations, the ICC took the railroad to task for renting from parties which also had an interest in the operation of the railroad, namely the steel company. The company's equipment was planned to be a single locomotive with 50,000 pounds tractive effort, but that locomotive was never purchased. Instead, the railroad apparently rented either a single locomotive, or several locomotives, one at a time, possibly from D&RGW. (76 ICC 485; 124 ICC 351)

The Denver & Rio Grande petitioned the Public Service Commission of Utah in June 1931 to close the agency station at Sunnyside. In his testimony in support of the application at the subsequent public hearing, a D&RG official gave the then-current method of operation of the Carbon County Railway by D&RG. The Carbon County Railway branched off of the D&RG's Sunnyside Branch at Columbia Junction, 12.1 miles from the branch's initial point at Mounds on D&RG's mainline, and was 4.1 miles long. Train service was furnished to Price, Sunnyside, and the Columbia mine all by the same D&RG local freight. That local train generally left Helper yard at about 8 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with empties and merchandise loads for the Sunnyside and Columbia mines. The local proceeded direct to Sunnyside, did the necessary work and stayed there over night. Leaving on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning they proceeded to the Columbia mine and traded empties for loads of coal and returned to Helper at about 7 to 9 p.m., performing what ever switching was needed along the mainline via Price. Occasionally the local would deliver empties to the Columbia mine on the "up" trip if the mine needed the cars. Also, D&RG occasionally provided dedicated service to the Columbia mine if the mine's business showed a need. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 1213)

Until at least March 1933, the Carbon County did not own any equipment. At that time the carrier was being operated under an operating agreement with D&RGW, which used its own locomotives and crews to do the switching and hauling of rail cars to and from the coal mines of the Columbia Steel Corporation at Columbia, Utah. The majority of the railroad's capital stock was owned by the Columbia Steel Corporation. The large Columbia mine was the principle industry served by the railroad. In 1933 the railroad consisted of a single track, standard gauge, steam railroad located in Carbon County, Utah. Its mainline extended southeasterly from Columbia Junction (on D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch) to Columbia, Utah, a distance of 4.721 miles. Its total length was 5.216 miles, which included 0.495 mile of yard tracks and sidings at its shop and yard area. The railroad leased for its exclusive use, from Columbia Steel Corporation, 1.387 miles of yard tracks and sidings at Columbia, Utah. (43 Val Rep 65)

In 1943, with the advent of World War Two, the Defense Plant Corporation built the Geneva Steel Mill and in order to provide coking coal for the new mill the Defense Plant Corporation also developed the Geneva Coal Mine in eastern Utah. This mine was given railroad service by extending the Columbia Steel-owned Carbon County Railway another six miles from the Columbia Mine in Horse Canyon south to the new Geneva Mine.

Included in the 1942 and 1943 improvements funded by the Defense Plant Corporation were new hopper cars and two 1,000 horsepower, model VO1000 locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, arriving on the railroad in November 1943. The two locomotives were the sole motive power of the Carbon County Railway until May 1958 when they were replaced by two General Motors, Electro Motive Division model SW1200 1,200 horsepower locomotives. The two EMD units came to Carbon County second-hand from the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range by way of General Motors which had accepted them as trade-ins from DM&IR when that road had purchased newer 1,750 horsepower, SD9 road locomotives. These two General Motors locomotives were used by the Carbon County until the shut down of operations in 1983.

Early Operations Of Carbon County Railway

From the time of first operation, in July 1923, to September 1926, more than 99.6 percent of the traffic transported by the railroad consisted of coal destined for the iron plant at Ironton. During 1925, the coal tonnage moved was 327,574 tons (about 7,490 carloads, or about 20 cars per day), with only an additional 805 tons going out of state. The company had originally planned to own and operate a single locomotive with 50,000 pounds tractive effort, but that locomotive was never purchased. Instead, the railroad apparently rented either a single locomotive, or several locomotives, one at a time, possibly from D&RGW.

According to testimony in June 1931 in support of the road's request to close its agency at Sunnyside, a D&RG official gave the then-current method of operation of the Carbon County Railway by D&RG. The Carbon County Railway branched off of the D&RG's Sunnyside Branch at Columbia Junction, 12.1 miles from the branch's initial point at Mounds on D&RG's mainline, and was 4.1 miles long. Train service was furnished to Price, Sunnyside, and the Columbia mine all by the same D&RG local freight. That local train generally left Helper yard at about 8 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with empties and merchandise loads for the Sunnyside and Columbia mines. The local proceeded direct to Sunnyside, did the necessary work and stayed there over night. Leaving on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning they proceeded to the Columbia mine and traded empties for loads of coal and returned to Helper at about 7 to 9 p.m., performing what ever switching was needed along the mainline via Price. Occasionally the local would deliver empties to the Columbia mine on the "up" trip if the mine needed the cars. Also, D&RG occasionally provided dedicated service to the Columbia mine if the mine's business showed a need.

In 1933 the railroad consisted of a single track, standard gauge, steam railroad located in Carbon County, Utah. Its mainline extended southeasterly from Columbia Junction (on D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch) to Columbia, Utah, a distance of 4.721 miles. Its total length was 5.216 miles, which included 0.495 mile of yard tracks and sidings at its shop and yard area. The railroad leased for its exclusive use, from Columbia Steel Corporation, 1.387 miles of yard tracks and sidings at Columbia, Utah.

The road was operated by D&RGW, or with leased Rio Grande equipment, until the Carbon County Railway was expanded in 1943 to serve the new Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon. This new rail extension and new mine was entirely funded by the Defense Plant Corporation, which also funded the construction of the Geneva steel mill. The expanded operation brought with it in November 1943, two new locomotives, Baldwin VO-1000s also funded by DPC.

Geneva Works and Geneva Mine

During 1942-1943 the Defense Plant Corporation constructed a six mile spur from the Columbia Mine, at the end of the Carbon County Railway, to the new Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon.

The new mine and rail spur were part of the expansion of capacity of steel making on the West Coast to serve the war effort. As part of that war effort, United States Steel Corporation was given the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission on December 8, 1942 to acquire control of 11 railroads through its various subsidiaries. Included in that total of 11 railroads was the Carbon County Railway, owned by U. S. Steel's Columbia Steel Company subsidiary.

U. S. Steel's Columbia Mine was also expanded in 1942 by the addition of 500 coke ovens. By December 1942, the Columbia Mine was producing 400 tons per day. (The 500 beehive coke ovens were constructed at Columbia by the War Department to increase the coke capacity. A blast furnace for making pig iron was moved from Illinois to Ironton, but the war was almost over by the time that the blast furnace went into operation, therefore both the beehive coke ovens and the blast furnace were only in operation a short time. It was reported that the construction of the beehive coke ovens at Columbia cost $3 million and the movement and installation of the blast furnace cost $9 million. Kaiser Steel purchased both the beehive coke ovens and the blast furnace from the War Assets Administration.)

The new Geneva Mine was built with a stated capacity of 8,500 tons per day, with 6,500 tons being the daily requirement for the new Geneva steel mill. What the steel mill could not use was used by railroads and ships along the West Coast as part of the general war effort. Ground was broken for the new mine in spring 1942 and initial underground work at the coal seam began in October 1942. The rail car loader at the Geneva mine was completed in January 1944.

By mid March 1946 the Columbia mine was producing 1,385 tons per day, but by April 1946 the mine was on standby at the time due to complaints of private industry that they were competing with the U. S. government. Surplus coal was then sold to the U. S. treasury for export. In about June 1946 the Geneva Mine was sold to U. S. Steel, and on December 31, 1946 the Carbon County Railway bought the spur to the Geneva mine.

On June 16, 1946, the Geneva Mine was purchased from the War Assets Administration by the United States Steel Corp. and was operated by the Geneva Steel Company until January 1, 1952, when the Geneva Steel Company became a part of the Columbia-Geneva Steel Division of US Steel.

The new Geneva Works steel mill six miles north of Provo was built by the government under the name of the Defense Plant Corporation, and was managed under contract by U.S. Steel. The mill was opened in 1944 and operated as a government facility until 1946, when it was offered for sale. U.S. Steel submitted the lowest bid but its purchase was challenged under anti-trust laws and it wasn't approved by the U. S. Supreme Court until 1948. Geneva Steel, Columbia Steel, and Columbia-Geneva Steel Division are simply various wholly-owned subsidiary companies of United States Steel.

Improvements to the Geneva Mine during 1957 included a new 8,700 foot rock tunnel driven to intersect the coal seam at a point 5,000 feet down the pitch from the surface coal outcrop. The tunnel was nine feet high and thirteen feet wide. The tunnel was driven by W. W. Clyde of Springville, Utah, and was half completed by mid November 1957.

In March 1958 United States Steel Corporation completed a coal preparation plant 1-1/2 miles south of Wellington, Utah. The plant was built by Allen & Garcia of Chicago and opened on March 24, 1958. The plant blended coal from U. S. Steel's Geneva Mine near Sunnyside, Utah, and its mine at Somerset, Colo. to produce a better quality of coal for coking at the Geneva steel plant, by washing the coal to reduce its ash and sulphur content. The grading for the rail switching yard at the Wellington coal prep plant was done by Morrison Knudsen in late 1957. The plant was built on a 1,500 acre site and processed all the coal mined in the properties in Utah and Colorado of Columbia-Geneva Steel Division of United States Steel Corporation.

Along with improvements at the Geneva Mine in 1957, and the completion of the Wellington preparation plant in 1958, in May 1958 Carbon County Railway received two new (or nearly new) locomotives. The road, by this time a full subsidiary of U. S. Steel, sent the Baldwins to the parent company's Geneva steel mill and bought some used SW1200s from EMD. These two units were built in 1953 as Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 11 and 12 and had been traded to EMD on DM&IR's new SD9s. Carbon County Railway operated the two units as their 1201 and 1202, along with a new bay window caboose.

The Geneva Mine continued to produce and ship coal via the Carbon County Railway until 1982, when the mine was closed and the railroad abandoned. Replacement coal for the Geneva Works came from increased production at U. S. Steel's Somerset Mine in Colorado and from Mid-Continent Resources' mines above Redstone, Colo. The Mid-Continent operation shut down in 1991. U. S. Steel shut down the Geneva Works in 1986 and sold the plant to Geneva Steel in 1987.

The coal mine at Columbia, the original mine served by the railroad since 1923, was closed on May 31, 1967, leaving the Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon (completed in 1943) as the sole source of traffic for the Carbon County Railway.

Operations in the late 1970s included a 9:00 to 9:30 am departure for the mine with thirty-eight to forty-five empty, 70-ton capacity coal cars in tow. The train proceeded for the six miles up to the Horse Canyon mine and spent about two hours loading. After the cars were all loaded, the two locomotives pulled the train to the interchange with D&RGW at Columbia Junction, after a short delay setting up air brake retainers at the yard about three miles east of the junction, the entire operation being completed by late afternoon. (Dunning, pp. 70,73)

The yard and shops of the Carbon County Railway were located at East Carbon City, formerly called Columbia. (Sun Advocate & Helper Journal, January 2, 1975, p. 8)

Carbon County Railway was shut down on 14 October 1982. All cars were sold. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 80 [published in May 1984], p. 30) The two SW1200 locomotives ended up at the Geneva steel plant near Provo, Utah.

Shutdown

From CTC Board, December 1990, page 50:

Carbon County Railway - Operations of this eastern Utah coal hauler ceased in 1982 and abandonment was approved in 1984. Recently the railway and the also-inactive Horse Canyon mine, its last customer, were sold to Intermountain Power Project of Delta, Utah. IPP is scrapping out both the 10-mile railroad and the mine tipple. Carbon County's two MU-equipped SW1200s have been employed at Geneva Steel at Geneva, Utah since shutdown; its hoppers were scrapped at Geneva after shutdown. (Blair Kooistra. Staff)

From Pacific News, Issue 250, June 1984, page 4:

Abandonment Sought for Carbon County Railway — U.S. Steel's Carbon County Railway Company, serving the company's Geneva coal mine in Horse Canyon, Utah, would be completely abandoned if its March 1984 application to the ICC is approved.

Operations at the mine have been shut down since October 1982, a victim of imported steel; U.S. Steel has since used coal from its Somerset, Colo., mine for its Geneva Works near Provo, Utah.

The 10-mile railroad operated from Columbia Junction on Rio Grande's Sunnyside branch; the D&GRW line serves a Kaiser Steel mine about 10 miles from Horse Canyon. Coal had been transported from the Geneva Mine to a U.S. Steel plant at Wellington, on the Rio Grande main line; washed and blended, then reloaded and sent to the Geneva Works.

The railroad's two SW9 switchers, Nos. 1201-1202, were to be moved to the Provo facility in mid-March.

Thanks to Mark Hemphill and Bruce Collins for their help in compiling this history.