Newspaper Items
Summit County Railway
This page was last updated on March 21, 2004
16 August 1872
The first shipment of rail for the Summit County Railroad is expected to arrive
in about three weeks. (Pitchard, Salt
Lake Herald, 16 August 1872)
29 August 1872
Article on Coalville mentions grading being done on line from Echo to
Coalville, and some of the branches-to-be; most of the ties are on hand, iron
and equipment is not. (Pitchard, Salt
Lake Herald, 29 August 1872)
28 March 1873
Mr. John Boyden in from Coalville yesterday, reports that tracklaying has been
recommenced on the SCRR, and as all the iron necessary is on hand, line will be
completed between Echo and Coalville by conference time, or about 6 April. (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 28 March 1873)
30 March 1873
Summit County R.R.-a correspondent, writing from Echo, 29 March, says that the
railroad will soon be completed, under the superintendence of W. W. Cluff, who
has a large force at work. "The engine 'John W. Young' will doubtless do
same whistling at Coalville next week,…" (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 30 March 1873)
7 April 1873
The Summit County Railroad is now complete between Echo and Coalville, and by
next Saturday is expected to be completed from Coalville to the Crismon,
Wasatch and Robinson coal mines, east of town. (Pitchard, Deseret Evening News, 7 April 1873)
26 April 1873
Extracts from a 'Letter from Coalville', dated at Coalville on the 23rd of April, 1873, Wednesday: "Yesterday the company's new locomotive and tender
arrived, and today they put her on the track,… The engine and tender were
built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, of Philadelphia,…so I am informed by
the gentlemanly engineer, Mr. Nathan Pettys, whom the Baldwin company sent on
to put the 'Weber' together. Mr. Pettys is the pioneer of the narrow gauge
locomotives, having put the first one, that was used in this country, on the
Denver and Rio Grande road. He says he will have the 'Weber' -- the name
selected for the new locomotive,… -- in good running order by Monday
next." (Monday was the 28th.) (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 26 April 1873)
4 May 1873
"New Narrow Gauge Locomotive" "We had the pleasure of a call
from Mr. Nathan Pettys the gentleman sent out by the Baldwin Locomotive Works
of Messrs. M. Baird & Co., 500 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, to start
the new narrow gauge locomotive for the Summit County railroad. The engine is
what is termed a 'Mogul', and weighs, with the tender, twenty tons. It has an
11 x 16 inch cylinder; and has three-foot driving wheels, three pairs
connected. This locomotive is the same design as those first introduced on
narrow gauge railroads, and is the kind used on the Denver and Rio Grande line.
It is a very handsome engine, and reflects great credit upon its
builders." (Pitchard, Salt Lake
Herald, 4 May 1873)
17 August 1873
On the 14th, the editors of the Herald were shown over the Summit County
Railroad by Joseph A. Young, the president of the line. They rode the engine
from Echo to Coalville, at which place "a home-made caboose, and as
handsome as any imported one," was put on the train. Their trip continued
on up the Chalk Creek line, to the coal mines, same 2Z miles above Coalville,
on which line the gradient reaches 309 feet per mile in some places. (ed.
note: 309 feet per mile equals 5.8 percent grade.) This line has not yet
reached the Wasatch coal mines, but is expected to shortly. Additional rolling
stock has been ordered. At Coalville, there is a "well-built and
commodious engine house." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Daily Herald, 17 August 1873)
6 September 1873
"Resources of Utah." "Statistics of Progress during the Year
1873 -- Summary for Six Months ending June 30th." March -- The Summit
County railroad, completed from Echo to Coalville, six miles. (Pitchard, Utah Mining Gazette, 6 September
1873)
20 October 1873
"The new plate for the steam chest of the narrow gauge engine of the
Coalville & Echo RR was cast by Davis & Sons on Friday, planed on the
big planing machine at the Depot Works on Saturday, and shipped this
morning." which was Monday. (Pitchard, Deseret Evening News, 20 October 1873)
22 October 1873
"Coalville & Echo Railroad -- we learn from Joseph A. Young, Esq.,
that six new cars for the C&ERR have just arrived, and others are expected
soon. A new engine is ordered, and the company is determined to have a full
complement of rolling stock…" (Pitchard, Deseret Evening News, 22 October 1873)
NOTE: The Deseret News quite often referred to the SCRR as the Coalville & Echo RR, perhaps because the SCRR had obtained the never used grade from 1869 of the C&E, which was to have been standard gauge.
23 October 1873
For the Summit County Railroad "A number of new freight cars have arrived
from the East, and others with another engine have been ordered." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 23 October
1873)
28 October 1873
Trains on the Summit County Railroad are running again after the suspension
caused by the damage to the locomotive; see Deseret Evening News, October 20,
1873. (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 28 October 1873)
20 November 1873
The Summit County Railroad "now has plenty of cars, but is in want of
another engine, and there is some talk about getting one." (Pitchard, Deseret Evening News, 20 November
1873)
10 March 1874
In this paper and that of the 11th there are two items on an accident sometime
last week on 'the Coalville narrow gauge,' on the branch up to the coal mines
east, of town. Owing to the crush of business, mules are used to haul empty
cars up to the mines. On this occasion, an employee at the Wasatch mine let a
loaded car get away, and it ran on dawn the line, wrecking itself and two other
cars coming up, killing .one team of three mules in the process. The first item
said that the mules were used because of the steepness of the grade, but the
second says "There is no grade on the Coalville road so steep that an
engine cannot travel over it." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Daily Herald, 10 March 1874)
23 September 1875
"On Railroad Business. -- last night W. W. Riter, Esq., returned from a
business trip to New York. While there he purchased a locomotive and eight cars
for the Summit County railroad." He had been in Iowa, eastbound, on September 6th, 1875. (Pitchard, Deseret
Evening News, 23 September 1875)
24 September 1875
"W. W. Riter, superintendent of the Summit County Railroad, returned from
New York on Wednesday night. He purchased while absent a locomotive and eight
cars for the little road." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 24 September 1875)
27 October 1875
An item headed "Coal," mostly in regard to the prospects of a coal
shortage in the coming winter, in which the Summit County Railroad plays a
part: "On occasions in the past, when coal has been scarce in the city,
the dealers have blamed the Coalville road for lack of transportation
facilities. Now the narrow gauge has two engines - one of them new - and a
number of new cars, recently arrived from the east." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 27 October 1875 )
26 November 1876
A letter from Coalville, dated 24th, in regard to the Union Pacific's
discrimination - some 300 tons of coal has been sitting at Echo, in Summit
County Railroad cars, awaiting transportation this past week - the U. P. has
supplied a whole six cars the entire week, while 50 empties went east yesterday
alone to the U.P. mines, and 50 cars are standing empty also at Almy. The
author of this epistle does not understand why this should be. (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 26 November
1876)
30 April 1878
"An engine from the Summit County line has been put on the road, in
addition to the five heretofore in use, and still another has been
ordered." Also, 20 new box cars have recently been added, and another 20
to be added soon. (Pitchard, Deseret
Evening News, 30 April 1878)
7 September 1879
"The Coalville railroad has been almost abandoned for the past year,
scarcely a train a week passing over it. The reason for this is that the Rock
Springs coal has supplanted the home product." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 7 September 1879)
28 May 1880
Letter from Ogden, dated 27th - "Active work began this morning at Echo,
in widening out the present narrow gauge to Coalville. New ties and iron are
being laid, and the road will be rapidly pushed through to Park City." (Pitchard, Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 28 May
1880)
12 June 1880
"Railroad Ties Wanted", 60,000 of them, on the line of the Summit
County RR, between Coalville and Park City, not less than 7" face, and 7" thick by 8 feet long; E. L. Berthoud's name appended to the notice. (Pitchard, Salt Lake Herald, 12 June 1880)
3 September 1880
Rails on the Park City branch of the Union Pacific have been laid to Wanship, a
distance of 14 miles. (Pitchard, Salt
Lake Daily Tribune, 3 September 1880)
12 December 1880
"Hurrah for Park City." "The Summit County Railroad was finished
to the Park on Friday, December 10th, and … regular trains will commence
running between Echo and the Park tomorrow." "The depot will be put
up immediately, near the Empire mill." ("Tomorrow" was 13 December 1880) (Pitchard, Salt Lake Daily
Tribune, 12 December 1880)
