Union Pacific In Utah - Research Notes

Research Notes, Union Pacific in Utah

Compiled by Don Strack, 1978-1988

(NOTE: Most of this information was transcribed from handwritten notes taken while doing research in the files of UP's engineering department during 1982-1983, prior to the closure of the department. All files and most personnel were moved to Omaha in 1983-1984. The office was located in the Utah Division offices in the former depot annex building, just south of Union Pacific's Salt Lake City depot. The building was demolished in 1999 to make room for The Gateway Project.)

UP's original Utah Mainline
Oregon Short Line in Utah
Los Angeles & Salt Lake in Utah
Pacific Railway Commission Hearings
UP's Shay Locomotives
Cache Valley Memories
Salt Lake City Union Stockyards

UP's Original Utah Mainline

Utah Division

Utah Division was eliminated on April 29, 1986. The new Western Region covers everything west of Green River, Wyoming, and is made up of the new California Division, Idaho Division, and Oregon Division.

UP mainline, Echo/Weber Canyons to Ogden

Ogden Union Railway & Depot, East Yard (Ogden, Utah) (UP drawing 431-54336, CE drawing 54336, dated March 20, 1944)
Ogden Union Railway & Depot, Main Yard (Ogden, Utah) (UP CE drawing 81115, dated May 18, 1956)

UP Park City branch

Retire Grass Creek Branch. (Work Order 8737, dated 2 April 1941)
Retire and remove Weber Mine Spur (CE drawing 19564; Work Order 6926, dated 1949)
Retire Broadwater Spur on Park City Branch. (Work Order 11080)
Retire Park City Consolidated Mines Spur. (CE drawing 19478; Work Order 2833, dated 1954)

Oregon Short Line in Utah

OSL newspaper articles (not examined)

Oregon Short Line to build shops in Salt Lake City. (Salt Lake Tribune, December 15, 1900)
Oregon Short Line incorporates Utah, Nevada & Eastern to build into Nevada. (Salt Lake Tribune, December 16, 1900)

OSL mainline (from UP drawing 20248, dated April 1912)

From a Valuation Map for OSL mainline, Fruitdale (Bushnell) to Collinston, MP 19 to MP 39.
The Ogden, Logan & Idaho line to Preston ran along 5th West in Brigham City
The Ogden, Logan & Idaho "Town Spur" in Brigham City ran east, from 5th West, along Forest Avenue (0 north/south) to Main Street, then south along Main Street

OSL Baker Siding and Bakers Spur, north of Brigham City

Bakers (MP 25.6) was retired in 1949 (Work Order 2168)
Bakers Spur (MP 25.3) was located east of mainline, across from connection at Bakers for the Urban Branch. The Bakers Spur was retired on December 3, 1947, at same time as the Urban Branch. (Work Order 2162)
Bakers Spur left the mainline at engineering station 1590+00 and ended at station (for spur) 96+61 (1.82 miles long).
Bakers Spur was purchased from Utah Idaho Sugar Company in November 1920.

OSL in Salt Lake City

Becks Hot Springs was at engineering station 1741+44 (32.98 miles south of Ogden)
Grant Tower building was 34 feet, 4 inches by 19 feet, 4 inches. South Temple Street was vacated on July 26, 1948.
Ownership of tracks west of Salt Lake City changed at LA&SL milepost 781.3; west of that point the north track was WP and the south track was LA&SL; east of that point the south track was WP and the north track was LA&SL.
Deer Creek Coal Company was at 200 South, on west side of D&RGW tracks, served by a spur from D&RGW.

From an engineering drawing dated March 1913:

A brick factory was located on the curve between 300 West and Paxton Avenue (at about 1200 South). The factory was also served by a spur from the Salt Lake and Utah.
The Utah Light and Railway's "2nd West" Line crossed about 1000 South on 300 West as double track. The double track ended just south of the UL&Ry's crossing of Paxton Avenue, and the line itself ended at 1300 South.
The Utah Light and Railway's "West Temple Line" was double track to 900 South, becoming single track through a equal, wye-type switch. The single track West Temple Line had a passing track located between Fremont Avenue (1120 South) and Paxton Avenue (1180 South), and ended at 2100 South.
The Utah Light and Railway's "9th South" line turned east from the east track of the West Temple Line's double track just north of where the double track became single track, at a point called "9th South Junction."
Oregon Short Line had joint trackage with D&RGW at Fireclay to serve the Western Fireclay Company, on the south side of Big Cottonwood Creek, just north of 4500 South.
Hanauer Spur, retired under Work Order 6514, was located east of the mainline, also along the south bank of Big Cottonwood Creek.
Murray depot was 24'5" x 112'8", with a 4' x 13' bay on the track (west) side and a 4' x 14'5" bay on the east side.
U.S. Smelter Branch at Midvale was built in August 1904, from Atwoods Siding, running west under the D&RGW tracks to the United States smelter in Midvale.
The Highland Boy Branch was also built in August 1904. It ran north from a connection with the U.S. Smelter Branch, west of the D&RGW tracks, to the Highland Boy smelter. The Highland Boy Branch was taken up in August 1918, under Work Order 6324.
Midvale changed to Cushing on 15 December 1915.
Utah Light and Railway's Midvale Branch ran west from the State Street Line to Midvale, along "Highway No.81" (now 7800 South?).
Utah Light and Railway's State Street Line ended at 1st South in Sandy.
Utah Light and Railway's Sandy Branch ran east from the State Street Line to Sandy, along Sandy's Main Street to Center Street, where the branch ended.
OSL Sandy depot was 24'5" x 63'8".

OSL Evona Branch

Retire 1.15 miles of Evona Branch, from MP 2.62 (crossing of Roy-Hot Springs Highway) to MP 3.77 (connection with OSL mainline near Roy). (Work Order 89, dated May 1942)
Retire 1.03 miles of Evona Branch, from MP 1.59 (interchange with D&RGW) to MP 2.62 (previous end-of-track at Roy-Hot Springs Highway). (Work Order 1332, dated October 1945)

OSL Cache Valley Branch

Cache Valley Branch runs from Cache Junction (MP 48.90 on mainline) to Preston, Idaho (MP 50.78)

OSL Benson Branch

Benson Branch (8.17 miles) ran from Ballard Junction (MP 3.53 on Cache Valley Branch) to Benson Junction in Logan (MP 8.17 of Benson Branch, MP 24.38 of Cache Valley Branch)
Benson Branch completed in October 1912 as a direct line to Logan sugar factory.
Benson Branch retired from Ballard Junction (MP 0.00) to Benson (MP 2.9) in November 1942, under Work Order 428. (ICC Finance Docket 13927, dated 26 October 1942, in 254 ICC 810)
Benson Branch retired from Benson (MP 2.9) to Benson Junction (MP 8.17) on June 30, 1954, under Work Order 4203. The wye at Benson Junction and 1,007 feet of wye tail track remains today (1994). Wye is located between 3rd and 4th North, along 6th West, in Logan. Logan depot is located at 6th West and Center Street, which is 0 north and south.

OSL College Branch

The 5.9 mile College Branch (Old Cache Valley Branch) ran from College Junction (MP 0.00 of College Branch) to Mendon (MP 8.58 of Cache Valley Branch, MP 5.9 of College Branch) College Junction was 0.92 miles south of the Logan station.
College Branch (Old Cache Valley Branch) was built in 1872-1873 as part of the original Utah and Northern narrow gauge mainline to Idaho. Converted to standard gauge in 1890.
The Utah Northern line became the Cache Valley Branch in October 1890 upon completion of the new Ogden-to-Pocatello standard gauge line built between Dewey and Oxford by way of the Bear River Canyon. Portions of the old narrow gauge line between Dewey and Mendon, and between Preston and Oxford were abandoned. New connection completed between Cache Junction and Mendon.
College Junction was called Logan Junction until August 1916. On the original Cache Valley Branch, Logan Junction was the connection for the Sugar Factory Spur to the sugar factory of the Logan Sugar Company. After the Sugar Factory Spur was extended to Hyrum, then to Wellsville, then on to Mendon in 1906, most trains went over the Wellsville Branch. A two-mile cutoff was completed in 1916 that by-passed the congestion of the Logan sugar factory. The cutoff left the Wellsville Branch south of the sugar factory at a new station known as Sugar Factory Junction, and ran due north for 2.03 miles to a new connection with the Cache Valley Branch named Logan Junction (at about 300 South and 600 West today), a half mile east of the original Logan Junction, which was then renamed College Junction.
The [Old] Cache Valley Branch was not operated after May 13, 1913, the date of completion of the Benson Branch between Logan and Ballard Junction. All through trains either went by way of the new Benson Branch, or by way of the Wellsville Branch through Wellsville and Hyrum. By the time of the requested abandonment in 1932, the track was not in any condition for operation. There were no industries located along or near the branch, and OSL stated that no public inconvenience would result from its abandonment. Abandonment of the western portion of the [Old] Cache Valley Branch was sought due to changes in section 1(18) of the ICC act, in about 1932. (ICC Finance Docket 9518, dated 25 August 1932, in 187 ICC 329).
Under ICC Financial Docket 9518, dated August 25, 1932 (reported in 187 ICC 329), the ICC approved of OSL's abandonment of portions of its Cache Valley Branch. OSL abandoned the western 2.78 miles of the Cache Valley Branch on October 25, 1932, from MP 3.14 (just west of College Spur, MP 2.98) to end of branch at Mendon (MP 5.92), under Work Order 258.
The remaining eastern portion of the Cache Valley Branch was renamed as the College Branch when western portion between Mendon and College was abandoned. The newer Wellsville Branch (completed in 1906) then became the Cache Valley Branch.
Under ICC Financial Docket 15790, dated November 3, 1947 (reported in 267 ICC 638), the ICC approved of OSL's abandonment of the remaining 2.98 mile portion of the College Branch, from College Junction to College Spur (MP 2.98).

(QUESTION: What happened to the 0.16 mile of branch from the end-of-track caused by 1932 abandonment and the end-of-track mentioned in the 1947 abandonment?)

"The only business activity in area is farming, principally sugar beets. The movement of sugar beets over the line [between Logan and College] has decreased in recent years because of the inability of the sugar company operating in the area either to induce more farmers to plant the crop or to induce farmers now growing beets to increase their acreage. No regular train service is provided. No organized communities are located on the line. In 1945 the traffic handled on the line consisted of 23 carloads of beets and 4 carloads of potatoes, and in 1946 it consisted of 25 carloads of beets. No substantial loss or inconvenience will be suffered…because the farmers can truck their products to nearby stations on the main Cache Valley Branch, no shipper has objected to the abandonment." (267 ICC 640)

OSL Wellsville Branch

Wellsville Branch ran from Mendon to Logan by way of Wellsville and Hyrum. The branch was completed in September 1906. The name was changed to the Cache Valley Branch when western portion of College Branch between Mendon and College was retired in 1932

OSL Logan Sugar Factory Branch

Logan Sugar Factory Branch (1.89 miles) ran from Sugar Factory Junction north to College Junction, through the Logan sugar factory. This branch started out in March 1901 (land for right-of-way purchased at same time) as the spur to the sugar factory, and was extended through Hyrum and Wellsville in September 1906 to reach Mendon, becoming the Wellsville Branch. This congestion of the sugar factory was bypassed in August 1916 when a two-mile cutoff was completed that allowed trains direct access to Logan, without passing through the sugar factory. An additional 0.58 miles was added to the Sugar Factory Branch in November 1947 when the College Branch was abandoned. This new portion extended from College Junction east to Logan Junction, on the Cache Valley Branch.

The 1.49 mile portion of the Logan Sugar Factory Branch north from its crossing of the Logan River to its connection with the Cache Valley Branch at Logan Junction, including the 0.58 mile portion between the old College Junction (where the original 1.89 mile branch had ended) to Logan Junction, was retired on January 22, 1949, under OSL Work Order 2617. (ICC Finance Docket ???) The remaining 0.97 mile section became the Sugar Factory Spur, where sugar beets were still loaded until about 1970.

OSL at Hyrum

Retire interchange tracks with former Utah Idaho Central, December 1, 1948.
Construct spur to serve California Packing Company, June 19, 1947.

OSL at Dewey

Retire 50,000 gallon water tank, December 6, 1947 (depot already retired).

OSL at Logan (Benson Junction)

Construct 333 foot spur to Pacific Fruit Company, inside wye, July 28, 1949 (Work Order 2330)

OSL Thatcher Branch (from OSL drawing 21809, dated January 1924)

Thatcher Branch ran west, along the half section line, from a point about a half mile south of Tremonton (MP 17.8 on the Malad Branch) to Nelson.
Portion of branch from Thatcher (MP 6.25) to the end of the branch at Nelson (MP 7.3) was retired in January 1943. End of track was at the north side of the highway. (Work Order 461)
Portion of branch from MP 5.63 to Thatcher (MP 6.25) was retired in October 1945. Thatcher was moved to the new end of track, at MP 5.6, in November 1945. (Work Order 1429)

OSL Bear River Branch

Bear River Branch ran south from a spur at the Garland sugar factory to Bear River City (MP 10.6)
Portion of branch from MP 9.9 to end of track at Bear River City (MP 10.6) was retired in December 1942. (Work Order 439)
Portions of branch were sold to the Utah State Highway Department for various projects along U.S. Highway 30:
MP 1.561 to MP 3.283 for highway project FAP 205A, in July 1940
MP 3.434 to MP 5.542 for highway project FAP 63-B
MP 5.542 to MP 6.044 for highway project No. 80
MP 6.044 to MP 7.576 for highway project FAP 63-B
Bear River Branch paralleled U.S. Highway 30 south from engineering station 178+22 (MP 3.37), where U.S. 30 turns south from Tremonton, to Bush, at engineering station 390+05 (MP 7.38).
Beet dump located at Bear River City
Lamb name changed from Hart on November 1, 1918. Lamb Station was retired in March 1950.

OSL Malad Branch

Elwood was retired on July 12, 1946. (Work Order 1618)
Evans was retired on July 12, 1946 (Work Order 1617); reinstated as Ford in September 1959.
Bear River name was changed from Waukegan on April 1, 1915
Holmgreen name was changed from Bear River on April 4, 1918
Fielding (MP 25.0) was retired on July 15, 1974. (Work Order 23066)
Halbert name changed from Esteep on October 25, 1917
From Brigham City to Corinne Junction was called the "Brigham City Cutoff".
Utah Idaho Sugar Company owned a spur in west Corinne, south of the Central Pacific line to Promontory, at junction where the OSL turned north from the Central Pacific. The spur was operated by the OSL under contract number 56653.
OSL purchased the 962 foot spur at Corinne Junction from Utah Idaho Sugar Company on April 12, 1950. The spur was the remainder of the old Central Pacific line between Corinne Junction and Ogden. Utah Idaho Sugar had purchased the spur earlier from Central Pacific.
Brigham Sugar factory was located on the south leg of the wye at Brigham City, where the Malad Branch left the OSL mainline.
OSL/UP leased all of the former Central Pacific facilities, trackage and right-of-way between Corinne Junction and Corinne on June 5, 1945, effective on March 16, 1945, with a right to purchase. The trackage and property was purchased on October 16, 1947.
The land companies involved in the development of the agricultural land adjacent to the new Malad Branch included the Bear River Land, Orchard and Sugar beet Company, and the Bear River Valley Land Company, which was in receivership and was sold to the Malad Valley Railroad in April 1903.

OSL Urban Branch (from OSL drawing 20716, dated February 1919)

Urban Branch ran west and north from Bakers (MP 25.2) to Urban (MP 4.95)
Urban was located on the section line between Sections 8 and 17, due west from calls Fort on the OSL mainline.
Beet dumps were located at Urban, Teal (MP 2.9), and Natal
Cement plant was located at Opco (MP 1.1) (for the original Ogden Portland Cement Company)
From Bakers to Opco (1.1 mile) constructed in 1909 to serve the plant of the Ogden Portland Cement Company.
From Opco to Urban constructed in 1917 and 1918 for the handling of sugar beets grown on the east side of the Bear River to the sugar factory at Garland.
"For the past few years the only traffic handled on the line has been from beet dumps at Teal (MP 2.6) and Urban (MP 2.93). No regular train service is provided. No organized communities located on line. During beet harvest season the traffic is handled by trains making one round trip a day for a period of about 30 days. Traffic handled on the line for 6 years 1941-1946, in order, amounted to 105, 79, 72, 75, 49, and 36 carloads. The decline in traffic is attributed to the steady decrease in the number of acres planted in sugar beets. No substantial loss or inconvenience will be suffered…because the beet producers can truck their shipments to beet dumps located at nearby stations on the mainline, and no shipper objected to the abandonment." (267 ICC 634)
Retired 4.93 miles of branch from Bakers to Urban on 1 May 1948, under Work Order 2162 (ICC Finance Docket 15740, dated 3 November 1947, in 267 ICC 633)
At the time of abandonment, the cement plant was owned by the Western Portland Cement Company and the "cement ponds" were owned by the Utah-Idaho Cement Company. The cement plant trackage had been removed.
Bakers to Opco right-of-way was sold to Box Elder County, under Work Order 20414
Bakers was retired in 1949. (Work Order 2168)

OSL Little Mountain Branch (from ICC Finance Docket 24635, dated February 3, 1969, in 334 ICC 267)

Application made on 16 June 1967 to construct a 13.27 mile branch line from Hot Springs (9.95 miles north of Ogden) to the newly developing mineral industries on east shore of Great Salt Lake.

Protested by Southern Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Western based on their feeling that the new branch would be a duplication of facilities already in place, constructed by SP, and that the shippers in the area did not need a duplication of service. The SP served the area via 1.7 mile spur built north from its line in the Little Mountain area.

Principle developer of Little Mountain area is Great Salt Lake Minerals and Chemicals Corporation testified that it must have single-line service with UP, which would provide the shortest, most direct route to territories not reached by SP.

Other potential customers include: Lithium Corporation of America; Dow Chemical; Prior Chemical Company; Boise Cascade Corporation; Potlatch Forests, Incorporated; and Amalgamated Sugar Company.

Construction to commence before May 3, 1969, to be completed before November 3, 1969.

OSL Syracuse Branch

(NOTE: check Davis County Book of Deeds J-280 for Ogden & Syracuse Railway.)

OSL's Syracuse Branch ran southwest for about 5.8 miles from Clearfield Junction to a wye on the east shore of the Great Salt Lake at Syracuse. (Syracuse, Utah was named after the town in New York state, which also had a predominant salt industry.)

Built in 1887 as the Ogden and Syracuse Railway. Became part of the Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern in 1889, which became the Oregon Short Line in 1898.

John R. Barnes bought land from Union Pacific on March 22, 1878 and sold it to the Ogden and Syracuse Railway on March 1, 1887. (Davis County Book of Abstracts A, page 205)

Tracks from Syracuse (MP 4.7) to the end-of-track at the lake shore, at engineering station 285+32 (5.4 miles) was taken up in March 1906. This trackage served the salt industries along the lake shore and the Syracuse Resort, a swimming resort located along the north side of the branch, just west of the north-south leg of the wye.

The switch at the location that the curved north leg of the wye connected with the north-south leg of the wye was at engineering station 285+32. The end of the north tail track of the wye was at engineering station 29+00 (0.54 mile). The north-south leg of the wye, along with the south tail track of the wye ended at station 41+30 (0.78 mile).

On October 24, 1927 the Inland Crystal Salt Company sold its interests to the Morton Salt Company. Included were about 61 acres in the NWQ of SWQ of Sec 7, a strip of land approximately a quarter mile wide by a half mile long, all of Lot 3 of sec 7, and about 128 acres in the NWQ of Sec 18, a strip of land approximately a quarter mile wide and a mile long. All three parcels were along the east shore of the Great Salt Lake. (Davis County Book of Deeds 1-H, page 387)

The tracks from Syracuse (MP 4.7) to the end of track (about MP 5.4), including the wye tracks, were taken up in March 1906.

The trackage of the Syracuse Branch extended to Station 285+32 (5.4 miles), at the switch of the north leg of the wye, including the north curve of the wye. The actual north leg of the wye extended to station 29+00 (0.54 mile). The west side and south leg of the wye extended to Station 41+30 (0.78 mile). No information was available for the south curve of the wye.

Steed station (MP 3.2, at 3000 West, on the section line between Sections 8 and 9, T4N, R2W) was retired on December 4, 1946.

The West Point Spur (1.8 Miles, also known as the Steed Spur) connected with the Syracuse Branch at Steed and proceeded northwest for 1.8 Miles along the top of the bluff to the West Point Road (300 north). The spur was built and owned by the Layton Sugar Company to serve their beet dump on the West Point Road.

In September 1928 the sugar company purchased a fifty foot easement from the Steed and Wilcox families to be used for the "present spur track". The easement was perpetual as long as it was used for the spur track. Upon removal of the track the easement reverted to the families. (Davis County Book of Abstracts 4, page 89, Book of Agreements H, page 449)

The West Point beet dump was on 1.54 acres of land that the sugar company had purchased from James Patterson in April 1921. (NWQ of NWQ of Section 5, T4N, R2W) (Davis County Book of Abstracts 4, page 83; Book of Deeds 1-F, page 18) (COMMENT: Assume that the spur was retired at the same time as the branch, in August 1955. No construction date or retirement date for the West Point Spur is known, but Steed Spur may have been retired because the West Point Spur was removed, and Steed was no longer needed as a connection to the Branch.)

There was also a pea viner located at the Syracuse Branch's crossing of the Bluff Road (3000 West), just across the road from the Steed beet dump. A pea viner was used by the local green pea growers to separate their peas from the vines and pods. The pea viners were operated by the canning companies, with the separated peas being loaded and shipped directly to the canneries and processed. Two other pea viners were located Syracuse, one not served by rail, at about 1000 South and 1000 West, and another at the western end of D&RGW's Bennett Branch in south Syracuse, at 2700 South and 1000 West. (Interview with Don Rentmeister)

Barnes (MP 2.1) was retired on November 30, 1953. (Work Order 4083)

The track between Barnes (MP 2.1) and Syracuse (MP 4.7) was retired on August 31, 1955.

Before each transaction of selling the abandoned right of way, the OSL sold each parcel to the Union Pacific for one dollar. Union Pacific then sold the parcel to the adjoining land owners.

Union Pacific sold a 2.94 acre parcel to Jack and Bessie Kerr in August 1955. This portion of Davis County was included in UP's original 1869 land grant. UP had originally sold the land to David Kerr in 1887. David Kerr later, in April 1887, sold a right of way to the Ogden & Syracuse Railway. (Davis County Book of Records 102, page 507)

Union Pacific sold a 3.17 acre parcel to Walter W. Steed in July 1954. The deed gives the description of the Syracuse Branch "as formerly constructed and operated". (Davis County Book of Records 68, page 559)

(NOTE: Information above partially from OSL ICC Valuation and Alignment Map 17362, dated May 1913, on file at Davis County Recorder's office.)

(NOTE: Original research done at Davis County Recorder's office, Farmington, Utah, on August 2-3, 1980 while researching land ownership of Joseph Glen Simpson, the author's father-in-law. The Syracuse Branch end-of-track and wye, along with the Syracuse Resort, was located on Mr. Simpson's property, in Sections 7 and 18, T4N, R2W.)

Other information from Davis County Recorder's office

D&RGW Fransworth Branch ended in Sections 27, 28, 33, and 34, T5N, R2W
D&RGW Lake Park Branch (in Farmington) ended in Sections 22, 23, and 24, T3N, R1W
Bamberger ran along the Salt Lake meridian through Farmington

Los Angeles & Salt Lake in Utah

LA&SL at Garfield

shows depot location and size
shows stockyards, just east of highway overpass

LA&SL at Garfield (from LA&SL drawing 1512-D, Company Lands at Garfield, Utah, September 1909, examined during August 1981)

shows a wye (tail track to south) at what is now Smelter
shows partial location of Utah Western narrow gauge
shows Black Rock Island location
shows Lake Point dancing pavilion
shows 35.05 acres deeded to Western Pacific Railway on August 28, 1906
shows Salt Lake and Pacific grade location at curve around Lake Point

LA&SL at Stockton, Utah

Depot was 24 feet, 3 inches by 80 feet, 5 inches, located at engineering station 1224+61

LA&SL at Faust

70,000 gallon water tank

LA&SL at Lynndyl (from LA&SL CE drawing 54626, dated February 20, 1946)

Depot was 24 feet, 5 inches by 73 feet, 10 inches
Located between mainline and Provo sub-division, with a bay window on each side
The bay window on mainline side was located 38' from south end
The bay window on Provo sub side was located 41' from south end
Each bay window was 11 feet, 6 inches long

LA&SL at Delta

Passenger depot was 24 feet, 5 inches by 110 feet
Freight depot was 30 feet, 4 inches by 120 feet, 5 inches

LA&SL at Milford (from LA&SL CE drawing 80773, dated November 25, 1953; also LA&SL drawing 5236, dated December 1902; both examined during August 1981)

Shows Utah & Pacific engine house south of Oregon Short Line yard tracks in Milford
Shows line to Frisco and line to "Calientes"
80 acres in NE-1/4 of SE-1/4 of section 7 and NW-1/4 of SW-1/4 of section 8
Sold to Utah & Pacific on June 10, 1901, filed on June 27, 1901, Book P, page 623 (in Beaver County?)

LA&SL Tintic branches

(SP,LA&SL track profiles, March 1915) (located at UP Depot Annex, Salt Lake City, Utah, 29 April 1988. This visit was coordinated through George Cockle, while he was working for UP in Omaha. The engineering department had already been moved to Omaha, but there were still numerous engineering files still located in Salt Lake City.)

LA&SL Eureka Branch (Tintic to Eureka)

3.63 miles, 3.6% grade

LA&SL Silver City Branch (Tintic to Silver City)

1.94 miles, 2.6% grade
MP 0.48 to MP 2.65

LA&SL Silver City Branch (from LA&SL drawing 562-15)

Silver City Branch to Northern Spy Mine
MP 0.00 to MP 5.4
Retire crossover at Silver City (Work Order 87, 100 percent completed on 23 August 1932)
Move car body from Tintic to Silver City, for agent's quarters (Work Order 5452, dated 11 March 1925, 100 percent completed on 28 May 1925)

LA&SL at Silver City (from LA&SL drawing 1666, S-7, dated November 10, 1908)

Shows Tintic Smelter
Shows D&RGW Railway trackage in Silver City, with wye tracks
Shows Eureka Hill Railroad

LA&SL Northern Spy Mine Extension (Silver City to Northern Spy Mine)

3.03 miles, 4% grade, 52-pound rail
MP 2.65 to MP 5.43
Northern Spy Mine "eliminated" on 15 January 1917
Trackage abandoned, January 1922
Trackage reinstated, 1926
Trackage retired and taken up. (Work Orders 946 and 1059, dated 25 October 1937; 100 percent completed on 14 December 1937)

LA&SL Mammoth Branch (Mammoth Junction to Mammoth)

1.8 miles, 4% grade
MP 1.59 to MP 3.24
LA&SL bought D&RGW's interest in joint trackage at Mammoth on August 7, 1944
New East Tintic Railway (Mammoth to Mammoth Mine)
2.02 miles
5.79% grade from Mammoth to switchback (engineering station 0+00 to 22+31.69, MP 3.645)
6% grade from switchback to Mammoth Mine (engineering station 20+17 to 105+01.2, MP 5.21)
Tintic Sub-Division re-laid with 75-pound rail
Form 30; No.712; 19 May 1916; "Appn" 1682; $22,922.94
Silver City Branch completed on 4 December 1915, reported in August 1917

LA&SL Mammoth Branch (from LA&SL drawing 562-16)

Construct 621.7 foot spur for American Smelting and Refining, called "AS&R Spur"; jointly owned, 50/50 between UP and D&RGW. (Work Order 5366; 100 percent complete on 15 December 1924)

LA&SL Eureka Branch (from LA&SL drawing 562-14)

New 24 x 93 foot depot; acquire new right of way; retire old depot; new depot to be located across tracks, in direction of Main Street. (Work Order 5372)
Construct 496.3 feet extension to Track 10. (100 percent completed on 22 August 1926)
Retire 147 feet of Track number 7 and 149.5 feet of pile trestle; along south side of Bullion-Beck Mill. (Work Order 86, 100 percent completed on 23 August 1932)

LA&SL Delta Branch

Completed in October 1916
Ran due west from Delta to Moody (MP 4.59), then due north to Lucerne (MP 13.6).
The Hinkley Branch left the Delta Branch at Moody and ran due south to LaMoto, then southwest to end-of-track at Hinkley (MP 3.35)
The Delta Branch crossed the Sevier River at station 76+64
Most of the land for the Delta Branch was purchased in January and March 1914. Land for Lucerne was purchased in July 1915. The land was purchased from several individuals and companies, including: Morgan-Okelberry Land and Sheep Company; Delta Investment Company; and the Delta Land and Water Company.
Beet dumps were located at: Erwin (MP 5.2); Abbot (MP 6.7); Wilson (MP 8.4); Gordon (MP 9.3); and Sugarville (MP 11.5).
Also at Wilson (MP 8.4) was a 50 x 320 foot stockyard with a double deck chute at one end (for sheep loading?) constructed in June 1939 (work order 8856, dated 6/11/39), along with a portable stock chute constructed under work order 7846.
Wilson Spur (MP 8.4) was 649 feet long, with 104 feet of 75-pound rail and 545 feet of 56-pound rail.
Gordon Spur (MP 9.3) was 946 feet long, including 400 feet of original spur constructed in October 1917, and 546 feet of extension constructed in October 1918.
End-of-track at Lucerne (MP 13.58) had a wye, with a 1,190-foot tail track to the east. The north wye track, to actual end-of-track at MP 13.58, was 1,383 feet from the wye track switch.
5.064 miles of the Delta Branch (MP 8.525 to MP 13.58) was retired on December 2, 1932, under work order 117. Work order 118 transferred ledger accounts to right-of-way value.
7.7 miles of the Delta Branch (MP 0.824 to MP 8.525) was retired on July 26, 1934, under work order 326.
A spur to serve the Globe Milling Company in Delta, located at station 26+37 on the Delta Branch, was completed in November 1915.

LA&SL Hinkley Branch

Completed on 25 April 1918.
Connected to Delta Branch at Moody (MP 4.59) and ran due south to LaMoto, then southwest to end-of-track at Hinkley (MP 3.35)
Beet dumps located at:
LaMoto (name changed from Waters on 23 July 1917)
Hinkley (MP 3.35)
Hinkley Branch retired (MP 0.00 to MP 3.35) on 3 December 1932. (Work Order 119; ICC Financial Docket 9538, dated 20 October 1932)

LA&SL Frisco Branch (from LA&SL drawing 562-8, dated January 1907; examined at UP Depot Annex, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 29, 1988)

Milford to Frisco MP 0.00 to MP 16.5
1.4% up from Milford to MP 8
2.6% grade up from MP 8 to Frisco
Frisco Mine Spur MP 16.5 to end-of-track (engineering station 918+23.2)
2.8% grade up to mine
Newhouse Extension MP 16.5 to MP 23.5
3.6% grade down from Frisco to Newhouse
Stations on Frisco Branch
Milford MP 0.00
Moscow
Hickory
Solus
Frisco
Newhouse

LA&SL Godbe Spur

Godbe Spur built in February 1925 for M. C. Godbe at MP 17.63 on Newhouse Extension of Frisco Branch, to load tailings from the Horn Silver Mine dump. Spur was 857 feet long. (AFE 30-2633, dated January 30, 1925; Work Order 5432, 100 percent complete on February 19, 1925)
Godbe Spur retired on July 2, 1927. (Work Order 7300; 100 percent complete on July 2, 1927)

LA&SL Iron Mountain Branch

Summary of operations, as of November 1985:

Gilbert Construction Company (of Cedar City, Utah) is the new operator of the Iron Mountain iron mines.
Union Pacific picks up loaded iron ore cars on Thursdays at 4, p.m.
The main iron mine is at Comstock. Other iron ore tipples are at iron Springs, Deseret, Mound, and Iron Mountain.

LA&SL Fairfield Branch (from LA&SL drawing 562-11; examined at UP Depot Annex, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 29, 1988)

Train operation discontinued on September 6, 1918
Retire "Hammond Spur" (MP 42.3), 960 feet long. (Form 30 number 6-1117, dated September 6, 1918)
Retire "Rush Valley", side track at MP 32.4. Station abandoned on May 17, 1920. (Form 30 number 6-1123, dated October 12, 1918)
"Del Monte" station (MP 35.7) abandoned on May 17, 1920
Track abandoned west of MP 37 on May 10, 1921
"Doremus" station (MP 41.8) abandoned on May 17, 1920
Main track maintained to MP 37.0 until May 10, 1921
Construct 266.5 spur for Salt Lake Pressed brick Company. (Work Order 5601, dated May 29, 1925; 100 percent complete, May 28, 1925)
Re-ballasted, MP 15 to MP 30 (11,500 cubic yards of ballast). (Work Order 5011; 100 percent complete, July 29, 1925)
Construct 38.7 foot extension to Salt Lake Pressed Brick Company spur, at Five Mile Pass, on county line. (Work order 5775; 100 percent complete, August 14, 1925)
Retire 13.32 miles of branch line (319.53 acres of actual right-of-way); 5,315 feet of secondary track; 10 turnouts; Topliff to Boulter MP 30.0 to MP 43.32. (Work Order 7636, dated October 31, 1927; A.F.E. 3321, dated September 22, 1927)
Five Mile Pass, Utah (original date on map: February 1913), shows passing siding at Five Mile Pass, with spur for clay loading; shows track ending 850 feet southeast of county line; shows trackage beyond end of track as being removed in 1938, under work order 1222

Notes From Pacific Railway Commission Hearings

(Senate Executive Document, Volume 6, 50th Congress) (examined at University of Utah, Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, Utah)

Testimony of W. W. Riter (Salt Lake & Western)

Testimony of W. W. Riter in Pacific Railway Commission hearings at Salt Lake City on 20 July, and on 21 July 1887 at his office in Salt Lake City due to the books of the SL&W being too "voluminous" to bring to the commission, so the commission went to his office. (Serial Set 2506, pages 2194, 2195, 2198, 2199, 2200) (done on March 3, 1982)

W. W. Riter built the Salt Lake & Western for Union Pacific. (page 2194)
Union Pacific furnished iron, fishplates, spikes, bolts, etc., from the East. (page 2194)
Union Pacific cash to pay for the construction, including grading and ties. (page 2195)
W. W. Riter was Superintendent of Salt Lake & Western since May 1881, also Superintendent of narrow-gauge Utah & Nevada. (page 2198)
Union Pacific furnished money and materials. (page 2198)
Salt Lake & Western was organized to build to California, to meet with company of same name in Nevada. Riter surveyed line to Mono Lake in California. (page 2199)
Several miles of grading was done beyond present terminus, at place called "Tintic", with a four mile branch built up to "Cedar City". (page 2199)
Length of Salt Lake & Western was "a few feet short of 58 miles". (page 2199)
$34,859.30 spent for equipment. (page 2199)
Standard gauge. (page 2199)
Four mile branch built to "Cedar City" with second hand iron rail from Utah Central. (page 2200)
Construction of Salt Lake & Western began on May 31, 1881. (page 2200)
Salt Lake & Western mainline, from Lehi Junction to Tintic, was completed on July 1, 1882. (page 2200)

Testimony of John Sharp (research not completed)

Testimony of "Bishop" John Sharp in Pacific Railway Commission hearings on Wednesday, July 20, 1887 at Salt Lake City. (Serial Set 2506, pages 2154, 2155) (done on March 3, 1982)

Superintendent of Utah Central from 1871. (page 2154)
Union Pacific paid $250,000 to Brigham Young for 5,000 shares of Utah Central stock (out of 15,000 shares). (page 2155)
$1,000,000 in outstanding bonds. (page 2155)
Shareholders in Utah Central took bonds in Utah Southern in proportion to their shares in Utah Central. $800.00 in cash bought $1,000.00 in bonds. (page 2155)

Notes from Serial Set 2505 (pages 172,173, done on March 2, 1982)

"Abandoned to creditors": Utah & Eastern (20 miles)
"Failed to pay fixed charges":
Oregon Short Line (610.82 miles, deficiency: $395,103.71)
Utah Central (280 miles, deficiency: $43,031.51)
Salt Lake & Western (57.60 miles, deficiency: $35,416.75)
Echo and Park City (31.78 miles, deficiency: $35,139.83)
"Profit was made":
Utah and Northern (466.18 miles, profit: $72,959.54)
Utah & Nevada (37 miles, profit: $40,749.91)

Notes from Serial Set 2509

Kansas Pacific paid $32,750.00 for two locomotives on September 25, 1866. (page 4853)
Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railroad sold $10,000 in 20-year First Mortgage bonds (at $800.00 each) to Union Pacific in settlement of accounts against C. W. Schofield for Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railroad and Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad.
Bonds were dated 10 April 1873.
Transaction was dated 9 April 1878. Cost to Union Pacific was $8,915.82, at 9% interest.
In November 1882, Union Pacific sold to Oregon Short Line 10 locomotives (page 5294):
Eight Grant 4-4-0s, with 60-inch drivers; UP road numbers 19, 20, 16, 43, 44, 45, 47, 18 became OSL road numbers 1-6, 9, 10. Cost was $9,500.00 each.
Two Taunton 4-6-0s, with 18 x 24 cylinders and 54-inch drivers; UP road numbers 55, 51 became OSL road numbers 7, 8. Cost was $13,750.00 each.
Total cost of all 10 locomotives was $103,500.00

Notes from Serial Set 2509, index (done on March 3, 1982)

page 5485 -- Testimony of John Sharp, pages 2154-2173
page 5520 -- UP controlled Echo & Park City, pages 72, 73, 859, 860, 1079
page 5521 -- UP controlled Oregon Short Line:
organization and construction, pages 91, 92
details of construction, page 1291
UP acquires control, pages 1292, 1293
future business, pages 2151, 2152
UP controlled Salt Lake & Western:
Management by Bishop Sharp, page 101
Organization and construction, pages 2194-2199 (testimony of Riter)
UP owns, deficit, page 637
page 5522 -- UP controlled Utah & Northern:
route, page 102
history, page 103
built by Joseph Richardson, page 442
control by Gould, page 443
control by Gould, to UP, page 537
circumstances of acquisition by UP, pages 571, 572, 2173
page 5524 -- Owned in part by UP:
Utah & Nevada, pages 67, 68, 889
Utah Central, pages 68, 69, 2154-2163, 2169-2172

Notes about Union Pacific's Shay locomotives

(from a mid 1970s hand written note)

Information from Bill Simpson, B&B pipefitter at Salt Lake City during mid 1970s. He was a B&B pipefitter at Tintic during late 1940s and early 1950s.

Shays were replaced by "six-axle ALCos".
Shays never ran out of Lynndyl, always ran out of Tintic.
Tintic roundhouse was torn down in 1951 or 1952.
Heavy maintenance (wheel and boiler work) on Shays was done at Lynndyl, then at Provo after Lynndyl was closed as a locomotive repair shop (when?).
Locals that worked out of Lynndyl included the St. John Local, the Tintic Local, the Delta Local, and the Provo Mixed.
The Lynndyl switcher was 2-8-0 number 6010.

People with knowledge of Shay operations (from a hand written note dated 1975)

Information from Harvey Elliott, machinist at Salt Lake shops during mid 1970s. Harvey grew up in Eureka, and began his railroad career there and in Tintic. He moved to Ogden to become a Machinist Apprentice in the roundhouse, then became a machinist in Salt Lake City when the Ogden roundhouse was closed in about 1968-1969.

J. H. "Joe" Hanlon, 80-year old retired LA&SL engineer, Salt Lake City phone 583-0152
L. J. "Jack" Memmot, retired signal supervisor, Salt Lake City phone 466-4001
Lynn "Shorty" Vest, retired Shay engineer
Ed Hanlon, lives in Calumet, Michigan (Joe's brother) (photos?)
Hogan, retired roundhouse foreman at Tintic
Irv Campbell, retired road foreman
Ed Shafter
Ernie Erickson, retired fire watcher
Amos Davis, 12 years at Tintic, living in Tooele
"Lo" Davis, Amos' father
Mel Hansen, lives at Mammoth
"Brenny", lives in wye of roads at Eureka roads
Mel Burns, retired district maintenance of way supervisor
Melvin Whitehead, now working at body shop in Provo
Don Marlin, retired steel gang foreman, now American Fork Justice of the Peace
Roy Clark, retired electrician, ran the theater in Lynndyl

Cache Valley Memories

by Vyron G. Dowdle (yes, that's his real name)

(as told to Don Strack, December 21, 1993)

Steam locomotives operated on the Cache Valley Branch until about 1952, when they were replaced by two diesel locomotives. The assigned engineer for the Cache Valley Local was Mr. Keith Polsen, who, prior to his retirement, had worked for Union Pacific for about 45-50 years, starting out as a track worker. He got his start in engine service when one day while working on the section gang he was asked (because Keith was a big, strapping young man) to fill in for the regular fireman on the Cache Valley Local. At that time, the steam locomotives used a combination of hardwood and coal as fuel, and the fireman needed to be strong in order to shovel the coal and haul the hardwood. Mr. Polsen started as a fireman and worked his way up to being the engineer. During the later days of steam on the Utah Division, he was asked several times to move down to Salt Lake City, but he declined, saying that he preferred to stay in Cache Valley because that was where his home was. Mr. Polsen hated diesel locomotives, saying that they were too slow when starting to work; he was used to the quick response of the regular steam locomotive that was assigned to the Cache Valley Branch (UP 2458?). Mr. Polsen retired in about 1953, being in his late 60's. After the steam locomotive was replaced, and while Mr. Polsen was still the regular engineer, the locomotive was kept in the yard as stand-by, and Mr. Polsen would go out occasionally and fire it up and run it back and forth in the Logan yards.

A couple years after Mr. Polsen retired, he purchased a live steam miniature steam locomotive, some cars, and track and operated the trains on a circle of track in his back yard in Logan. Mr. Polsen's son, Keith Jr., still has the locomotive, cars, and some of the track in his back yard at his home in Ogden. (NOTE: No Polsens currently in Ogden telephone directory.)

The Benson Cutoff, between Logan and Ballard Junction (about 3 miles south of Cache Junction) was operated by Union Pacific until about 1954 when the wooden trestle over the Bear River finally collapsed; at about 10, page M. one night, according to the people who had heard the ruckus of the bridge falling into the river. The branch remained in service from Logan to the river from the east and from Ballard Junction to the river from the west, being used to store cars and for access to the beet dumps to move the beets from the farms to the sugar factory.

During the severe winter of 1948-49, the drifting was so bad that Union Pacific used a steam-powered rotary snowplow to clear the line through Cache Valley. Some of drifts were so deep that the engineers had to look up from the locomotive cab windows to see the top of the drifts.

Salt Lake City Union Stockyards

(Information from Glen D. Lowe, July 12, 1989. Glen worked in the stockyards during the summers of 1952 and 1953.)

Glen's uncle Joe Magelby, with his son "Bud" (real name Gale?) had a contract for cleaning and sanding of stock cars at Salt Lake Union Stockyards until the stockyards were closed in 1976. Then Bud Magelby moved to Las Vegas and took the contract for watering at Dry Lake, Nevada.

15 to 20 cars were sanded per day.
One to three cars per day were cleaned and disinfected.
Two to three inches of sand was added each time until six to eight inches had accumulated, then car was cleaned.
Two tracks were used as sand tracks, with piles of sand between them
Most cars were two decks, the three deck cars were just starting to be used

Also, Glen's dad worked for UP at Salt Lake City as a hostler helper from about 1941/1942 to his death in 1962.