UtahRails.net Copyright 2000-2008 Don Strack

Union Pacific's Utah Division

Compiled by Don Strack

This page was last updated on October 26, 2003.

(Note: Only lines in Utah, and lines in each Utah Division timetable, are covered.)

In the Union Pacific Railroad time table number 45, dated August 22, 1909, the Utah Division is shown as covering from Ogden to Rawlins. This was before any of the double track was added to the Ogden to Wahsatch grade in Weber and Echo canyons. This same time table covered the entire railroad, and included the Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado and Utah divisions. At this time, the OSL, OR&N and SP,LA&SL were each operationally separate from UP.

Until 1931, the LA&SL was split into two divisions, the Los Angeles Division and the Salt Lake Division, with Caliente as the separation point. In 1931 the two were combined into a single division, the Los Angeles Division.

With the formal lease of both the OSL and the LA&SL on January 1, 1936, the operational changes included the designation of the OSL as the Central District, and the LA&SL as the Southwestern District. In 1937, the Central District was combined with the Southwestern District to form the South-Central District, or SCD.

On August 1, 1941, the Los Angeles Division was changed to the California Division and cut back to end at Caliente. At the same time, the Utah Division was enlarged to include the former LA&SL Salt Lake Division, to Caliente.

On January 1, 1948 the Utah Division was cut back to include just the former OSL north from Salt Lake City to McCammon. The California Division was extended to Salt Lake City, with the Salt Lake City to Lynndyl (the old Utah Southern) line being designated as the First Subdivision, and the newer Salt Lake City to Lynndyl Leamington Cutoff being designated as the Second Subdivision. The Lynndyl to Milford line became the Third Subdivision, and the Milford to Caliente line became the Fourth Subdivision.

At the same time, the Utah Division was expanded east to Green River, cutting back the Wyoming Division. The Utah Division was also expanded north to Pocatello, and on to Butte, cutting back the Idaho Division to Pocatello. New No. 1 timetables for each division were issued on February 29, 1948 reflecting these changes.

Utah Division Timetable No. 1, dated February 29, 1948

California Division Timetable No. 1, dated February 29, 1948

On September 11, 1949, the three districts (Eastern, Northwestern and South-Central) were reorganized to reflect the dieselization of the South-Central and Northwestern districts:

The Utah Division remained unchanged from September 1949 to November 1983, when the operations of the former WP were officially added to the Utah Division.

Timetables

South-Central District Timetable No. 1, dated January 12, 1975

Eastern District Timetable No. 1, dated May 15, 1976

System Timetable No. 1, dated ????

System Timetable No. 2, dated December 10, 1978 (no change)

System Timetable No. 3, dated March 9, 1980 (no change)

System Timetable No. 4, dated October 26, 1980 (no change)

System Timetable No. 5, dated May 31, 1981 (no change)

System Timetable No. 6, dated May 23, 1982 (no change)

System Timetable No. 7, dated July 17, 1983 (WP added as Western District)

(The last WP timetable was No. 10, issued on October 31, 1982; UP control of WP was granted on December 22, 1982, with an effective date of January 1, 1983; the two were formally merged on June 17, 1987.)

System Timetable No. 8, dated November 20, 1983 (WP west of Winnemucca added as Western Division)

System Timetable No. 1, dated April 28, 1985 (no change)

(Note: There was also an accompanying UP System Timetable No. 1, dated April 28, 1985, that covered only the Missouri Pacific Railroad.)

System Timetable No. 2, dated October 27, 1985

System Timetable No. 3, dated April 27, 1986 (first with named subdivisions)

On April 29, 1986, the Utah Division was eliminated. (Union Pacific Salt Lake Route, page 45)

System Timetable No. 4, dated October 26, 1986 (no Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 5, dated April 5, 1987 (Granger Subdivision changed to Salt Lake Subdivision) (no Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 6, dated May 15, 1988 (Utah Division reinstated)

System Timetable No. 7, dated October 29, 1989

System Timetable No. 8, dated April 7, 1991
(Red, white and blue cover to commemorate Operation Desert Storm)

System Timetable No. 1, dated April 10, 1994 (Service Units)

System Timetable No. 2, dated October 29, 1995 (no change)

Other system timetables between 1995 and 1998??

On October 25, 1998, the entire railroad was reorganized into 18 service units, in three regions. The Salt Lake City Service Unit was created from portions of the Los Angeles and Cheyenne service units.

In 1999 (?), the Utah Service Unit was created from portions of the Salt Lake City Service Unit (?) to better manage the operations of coal trains. The Utah Service Unit encompassed subdivisions south and east of Provo.

Click here for a summary of the changes to UP in Utah in September 1998.

(See also The Streamliner, Vol. 4, Number 2, page 28 for a summary of the history of UP in Utah.)

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