Utah Railway History
Compiled by Don Strack
This page was last updated on June 25, 2008.
(Incomplete — research continues.)
Additional Sources:
Utah Railway After 1960 — Coverage after the coal business slump of 1960
Utah Railway History 1912-1960
Prior to 1912 and the organization of the Utah (Coal) Railway, the only outlet for the coal mines at Mohrland and Hiawatha was the single track railroads of the Southern Utah Railroad and the Castle Valley Railroad. "These railroads were poorly and inadequately constructed, with impracticable grades, lacking in equipment, and incapable of being put into condition to serve this region and handle the output of the mines, to say nothing of making possible increased output and new development." (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 21)
On January 24, 1912 the Utah Coal Railway was incorporated to build, or acquire and operate a standard gauge railroad from coal mines in Carbon and Emery counties, Utah, to a point of connection with the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. Less than five months later, on May 4, 1912 the company name was simplified, from Utah Coal Railway to just Utah Railway. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 21)
Utah Coal Railway was incorporated on January 24, 1912 to build a ninety mile railroad from Provo, south and southeast through Utah, San Pete, and Emery counties. The corporation also showed an intended thirty-five mile route from Nephi, in Juab County, east through Juab and San Pete counties, to a connection with the first route. William M. Bradley of Salt Lake City was shown as president and owner of 1,246 of the authorized 1,250 shares. On May 4, 1912 the name was changed to Utah Railway. On September 10, 1912, an additional route was filed. This route was from the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake line at or near Spanish Fork. (Utah corporation, index number 9369)
The original, preliminary survey had the new railroad paralleling the D&RG from Provo to Thistle, then south following D&RG's Marysvale Branch as far as Hilltop, and thence in a southeasterly direction, down Huntington Canyon, to Mohrland. (New Railroads, p. 17)
As the surveying of the projected line progressed, the engineers began to see that a better route could be had by crossing over the D&RG at Castle Gate and proceeding generally parallel to the D&RG over Soldier's Summit to Thistle and either Spanish Fork or Provo, where a connection would be made with the SP,LA&SL. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 21)
There were six parties of surveyors out locating the line of the Utah Coal Railway during the summer of 1912. (Coal Age, October 26, 1912, p. 590)
The engineer in charge of the survey of the Utah Coal Railway was William Ashton, also the chief engineer for the Union Pacific-owned Oregon Short Line Railroad. In early May 1912, Ashton and W. G. Sharp, president of both Utah Railway and United States Smelting visited Price to inspect progress of the survey and to attend to other business matters. While in Price, Sharp announced that he would be exercising his option to purchase both Consolidated Fuel Company and Southern Utah Railroad. (Coal Index: Eastern Utah Advocate, May 16, 1912, p. 1)
The survey of the new "Utah Coal Railroad" was completed between Spanish Fork and Mohrland in late May or early June 1912. (Coal Index: Eastern Utah Advocate, June 6, 1912, p. 5)
(COMMENT: The first portion of the new railroad began construction between the mines at Mohrland and Hiawatha and the vicinity of Castle Gate. From there the line was to parallel the D&RGW through Price Canyon and Spanish Fork Canyon to a connection with the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad at Spanish Fork.)
On August 16, 1912 Castle Valley Railroad contracted with Utah Railway for the construction of a new 3.51 mile line between the Mohrland mine and Black Hawk, called the "Black Hawk-Mohrland Cut-off Line". The work was included in Utah Railway's August 21, 1912 contract with Utah Construction Company for the construction of its own new 22.27 mile line between Hiawatha and Utah Railway Junction. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
Construction, by Utah Railway, of the new Castle Valley Railroad, called the "Black Hawk-Mohrland Cut-off Line", commenced on September 7, 1912 and was complete on July 1, 1913. (141 ICC 567)
On September 10, 1912 work began on Utah Railway's new line between the mines and Castle Gate. The contract with Utah Construction Company was for the construction of twenty-eight miles of grade between Mohrland and half way to Helper and Castle Gate. The construction was to be completed within ninety days. The survey of the line beyond Castle Gate was not yet completed. As part of the construction of the new line for Castle Valley Railroad, four carloads of equipment and one steam shovel were already in place at Mohrland. (Eastern Utah Advocate, September 12, 1912)
As construction on the new line for Utah Railway was being planned, during the first half of September 1912, the combined Southern Utah and Castle Valley railroads shipped about fifty cars per day to the Denver & Rio Grande connection at Price. (Eastern Utah Advocate, September 20, 1912)
Work by Utah Construction Company of Utah Railway's new Hiawatha to Utah Railway Junction line commenced in October 1912. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
The survey of the Utah Railway on the western slope of Soldier Summit called for the new line to be located 800 feet above the D&RG at its station at Tucker. (Eastern Utah Advocate, October 31, 1912, p. 1)
In mid November 1912, the contract for the construction of the Utah Railway grade between two miles east of Thistle and Diamond Fork was let to C. L. Crandall, H. T. Reynolds, and Henry L. Simpson, all of Springville, Utah. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 21, 1912)
By late November 1912 the survey for Utah Railway's route between Castle Gate and Soldier Summit had been decided on. The projected route was by way of the south side of Price River Canyon using several tunnels and a two-percent grade. On the western side of Soldier Summit, the grading of the line between the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon and Thistle had begun, including a 500-foot tunnel near Thistle, to be the longest on the line. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 28, 1912)
Work started on Utah Railway's own line between Provo and Thistle on December 1, 1912. The work was being done by Utah Construction Company under a contract dated November 14, 1912. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
The new Utah Railway route included a possible tunnel through the south side of the Castle Gate rock formation, about 100 feet above the D&RG at that point. (Eastern Utah Advocate, January 9, 1913)
During mid February 1913, most of the work was being done between Mohrland, Hiawatha, and Castle Gate. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 13, 1913)
Utah Railway purchased several acres of the Oman Ranch near Helper as a site for its new terminal. (Eastern Utah Advocate, April 10, 1913)
The contract for the bridge abutment work between Mohrland and Castle Gate was given to Turner and Silvagni, of Price, for the amount of $40,000.00. (Eastern Utah Advocate, May 15, 1913, p. 5, the article stated that the northern end of the new route was at Helper)
Work on the line between Provo and Thistle (started on December 1, 1912) was abandoned on July 1, 1913 while extended negotiations progressed between Utah Railway and D&RG. Work resumed on the 20.62 miles of Utah Railway between Thistle and Provo on September 1, 1913, under a contract between D&RG and Utah Construction Company signed on September 8, 1913. The joint trackage agreement between Utah Railway and D&RG was signed on November 1, 1913. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
(RESEARCH: The ICC corporate history, 141 ICC 545, talks about the Utah Company having to borrow construction funds for the building of the Utah Railway from United States Smelting because its own construction funds were tied up for twenty months from "legal difficulties which developed" from the change of its original plans. Also that it had to pay double interest during the "period of litigation". Who sued who? and why? Was it over the change of in the planned route of the Utah Railway, or was it over some associated matter?)
Until early 1913, the northern terminal for the new railroad had been announced as being either Springville or Spanish Fork, with Spanish Fork being mentioned most often. The location the new terminal meant jobs and economic growth for the community chosen, so apparently some competition did exist for its location. In late January the northern terminal was changed from Spanish Fork to Provo through the efforts of the Provo Commercial Club's Financial & Right-of-way Committees. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 6, 1913, "Terminus of Sharp Road To Be Provo")
As early as mid February 1913, the United States company's coal companies had orders for 1,400 cars of coal that couldn't be shipped due to the lack of rail cars. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 20, 1913)
To support this anticipated increase in traffic, in March 1913 the Utah Railway announced that it would expend $1.5 million on new rail cars, with $50,000 being paid for the initial order of 500 cars. (Coal Age, Volume 3, number 9, March 1, 1913, p. 352)
Utah Coal Route Name — Just after being organized in early 1912, Utah Railway had purchased fifteen fifty-ton flat cars from Standard Steel Car Company, along with twenty-five fifty-ton gondola cars from Ralston Steel Car Company. The new flat cars and gondola cars were delivered in April and May 1913. Also in 1912 the company purchased three cabooses from Mount Vernon Car Manufacturing Company. These were delivered in June 1913 and leased to the Southern Utah for operation. That first order for 500 cars first announced in March 1913 wasn't actually placed until May 1914 and the cars began arriving in September 1914. They were the first of 2,000 cars owned jointly after 1917 with the SP,LA&SL (later LA&SL) and were operated as Utah Coal Route equipment. The Utah Coal Route name was in reality used only on these 2,000 cars and was a marketing scheme for coal mined in Utah and shipped to destinations on the Union Pacific. (Utah Railway: Manual, equipment lists)
Shipments on Utah Railway were made in the name of the Utah Coal Sales Agency, which acted as the selling agent for USSR&M's mines, from 1913 until July 25, 1930, when it was replaced by the United States Fuel Sales Agency. United States Fuel Sales Agency remained as the sales agent until January 1, 1936, when Utah Railway began making shipments directly in the name of United States Fuel Company. (Utah Railway: Coal Mines)
With the anticipated completion of the Utah Railway, changes were made to the operational patterns of the combined Southern Utah and Castle Valley railroads. In mid April 1913, the center of operations for the two roads shifted from Price to East Hiawatha, where the train crews began "tieing up". Conductor J. B. Darrah of Southern Utah Railroad received a new red caboose. (Eastern Utah Advocate, April 17, 1913, p. 5)
(COMMENT: Darrah Siding on the Utah Railway may have been named for conductor J. B. Darrah. The timing of his receiving his new caboose doesn't match the arrival of the new Utah Railway cabooses from Mt. Vernon Car.)
(QUESTION: Did the Castle Valley Railroad ever have a locomotive shop? Did they use the Southern Utah shop at East Hiawatha? Did they ever complete their announced joint machine shop at Price?)
Negotiations between Utah Railway and D&RG for a joint trackage agreement began in late June 1913. (Eastern Utah Advocate, June 26, 1913)
In July 1913 the new Black Hawk-Mohrland Cut-off was completed, replacing the old Castle Valley Railroad. The completion of this line was the first portion of the new Utah Railway, the rest of which was completed about thirteen months later, in August 1914. Work on the cut-off was begun in September 1912, at the same time as construction on the other portion of the new line between Hiawatha and Castle Gate. (141 ICC 567)
After construction was begun on Utah Railway's line south of Castle Gate, Denver & Rio Grande Western approached the Utah Railway with a plan to share trackage through the canyon and have a joint operation between Castle Gate and Springville. After lengthy negotiations, Utah Railway agreed to the plan and the two roads signed a trackage agreement on November 1, 1913. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
On November 1, 1913, Utah Railway and D&RG signed a joint operating agreement for 20.6 miles of Utah Railway owned single track trackage between Thistle and Provo, along with 19.8 miles of D&RG owned single track trackage between the same two points. Also included were 51.35 miles of D&RG owned double track trackage between Thistle and Utah Railway Junction. (141 ICC 574,575)
On November 4, 1913 the Utah Railway and the Denver & Rio Grande signed a joint trackage and operating agreement for their lines between Castle Gate (Utah Railway Junction) and Provo. The agreement called for Utah Railway to abandon its construction between Castle Gate and Spanish Fork. (Source?? Eastern Utah Advocate, November 6, 1913, p. 3?; Carbon County News, November 6, 1913, p. 9?)
D&RG's construction of its double track line over Soldiers Summit
(COMMENT: For reference, construction of the new Castle Valley Railroad between Black Hawk and Mohrland began in September 1912.)
In July 1912 D&RG began work on the double tracking of its line from Castle Gate to Kyune. The contractor was Kilpatrick Brothers. (Coal Index: Eastern Utah Advocate, July 11, 1912, p. 1)
In November 1912 D&RG began reconstruction of their own line over Soldier Summit, between Castle Gate and Thistle. The $1.5 million contract for the new "detour" line over Soldier Summit was let in Denver on November 19, 1912 to Utah Construction Company. The new D&RG construction was for a new double track line between a new connection with Utah Railway at Castle Gate, over Soldier's Summit to Thistle, and a connection with Utah Railway's own, new line into Provo. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 21, 1912)
(COMMENT: Utah Railway began construction of its own line between Provo and Thistle on December 1, 1912, and abandoned those efforts on July 1, 1913. Work resumed on November 1, 1913, done by Utah Construction for D&RG, for the account of Utah Railway.)
During January 1913 there were six steam shovels working on D&RG's detour line over Soldier Summit. D&RG also surveyed a route for a proposed branch to Huntington Canyon. (Eastern Utah Advocate, January 23, 1913)
Work was well under way by February 1913. There were twenty-three steam shovels working above Tucker. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 6, 1913)
There 1,000 men and 250 horse-drawn grading crews working on the new D&RG detour. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 20, 1913)
The work on D&RG's Soldier Summit detour was the site of one of Utah's first labor problems. Wattis and Bechtel, subcontractors to Utah Construction Company, had 750 workers go on strike demanding $2.50 for ten hours work, preferring nine hours of work. They also wanted bath tubs. Utah Construction had 7,000 men working: 3,000 near Tucker; and 4,000 in price River canyon and Spanish Fork Canyon. (Eastern Utah Advocate, June 12, 1913, "Shorter Hours; Bath Tubs Also")
Wattis & Bechtel resumed work after the strike was broken in mid June 1913, by which time membership in the striking union was down to twenty men. (Eastern Utah Advocate, June 19, 1913, pp. 6,8, "Agitators Jailed, Strike Broken")
The new D&RG Soldier Summit detour line was opened to general traffic during the week of November 10, 1913. The new line was projected to save $600,000.00 per year in operating costs. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 13, 1913)
Passenger trains began using the new D&RG detour during mid November 1913, their operation over the new line had been waiting for the completion of ballasting. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 20, 1913)
In late June 1914 the Utah Railway line between Provo and Thistle went into service as a second track for Denver & Rio Grande. Fourteen miles of Utah Railway's own line between the mines and Castle Gate (Utah Railway Junction) was complete, with the remainder to be complete by September. (Eastern Utah Advocate, June 25, 1914)
By late September and early October 1914, most of Utah Construction Company's forces had been pulled out of Carbon County. Finishing work on the line between Mohrland and Castle Gate was just about complete. (Eastern Utah Advocate, October 1, 1914)
The construction of the deck-girder bridge over Gordon Creek, known for being the longest and highest bridge on the line, had posed some delays during its construction. While the abutments were under construction, rock and soil conditions were discovered that forced the span to be lengthened. Other delays came after a cloudburst brought with it the loss of nearby construction materials needed for the bridge. (141 ICC 554)
The operation of the passenger and express business of the Southern Utah Railroad was leased to N. A. Williams in August 1914, to begin September 1, 1914. (Eastern Utah Advocate, August 6, 1914, p. 1)
The work of improving the mine tipple tracks at East Hiawatha was coming to a close. With the work about completed, Consolidated Fuel laid off 150 men who had been employed in laying the tracks at the loading tipples. (Eastern Utah Advocate, August 13, 1914)
On August 14, 1914, the new Utah Railway was formally completed from the Black Hawk and Hiawatha mines at Miller Creek, north to the connection with D&RG at what was named Utah Railway Junction, 1-1/2 miles south of Castle Gate. With the completion of the new line the D&RG began the operation of the Utah Railway, as called for in the agreement of November 1913. Corporate income and cost statements stem from this August 14, 1914 date. (141 ICC 567,569)
Total length of the new Utah Railway, from Mohrland to Utah Railway Junction was 25.78 miles. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
In the initial operation of Utah Railway, Denver & Rio Grande used its heaviest Mallet engines and trains made up of sixty cars. The improvements at the mines would allow shipment of 150 cars per day. (Salt Lake Mining Review, October 30, 1914, p. 21)
The Mallet locomotives mentioned by the Mining Review would have been either the eight L-62 class 2-6-6-2s built in 1910, or the sixteen L-96 class 2-8-8-2s built in 1913. The next group of D&RG articulateds, the ten L-107 class 2-8-8-2s, didn't arrive on D&RG until 1923. (LeMassena: Rio Grande, pp. 123,125; LeMassena: Articulated, pp. 96,99,100; Colorado Railroad Museum: Rio Grande, p. 53)
(QUESTION: Did D&RG continue to use the two Southern Utah and two Castle Valley 2-8-0s to move coal trains over the new line to Castle Gate?)
In August 1914, the annual meeting of the Castle Valley Coal Company was held in Evanston, Wyoming. Officers present at the meeting were: J. H. Mays, president; E. L. Carpenter, first vice president; Moroni Heiner, second vice president; J. E. Forrester, secretary-treasurer. D. H. Livingston, W. S. McCornick, H. R. MacMillian were directors. The old board of directors was re-elected. (Eastern Utah Advocate, August 6, 1914)
(COMMENT: Apparently, by August 1914, United States Smelting did not yet own all of Castle Valley stock, a fact that would come up later with the organization of United States Fuel.)
Upon the completion of the new Castle Valley Railroad (called the "Black Hawk-Mohrland Cut-off Line"), Utah Railway bought the new line on October 31, 1914, at a cost of $246,911.42. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 22)
The Utah Railway bought the new line of the Castle Valley Railroad for $246,911.42. James H. Mays was shown as the president of Castle Valley Railroad. (Carbon County Deeds Book 5-G, pp. 143-145, recorded on November 28, 1914)
The newspaper account of the sale Castle Valley's new line to Utah Railway stated that the sale took place on November 21st and that Utah's operation of the new cut-off would be assumed on January 1, 1915. The newspaper put the sale price at $154,000.00, being the cost of construction, plus interest. (Eastern Utah Advocate, November 26, 1914)
D&RG formally took over operation of the Utah Railway's Mohrland to Utah Railway Junction line on October 21, 1914, and of the Thistle to Provo line on November 1, 1914. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 23)
During November 1914, the Southern Utah Railroad formally purchased the remaining interests and assets of the Castle Valley Railroad from the Castle Valley Coal Company. Included in the sale was Castle Valley's original 1910 line from Castle Junction to the mine at Mohrland, along with the Castle Valley's two locomotives, road numbers 101 and 103, bringing the Southern Utah motive power roster up to four locomotives. The sale also included the Southern Utah buying back the half interest in itself, sold to the Castle Valley in 1909. (Utah Railway: Manual, pp. 27,28)
Six years later, on November 26, 1920 the Castle Valley Railroad dissolved its corporation, having sold all assets. (Utah corporation, index number 7906)
(COMMENT: The old, original-in-1910, Castle Valley Railroad, cheaply built with its five-percent grades and sharp curves, was abandoned and reverted back to public lands. The abandoned roadbed later became the county road between Hiawatha and Mohrland.)
In the 1915 annual report of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Company, the directors had this to say to the shareholders about the construction of Utah Railway:
As your railroad investment was only made to get your coal to market, and not because your company desired to be interested in railroad operations, your directors gladly concluded an operating and trackage agreement with the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, which became fully effective November 1, 1914. Under this agreement the Denver & Rio Grande railroad assumes the operation of your railroad property, utilizing those portions parallel to its own tracks as a second track for the purposes of your coal. (Salt Lake Mining Review, April 15, 1915, p. 22)
During mid November 1914, both Castle Valley and Southern Utah railroads laid off almost all of their trainmen. (Coal Index: Carbon County News, November 19, 1914, p. 3)
During early 1913, Utah Railway announced that they would spend $1.5 million on new cars. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 13, 1913)
500 gondola cars were delivered starting on September 25, 1914. (Utah Railway: Official Manual, equipment lists)
By mid December 1914, the first 100 cars of a new 500-car order had been received. The remaining 400 cars were in-route from the builder in Pittsburgh. (Eastern Utah Advocate, December 17, 1914, "100 of 500 cars received")
During mid August 1915, E. L. Carpenter, president of Southern Utah Railroad, Castle Valley Railroad, and United States Fuel, assured all that the railroads would not be abandoned, although they were not "paying". (The Sun, August 13, 1915) In February 1914, D. D. Houtz, attorney for Southern Utah Railroad and Consolidated Fuel Company, had stated that upon completion of the Utah Railway, the line from Price to Castle Junction would be abandoned by the coal company and its rails taken up. (Eastern Utah Advocate, February 26, 1914)
All coal was being shipped over the Utah Railway, except "what little coal is used in Price and east of here". All local freight, passenger, express and mail business was going out of Price by way of the Southern Utah and Castle Valley roads. (The Sun, August 13, 1915)
In January 1916 the D&RG operation of joint Southern Utah/Castle Valley included passenger trains: No. 1 operated between Mohrland and Price in the early morning, from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. No. 2 returned from Price to Mohrland in the late morning, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:01 p.m. (The Sun, January 16, 1916, p. 7)
On February 20, 1916 Southern Utah 2-8-0 number 100 (its first locomotive) was shipped from Salt Lake City to another United States Smelting operation in northern Mexico, after being "thoroughly overhauled" by D&RG in the Salt Lake shops. There were motive power shortages in Mexico due to the revolution there, making it necessary for the smelting company to furnish its own power for its trains, between the mines at Pachuca (in central Mexico) and the smelter in Laredo, Texas. (The Sun, February 25, 1916)
During the spring of 1916 the Southern Utah was losing $10,000 a year. An official of the company stated that the steam locomotives may be replaced by "gasoline motor service" or that the Southern Utah may be electrified. (The Sun, April 14, 1916, p. 1)
In mid June 1916, A. B. Apperson, vice president and general manager of United States Fuel, announced that his company had purchased a motor car from the McKeen Motor Car Company of Omaha, Nebraska, to be operated between Price and the mines for the benefit of the company's employees. (Salt Lake Mining Review, June 15, 1916, p. 18, "Coal Notes & Personals") (Also in News-Advocate, June 23, 1916)
Southern Utah engineer J. M. Riley was sent to Omaha in mid November 1916 for two to three weeks to learn the maintenance and operation of the "new electric motor" that was to be used on the Hiawatha Branch. (News-Advocate, November 22, 1916)
(RESEARCH: Get November 17, 1916 issue of The Sun, for its discussion of the relationship between Utah Railway and D&RG.)
The mines of United States Fuel Company were in full production, or at least producing coal that could be sold and shipped. At times coal was sitting at the mine tipples waiting for cars to load, and other times the coal was sitting in cars on sidings waiting for locomotives. United States Fuel could see that the D&RG operation of its Utah Railway was unsatisfactory, and not able to keep up with the demand for cars and locomotives to ship the company's coal. To ease the situation the Utah Railway served notice to the Rio Grande that they would take over operation of their line as of November 1917. To accomplish this, Utah Railway purchased half interest in 1,500 coal cars already ordered in May 1917 by the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, a Union Pacific subsidiary, adding to the already existing 500 Utah Coal Route cars delivered from Pressed Steel Car Company in 1914 and 1915. These original 500 cars had been purchased by Utah Railway, and LA&SL purchased a half interest in them in February 1917, when the Utah Coal Route marketing concept was agreed on. The additional 1,500 cars were also lettered for the Utah Coal Route. The Utah Railway also purchased six of their own steam locomotives. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 23)
By mid July, new Utah Coal Route cars for the Utah Railway were arriving at the rate of twenty cars per day. (The Sun, July 20, 1917, p. 6)
During the decade from 1910 to 1920, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was suffering from major money problems because it was being forced to cover the debt and construction costs for the Western Pacific, and the D&RG was subject to many complaints from mining companies about its lack of service. In early 1913, the yards and sidings along Southern Utah are choked with loaded coal cars awaiting movement by the D&RG, who lacked enough locomotives to move all of its trains. (Eastern Utah Advocate, January 13, 1913)
In 1915, at the time of the organization of United States Fuel, there was still a severe car shortage. (The Sun, October 15, 1915)
During late 1917 there were many complaints and negative comments in the local press about the shortage of cars and that the yards at Price and Helper are being "choked" with loaded cars, waiting for locomotives. This lack of credible service by D&RG is what led copper giant, Utah Copper Company in 1911 to build its own Bingham & Garfield Railroad between its Bingham Canyon mines and its mills at Magna, both in northern Utah. The poor service was also the cause of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Company to also build its own railroad, in the form of Utah Railway in 1912-1914. The coal companies found Rio Grande's inability to furnish sufficient cars for the transportation of coal bad enough to formally file complaints with the state Public Utilities Commission and the federal Interstate Commerce Commission. Both government agencies held hearings on the subject and found that the D&RG's financial condition was so bad that it simply did not have the resources to furnish sufficient numbers of cars to satisfy the demand for coal that was taking place. It was also shown that if the mining companies needed cars for the shipment of coal they would have to furnish them themselves - and this is exactly what the Utah Railway did in 1917 when they purchased their own fleet of locomotives, and half interest with LA&SL in a fleet of coal cars. (part from Anderson: Ax-I-Dent-Ax)
On November 1, 1916 Utah Railway gave notice to the Denver & Rio Grande that the company would take over the operation of its own trains on November 1, 1917. The one year notice was a requirement of the joint operating agreement signed in 1913. The original agreement between Utah Railway and D&RG contained a stipulation that after two years, Utah Railway could take over the privilege of operation of its own line at the end of the following (third) year. The smelting company was dissatisfied with the service, especially to its U. S. Fuel mines. (News-Advocate, January 18, 1917, p. 1)
On November 1, 1916, United States Smelting served notice to D&RG that the Utah Railway would take over the operation of its own line on November 1, 1917. (The Sun, January 19, 1917, p. 1, "Smelting Company To take Back Road")
On January 1, 1917, the Southern Utah received its new McKeen gasoline motor car, with road number 100. The "Gasoline Car" arrived under its own power from Omaha on Monday, January 1, 1917. It stood at Price all day Monday and ran out to Hiawatha on Tuesday the 2nd. Mr. Riley was the engineer. (News-Advocate, January 4, 1917, "Gasoline Car Here")
By mid January, the new gasoline motor car was not yet in operation; it was found to be "not efficient enough". (News-Advocate, January 18, 1917)
Later, the reason given was that the car had been a "failure" on the Southern Utah grades, which varied from 0.54 percent to 4.9 percent at East Hiawatha. (The Sun, July 13, 1917; Condensed Profile of the Southern Utah Railroad)
This car was the largest and most powerful, at 300 horsepower, McKeen car ever built, and the only one built using a six-wheel power truck. The power truck had two driving axles, rather than the normal one axle, with these two axles connected through the use of outside drive rod. The car was 58 feet long and weighed 91,000 pounds. (Keilty, p. 54)
In mid January 1917, just two weeks after its arrival, there were statements that the McKeen motor car was not efficient enough. (News-Advocate, January 18, 1917)
In mid July 1917, about three weeks after the Mammoth dam break, the newspapers said that the McKeen motor car was a failure on the Southern Utah grades. (The Sun, July 13, 1917)
(COMMENT: The car was later used by Utah Railway as an office and storage shed near their shops at Martin (moved there in 1939?), and was only removed from the property in late 1992 during Morrison Knudsen's clean up of general shop area when they took over locomotive maintenance operations on the Utah Railway. There is no mention of the former Southern Utah McKeen car in any documentation after it was mentioned as bringing the passengers down to the washed-out Price River bridge in July 1917. The Utah Railway 1937 Official Manual shows a 70-foot, six-axled combination passenger, baggage and mail coach purchased second hand on January 13, 1919 from the Las Vegas and Tonapah Railway. The passenger car was retired on March 2, 1927 and converted to outfit car number 05, which was retired on June 6, 1939. The only other possible mention of the McKeen car was in the 1951 Chief Engineer's report on the condition of the railroad. On page 21, the chief engineer states "An old steel coach body was installed near the [Martin] enginehouse in 1939 and is used as a workshop by the General Electrician and as a locker building for the car men." This car body could have been either the old Las Vegas & Tonapah car, or the McKeen car. No record shows whether the LV&T car had a wooden body or a steel body.)
(RESEARCH: The 1917 Utah legislature appointed a committee to look into the shortage of coal in Utah. They found that better transportation was needed. Get something on this committee. from 72 ICC 91,92)
During mid March 1917, in anticipation of assuming its own operations in November, the Utah Railway, along with the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad (a Union Pacific subsidiary) began construction of their new Provo Joint Yard and Shops. (News-Advocate, March 22, 1917)
The construction of the joint yard in Provo commenced in early May and the terminal was completed at the end of August. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 23)
There were seventy-five men working at grading the new Provo joint yard. The yard was 1.25 miles long and was to be complete by November 1, 1917. (The Sun, July 6, 1917, p. 2; July 20, 1917)
The new Provo joint yard was about half completed by mid July 1917. (The Sun, July 20, 1917, p. 6)
The new, modern concrete Provo roundhouse was under construction in early October. (News-Advocate, October 12, 1917)
By mid October the new yard was just about complete. The new facilities included a double coaling trestle, a water tank, a ninety-foot turntable, and a new roundhouse and machine shops. During the second week of October, the roundhouse roof beams were erected. (The Sun, October 12, 1917, p. 8, "Utah Railway's Terminals About Completed At Provo")
(RESEARCH: "Recent" issue of Provo Post had article about Provo Joint Yard. News-Advocate, November 22, 1917)
(RESEARCH: May 10, 1917 of News-Advocate has descriptions of mine improvements; "All mines of Carbon County show great growth…")
On June 1, 1917 the Denver & Rio Grande ended its operation of the Southern Utah Railroad. (The Sun, July 13, 1917)
(QUESTION: How was the Southern Utah operated between June 1st and the bridge wash-out in late June? Were the four 2-8-0s the only motive power used? Were UP or D&RG engines leased? Had Utah Railway by this time hired its own train crews?)
Mammoth Dam Break
In late June 1917, hurried and inadequate engineering of a earthen dam brought about a disaster that would affect railroad transportation in Carbon County for the next six months and cause the abandonment of the Southern Utah Railroad. At about noon on Saturday, June 24, 1917 the dam of the Mammoth reservoir of the Price River Irrigation Company began leaking. The dam was located on Gooseberry Creek, which fed Fish Creek, which in turn fed the Price River near Scofield. The leak grew steadily worse and the dam finally gave way in the early afternoon of Sunday, June 25th. Mammoth Dam, on Gooseberry Creek, was about forty miles upstream from Price, and the resulting flood carried 11,000 acre feet of water, or about 3.6 billion gallons, down Price River Canyon and out into the desert southeast of Price. The raging torrent destroyed four bridges and about seven miles of D&RG's Scofield Branch, along with eight bridges and twenty miles along D&RG's mainline down Price River Canyon. The Southern Utah's wooden bridge over the Price River at Price was also washed out, effectively shutting down the railroad. There was ample warning of the pending disaster, with the only death being that of a female sightseer who backed her car into the flooded river. The crest of the flood reached Price on Monday night at about 11 p.m. The flood stranded D&RG's Scofield switcher and marooned five D&RG trains between Helper and Colton, along with two Mallet helper engines. (Kleinschmidt, pp. 52-56; The Sun, June 29, 1917, p. 1, "Mammoth Dam Is Gone")
(The News-Advocate, on June 28, 1917, stated that the dam gave way at about 6 to 7 am Monday morning.)
Most of the damage on the mainline had been between Kyune and Utah Railway Junction, with 1,500 feet of track being washed out at the Nolan tunnels. (The Sun, July 6, 1917)
D&RG used 300 men to repair the damage caused by the Mammoth Dam break. (News-Advocate, August 2, 1917) D&RG used convicts from the state prison for part of the repair of the damage from the Mammoth dam break. The railroad sent the state a check for $4,022.94 for the labor. (News-Advocate, January 18, 1918)
The first train of coal went out west on D&RG Tuesday, July 3rd. (News-Advocate, July 5, 1917)
During the two weeks immediately following the June 25th flood, the passenger, express and mail traffic operated over the Southern Utah with the McKeen gasoline car. The car ran down to the washed out bridge, where the passengers and mail were transferred to automobiles and taken into Price over the county highway. On July 11, 1917, sixteen days after the Mammoth dam break that washed out its Price River bridge, the Southern Utah Railroad ended the operation of its line. All trains were operated over the Utah Railway, using Southern Utah and Castle Valley steam locomotives for the freight and coal traffic. The passenger, mail and express traffic was handled by the Utah Railway between the coal camps and Utah Railway Junction on the D&RG (where a boxcar served as a temporary depot) using the Southern Utah McKeen motor car. Immediately after the Price River bridge was washed out, all freight traffic was transferred to the Utah Railway. All of the coal traffic was already going out over the Utah Railway. (The Sun, July 13, 1917, p. 1, "last Wednesday", "Southern Utah Tied Up"; News-Advocate, July 12, 1917, "Price Loses The Hiawatha Train")
By August 10, 1917, most of the D&RG double track between Utah Railway Junction and Kyune was back in service, except for two sections, one at Cameron, one mile north of Castle Gate, and another near Kyune, and within two weeks those were also back in service. (The Sun, August 10, 1917, p. 6)
The first train out on the repaired Scofield Branch was operated in the early evening on August 20, 1917. (The Sun, August 24, 1917, p. 6)
The residents of Mohrland, Black Hawk, and Hiawatha soon began complaining of the roundabout way of getting into Price. By late July nothing had been done towards the repair of Southern Utah's Price River bridge, and it was thought that the Southern Utah would most likely be abandoned due to its financial condition. The Castle Valley Railroad was noted as being "a thing of the past". (News-Advocate, July 20, 1917; The Sun, July 20, 1917, p. 5)
During early August 1917, D&RG announced that they would be receiving 500 new coal cars. The accompanying newspaper article stated that the new cars would allow seven trains per day of fifty cars each, each car carrying forty tons (14,000 tons per day). The new cars would allow the Cameron Coal Company, the Independent Coal & Coke Company, the Spring Canyon Coal Company, and the Standard Coal Company to ship 4,400 tons per day from their mines, with the mines of the United States Fuel Company being able to ship twice that amount when they get the cars to load. The new double track line between Helper and Colton wasn't quite ready for D&RG's heaviest locomotives, with fills still too soft and bridges still too weak to carry the traffic. Work was progressing on improvements along the line. A special train was being operated daily from Provo to carry men who would not go on the job unless they could spend the nights with their families. (News-Advocate, August 9, 1917)
On November 14, 1917 the first two of Utah Railway's new locomotives arrived in Price, along with 1,200 Utah Coal Route cars. (The Sun, November 16, 1917)
The order for cars was originally for just 800 cars, and in April 1917 the size of the order was increased to 2,000. (News-Advocate, April 5, 1917)
The two locomotives had been shipped from the factory during early October 1917. (The Sun, October 12, 1917, p. 5)
Two locomotives arrived in mid November, with two more due by November 29th and two more due to arrive on December 1. (The Sun, November 16, 1917, p. 1, "New Equipment Here")
In late August the railroad said that the new locomotives were being delayed because of United States Railway Administration (USRA) restrictions of domestic production due to the war effort. (The Sun, August 24, 1917, p. 6)
In late November 1917, there were two locomotives and 1,200 coal cars in storage awaiting start up of independent Utah Railway operations on December 1st. (Salt Lake Mining Review, November 30, 1917, p. 35)
Another Utah Railway locomotive arrived at Salt Lake City on Wednesday, December 5, 1917. Utah Railway locomotives were made ready for operation at the OSL shops in Salt Lake City. (The Sun, December 7, 1917, p. 5)
A fifth Utah Railway locomotive ran out of the OSL Salt Lake shops under its own power on Sunday, December 9, 1917. (The Sun, December 14, 1917, p. 8)
The sixth locomotive was received "a few days ago" and was to be put into service soon. (Salt Lake Mining Review, December 15, 1917, p. 27)
(COMMENT: The Utah Railway's new locomotives were built to the same design as several of Union Pacific's locomotives, as were its new wooden cabooses. The locomotives and cabooses were purchased through the Union Pacific Equipment Association, but were entirely owned by Utah Railway. UP never had any interest in Utah Railway. The 2,000 Utah Coal Route gondola cars were jointly owned by Utah Railway and UP's LA&SL subsidiary. UP and Utah Railway shared the Provo Joint Shops and Provo Joint Yard.)
On December 1, 1917 the Utah Railway began operation of its line using its own locomotives and crews. (The Sun, November 30, 1917, p. 8)
The first Utah Railway train of forty cars was operated into Provo on Saturday, December 1, 1917. (News-Advocate, December 6, 1917, "Coal Route Is Working Well")
Also on December 1, 1917, Utah Railway began the rental of the four Southern Utah Railroad 2-8-0s, including the two former Castle Valley Railroad locomotives purchased by Southern Utah in 1914. The rental came to an end on July 1, 1918 when Utah Railway formally purchased all four of the remaining locomotives from the two earlier roads. Other equipment on hand at the start up of service were 522 steel gondola cars, fourteen flat cars, and five cabooses, which had been purchased in 1912 and 1915 and leased to the D&RG for their operations of the line. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 23)
According to a news item in the January 31, 1918 issue of the News-Advocate, the locomotives of the Utah Railway enroute from the builders were commandeered for service by USRA in the east. UP and WP, which have a locomotive surplus, furnished power to help Utah Railway with its needs. (News-Advocate, January 31, 1918)
During mid January 1918, Utah Railway was shipping about 100 cars per day. (News-Advocate, January 24, 1918)
By mid February 1918, Utah Railway was shipping 600 carloads (30,000 tons) a week, mostly to Pacific Coast markets. (Salt Lake Mining Review, February 15, 1918, p. 35)
By early May 1918, the Utah Railway alone was shipping 4,000 tons of coal per day into Provo, using two trains. (News-Advocate, May 2, 1918)
The tonnage handled by Utah Railway for the year 1919 was 1,196,314 tons, of which 1,185,818 tons (or about 23,716 carloads, about 65 carloads per day) was coal, leaving just 10,496 tons (or about 210 carloads) of non-coal tonnage handled. At the time of the ICC valuation in 1919, Utah Railway owned thirteen locomotives, forty-one freight cars, and one passenger car, along with half-interest (with LA&SL) in 2,000 gondola cars. (141 ICC 560,564)
The frame stucco depot at Hiawatha was constructed in 1919 and was used for passenger and freight service until passenger train service was discontinued in 1926. (Utah Railway: Engineers Report)
On November 25, 1919 the Southern Utah Railroad recorded with the county recorder that it had bought back the half interest in its line from the Castle Valley Railroad, which that road had purchased in 1909. The Castle Valley also sold to the Southern Utah its property in Price, without stating if that property had trackage located on it. (Carbon County Deeds Book 5-G, p. 290)
On August 19, 1920 the Southern Utah Railroad received permission from the Public Service Commission of Utah to abandon its line between Price and Hiawatha. The application was made on April 22, 1920. A public hearing was held on July 16th in Price. Included in the application was the request that the application be approved early enough to allow the railroad to be dismantled during the summer of 1920, through the use of a light engine operating over the much dilapidated track. To wait another season would not allow use a locomotive in the dismantling due to deterioration of the track, and would preclude salvage of any of the track and materials. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 314)
Between January and May 1921, the Southern Utah Railroad sold its property in Price to several private individuals. (Carbon County Miscellaneous Records Book 3-F, pp. 529-545,595; Book 3-G, p. 41)
In April 1921 the Denver & Rio Grande bought the Southern Utah's wye tracks at Price. (Carbon County Deeds Book 5-H, pp. 201,202)
In 1920, the Southern Utah Railroad owned no equipment, except one motor car. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 314)
(QUESTION: Was the "motor car" referred to above the McKeen car? Recent research has discovered that when the McKeen car was delivered in January 1917, it was actually a demonstration. The grades on Southern Utah were found to be too much for the gasoline car and it was removed from service. At the same time, the McKeen Motor Car Company stopped doing business and was taken over by Union Pacific. The McKeen car at Hiawatha apparently sat unused until the unique, six-wheel power and 300-hp gasoline engine were reclaimed by UP. The steel car body was apparently turned over to Utah Railway as scrap metal.)
The remaining Southern Utah trackage and right-of-way was relinquished to the U. S. Land Office. (Bureau of Land Management records)
On August 22, 1922 two Utah Railway trains met head-on inside Tunnel No. 2. The investigation found the dispatcher to blame. (Coal Index: The Sun, November 10, 1922, p. 7)
(RESEARCH: Get copy of August 1922 Utah Railway accident report, circa August 1922, from ICC?)
Scheduled passenger service on Utah Railway came to an end in 1926. Daily, except Sunday, passenger train service, including mixed train, passenger, mail and express, had been inaugurated between Utah Railway Junction and Mohrland on December 1, 1917, at the same time as independent freight train service. The passenger service was extended to include service to Spring Canyon at the time that Utah Railway acquired the Utah Terminal Railway on September 26, 1921. Passenger service to Kingmine (Utah Railway's name for its station at Hiawatha) and Mohrland was discontinued on May 11, 1925. All remaining passenger service, in the form of mixed train service, was discontinued on August 14, 1926. (Utah Railway: Manual, p. 23)
Utah Railway received permission from the Public Service Commission of Utah to discontinue its passenger service between Kingmine and Mohrland on May 11, 1925. The station at Mohrland was closed because the only industry served by the agent, U. S. Fuel's King No. 2 mine, was shut down. The American Railway Express office at Mohrland closed on March 31, 1925, and the Mohrland U. S. Post Office closed on April 30, 1925. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 800)
Utah Railway received permission from the Public Service Commission of Utah to discontinue all mixed train service on August 4, 1926. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 892)
The current office building for Utah Railway at Martin was completed in 1927:
"In 1927 a brick, concrete and steel office building 2 stories high was constructed at Martin for use of train dispatchers, agent and Superintendent's operating organization. The first floor is used largely for storehouse for miscellaneous maintenance of way material and the second floor for offices." (Utah Railway: Division Engineer's Report, 1951, Utah Railway Main Track, sheet 16)
"In 1947 a third floor was constructed on the Martin office building and fitted up with 13 sleeping rooms, lounge, and wash and toilet room for use principally of train and enginemen not residing at Martin." (Utah Railway: Division Engineer's Report, 1951, Utah Railway Main Track, sheet 17)
"November 7, 1927, marked the completion by the Utah Railway Company, at Martin, Utah, of a substantial modern fireproof brick and steel office building. The offices on the main floor are assigned to the Superintendent, Engineer of Maintenance of Way & Structures, Dispatchers, Agent & Telegraph Department. The full basement is utilized for storage purposes and provision was made at the time of original construction for an addition of another story when needed.
"The dispatcher's headquarters were previously located at Kingmine and were moved to Martin when the building was completed." (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, January 1930, p. 18)
Hiawatha — The steam locomotive servicing facilities at Hiawatha were built as part of the original construction in 1914. The enginehouse at Hiawatha burned down in 1922 and was replaced. The Hiawatha enginehouse retired and demolished in 1939. The fueling facilities at Hiawatha originally consisted of an elevated structure built in 1924, which could hold a single car of coal. Locomotives were fueled from coal dumped on a platform and hand shoveled into the locomotive's tenders. The structure was abandoned and demolished in 1938. The new United States Fuel preparation plant at Hiawatha plant completed in 1939 included a chute for coaling of Utah Railway locomotives. (Utah Railway: Engineers Report, 1951)
Martin — The steam locomotive servicing facilities at Martin were built as part of the original construction in 1914. The original enginehouse, built in 1914, at Martin burned in 1922 and was replaced by a brick, concrete, and steel structure, which still stands today. It has two through tracks and a stub track, and could house six steam locomotives. In 1917 an Ogle 200-ton coaling station was constructed at Martin, with two supply chutes, called "aprons", to service locomotives on the main track. In 1930 an additional 50-ton bin was added to service the eastward main track. In the 1930s the wooden legs were cut off and concrete footings installed. In 1939 a steel-bodied coach body was installed at the Martin enginehouse. (Utah Railway: Engineers Report, 1951)
On January 27, 1925, United States Fuel changed the names of it mines. The Black Hawk mine, located at the town of Hiawatha, and at Kingmine Station on Utah Railway, became the King No. 1. The Mohrland mine became the King No. 2 mine. (Utah Railway: Coal Mines)
To improve screening and preparation of coal, in 1925 United States Fuel built a new coal preparation plant at the original Hiawatha mine, also known as East Hiawatha. Cost was $200,000.00. (Coal Index: The Sun, February 27, 1925, p. 8)
In December 1924 the United States Fuel Company completed a new all-steel and concrete, five-track tipple at Hiawatha. The design and construction work took nearly a year. The new tipple included a seven by sixty-four foot long Marcus Horizontal Picking table, along with a slack re-screening plant and loading booms to load the coal into the railroad cars. (United States Fuel: Firing Line, Volume 1, number 8, December 1924, p. 1)
(COMMENT: United States Fuel Company published "The Firing Line", a monthly foldout brochure for its retailers and customers. Each issue was 7x10 inches and folded out to 14x20 inches. Volume 1, number 1 was April 1924, with successive issues published monthly, except Volume 1, number 10, which was February-March 1925. This was also the last issue, possibly due to the declining coal market. All ten known issues are available at the Utah State Historical Society, accession numbers 17995 to 18004.)
During the year 1929, approximately two-million tons of coal (about 6,600 tons, or about 133 car loads, per day for a 300 day year) originated on the Utah Railway. This figure represented about forty percent total Utah coal production. (Anderson, p. 3)
During July 1930 the steam locomotives of the Utah Railway began receiving brakemen's cupolas, located on the tender. Locomotives in all different classes of service were affected. (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, July 1930)
During September 1930 the new 3,000 foot passing track at Wildcat on the Utah Railway was almost complete. The passing track was built to handle increases in traffic coming off of the National Coal Railway. (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, September 1930)
In October 1930 Utah Railway began hiring more crews due to the annual increase in traffic. (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, October 1930)
In 1930 the second track between Utah Railway Junction and Martin was completed. (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, April 1930, p. 23)
During February 1931 Utah Railway's locomotive repair activities were moved from Martin, to the roundhouse at the Provo Joint Yard. All shop tools were moved from the shop in Martin. (Ax-I-Dent-Ax, February 1931)
(COMMENT: This action coincides with the retirement of the 2-8-0s at Martin. Number 4 remained at Provo as the switcher until the mid 1940s.)
The last piece of track connecting the old Southern Utah Railroad to the new Castle Valley Railroad was removed in March 1939, under AFE 794. The sand house at Hiawatha was removed in May 1939. The cinder pit at Hiawatha was removed in December 1939. (Utah Railway: engineering drawings)
The Utah Railway station of Kingmine was changed to Hiawatha on September 1, 1945. (Utah Railway: Kingmine, Utah station map)
Utah Railway After 1960
At the Provo terminal, the large engine house was torn down in 1981. Also, although there was still a track known as the "brick shed", the matching brick structure that the track name referred to had been torn down in the early 1970s. (email from James Belmont, December 31, 2004)
Utah Railway's parent company, United States Smelting, Refining & Mining over the years diversified its business interests. In 1972 the corporate name was changed to better reflect, for potential investors, the company's mission. The name chosen was UV Industries, using the ticker tape symbols for the company. In 1979 control of UV Industries was purchased by Vincent Posner's Sharon Steel Corp. Posner remained in control until Sharon Steel's bankruptcy in December 1990. The strongest component of the former UV Industries interests in 1990 was Mueller Industries, formerly Mueller Brass. Mueller Brass had been a major component of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Company, along with both United States Fuel and Alaska Gold. The interests of United States Fuel have passed to a new component of Mueller Industries called Arava Natural Resources (including the management and operation of Utah Railway) who is in the process of reclaiming its former coal mining activities. The coal mined by United States Fuel, beginning in 1915, was taken under lease from U. S. government lands, called "C" coal. By 1993, Mueller made the business decision to end their coal mining activities and pursue other interests more closely associated with brass. (telephone interviews on October 31, 1994 with John West, general manager of Utah Railway, and Mike Watson, general manager of Arava.)
Utah Railway received regulatory approval to remove its automatic block system on two segments of trackage, from milepost 1.4 to milepost 4.3, near Martin, and from milepost 17.8 to milepost 18.4, near Wattis, consisting of the removal of nine signals. The reason given was that the signals were obsolete. (DOT-FRA Block Signal Application BS-AP 3359, service date August 4, 1995, published in Federal Register, August 9, 1995)
Utah Railway received regulatory approval to abandon its Spring Canyon Branch on December 1, 1995. The trackage involved was from milepost 0.0 at Jacobs to milepost 3.6 at Spring Canyon. No traffic had moved over the line for at least two years. (ICC Docket AB-310X, service date October 26, 1995, published in Federal Register, November 1, 1995)
Utah Railway received regulatory approval to abandon its Wattis Branch on December 1, 1995. The trackage involved was from milepost 0.0 at Wattis Junction to milepost 2.4 at Wattis. No traffic had moved over the line for at least two years. (ICC Docket AB-310, sub 1X, service date October 26, 1995, published in Federal Register, November 1, 1995)
After the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific Merger
As a result of the 1996 merger of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, in January 1997, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway contracted with Utah Railway to operate its coal and local trains along the UP Central Corridor, over which BNSF was given haulage rights. To handle the new business, Utah Railway will lease an additional eight locomotives, bringing its fleet to 21 locomotives. new coal cuntomers that Utah Railway will serve include Savage Coal Terminal near Price, and Cyprus Amax's Willow Creek mine near Castle Gate. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 4, 1997)
"Utah Railway serves the central Utah coal fields." (UP Online, Volume 2, number 24, posted February 1, 1996, "Around The System")
Utah Railway Agreement — An agreement to allow Utah Railway to expand its operations, if the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger is approved, was announced today.
Under the agreement, UP/SP will: grant Utah Railway overhead traffic rights across the SP's line between Utah Railway Junction and Grand Junction, Colorado; allow Utah Railway access to the Savage Coal Terminal near price, Utah; and allow Utah Railway access to the Cyprus Amax's Willow Creek Mine near Castle Gate, Utah.
As part of the agreement, Utah Railway agreed not to raise any objections to operations by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation between Utah Railway Junction and Provo.
This agreement addresses concerns Utah Railway had about the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific merger and it removes a potential obstacle to effective trackage operations by Burlington Northern Santa Fe between Denver and Salt Lake City,' said Dick Davidson, Union Pacific Corporation President.
Gary Barker, Utah Railway president, said, "This agreement directly addresses our concerns with the UP/SP merger. The expansion of Utah Railway's operations will ensure our continued ability to serve the Utah coal industry."
Union Pacific/Southern Pacific combination will provide stronger rail transportation competition throughout the Western states through creation of a rail system with direct routes, service capabilities and financial resources to compete with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation.
As a provision of the September 1996 merger between UP and SP, BNSF was allowed trackage rights along the central corridor between Denver and Stockton, Calif. To operate its local and switching service between Ogden and Provo, BNSF contracted with Utah Railway in April 1997. (Deseret News, April 9, 1997)
Utah's operation of BNSF trains into Ogden began in September 1997. After BNSF contracted with Utah Railway to operate its local service as a provision of the UP-SP merger in September 1996, Utah Railway hired 40 additional employees and leased 13 additional locomotives. During September 1997, Utah's operations consisted of running a train between Provo and Ogden three times each week, delivering cars set out by BNSF at Provo - as many as 20 cars per week. Included in the contract service was regular operation west to Great Salt Lake Minerals at Little Mountain over the former SP line. At the time, Utah was operating with leased GP10 locomotives. (Ogden Standard Examiner, September 26, 1997)
Purchase of Salt Lake City Southern
On September 30, 1999, Utah Railway purchased the Salt Lake City Southern Railroad from RailTex, of San Antonio, Texas.
On August 24, 1999, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) approved Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) request to take away Salt Lake City Southern's status as a common carrier, subject to another carrier being named to take over freight operations along the UTA line. Salt Lake City Southern (AAR reporting Mark: SLS) had been operating under a lease with UTA to offer freight service on the UTA-owned line since April 1993, after UTA's purchase of the line in March 1993. SLS had been operating under trackage rights donated to it by Union Pacific in 1993. These trackage rights were canceled by the STB, and Utah Railway was allowed these rights with this August 1999 agreement. (STB Finance Docket 33803, service date October 18, 1999)
On August 30, 1999, the STB approved Utah Railway's application to offer freight service over Utah Transit Authority's former UP line between Salt Lake City and Draper. (STB Finance Docket 33785, service date August 30, 1999)
The sale of Salt Lake City Southern to Utah Railway was made final after RailTex had placed its Salt Lake City Southern holdings under the ownership of a new RailTex subsidiary Utah Rail Co., the assets of which are what Utah Railway actually bought. (San Antonio Business Journal, October 7, 1999)
The new Salt Lake City Southern Railroad (SLCS) operated upon 24.95 miles of trackage owned by Utah Transit Authority, but over which Union Pacific had retained freight train rights. UP had assigned its rights for freight train operations to Salt Lake City Southern, extending from milepost 798.74, at 900 South in Salt Lake City, south to milepost 775.19 at Mount, at the Salt Lake County/Utah County line, including the 1.4 mile Lovendahl Spur at milepost 790.52. The sale was made final on September 30, 1999. (STB Finance Docket 33803, service date October 26, 1999; Mueller Industries, Form 10K, 1999)
Utah Railway purchased Salt Lake City Southern Railroad from Railtex, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas for $675,000. Railtex operated 30 shortline railroads in 15 states, operating over 3,500 miles of trackage. Railtex had earlier, in 1998, attempted to negotiate the sale of Salt Lake City Southern to Sierra Pacific Rail Group, operators of California & Northern Railroad and Arizona & California Railroad, but the negotiations fell through. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 8, 1999)
(Click here for additional UTA - Salt Lake City Southern information.)
On October 15, 1999, UP granted trackage rights to the new Utah Railway-controlled Salt Lake City Southern Railroad over 2.1 miles of rail line between [D&RGW] milepost 735.8 and [D&RGW] milepost 737.9, on the former D&RGW portion of UP's Provo Subdivision. The trackage rights included the Midvale siding and crossover track, and would allow Utah Railway access from its Midvale yard to the former SLCS yard on the UTA trackage at Pallas. This was in addition to the almost 25 miles of trackage rights obtained by Utah Railway a month earlier, when it took over the trackage rights previously owned by Salt Lake City Southern. (STB Finance Docket 33808, service date October 18, 1999)
During the motive power changes of late 2001, Utah Railway was operating three coal trains per day, including trains to the IPP plant in Delta. (Ryan Ballard, 29 September 2001)
Sale Of Utah Railway to Genesee & Wyoming
On August 28, 2002, Utah Railway's parent company, Mueller Industries, sold the railroad to Genesee & Wyoming, a company with several other shortline railroad properties nationwide. The stated sale price was $54 million. Utah Railway, and its Salt Lake City Southern Railroad subsidiary, added 45 miles of owned trackage and 378 miles of operated trackage to G&W's existing over 8,000 miles of owned and leased trackage and 2,700 miles of operated trackage. (STB Finance Docket 34235, service date September 16, 2002; Deseret News, August 20, 2002; Salt Lake Tribune, August 21, 2002)
Genesee & Wyoming controlled the following other railroad companies:
- Allegheny & Eastern Railroad
- Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad
- Bradford Industrial Rail, Inc.
- Corpus Christi Terminal Railroad
- Dansville & Mount Morris Railroad
- Genesee & Wyoming Railroad
- Golden Isles Terminal Railroad
- Savannah Port Terminal Railroad
- Louisiana & Delta Railroad
- Pittsburgh & Shawmut Railroad
- Portland & Western Railroad
- Rochester & Southern Railroad
- South Buffalo Railway
- Willamette & Pacific Railroad
G&W also operated freight railroads in Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, and Australia.
G&W's Rail Link subsidiary controlled the following other railroad companies: Carolina Coast Railway (CLNA); Commonwealth Railway (CWRY); and Talleyrand Terminal Railroad (TRR). (GWI purchased Rail Link, Inc., a noncarrier holding company, on November 8, 1996 - STB Docket 33291)
G&W's Emons Transportation Group subsidiary controlled the following railroad companies: York Railway and St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad.
G&W would operate Utah Railway under its Rail Link subsidiary, and named James Davis as the general manager of the new Utah operations. (Railway Age, September 2002, page 20)
Operations as of October 2006
Utah Railway ran four locals run each day out of Midvale yard. One from Midvale south to Provo. The other three run north to the refineries at Woods Cross (Phillips 66), North Salt Lake (Tesorro), and Becks (Chevron). The train symbols are the RUT309, RUT310, RUT311 and RUT312. (James Belmont, posted to Trainorders.com on October 18, 2006)
Operations as of June 2008 (as posted to Trainoreders.com by Dick Ebright)
Utah Railway runs an empty coal train east nearly every morning from Provo, Utah yard, over Soldier Summit to Utah Ry. Junction just west of Helper, Utah. Here the train leaves UP rails and gets on its own track. Then through Martin yard, usually without stopping, and on several more miles to the coal loader at Wildcat, Utah. This is the only remaining active loadout on Utah Ry. rails. URY can also access the Savage loadout at the end of the CV Spur between Price and Wellington. The morning train usually has Utah power, but sometimes runs with UP power. Once at Wildcat the engines pull through the loader and loading begins. When all cars have been loaded, the power cuts off of the train, runs back around it and recouples to what used to be the last car. Then they run back to Martin yard where mid train, or “swing” helpers are added. Normally this is a six unit set. Then the train leaves Martin, regains UP rails at Utah Ry. Junction and begins the climb to Soldier Summit. In my opinion this is one of the finest sights and sounds in western railroading as 10 units struggle to get a 15,000 ton train up the hill. It happens every day and is in plain sight from the highway. Trains from Wildact are bound for the huge IPP power plant near Delta, Utah. This generating plant is mostly owned by the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power.
The Utah Ry. also loads at the Savage loadout on the Castle Valley Spur. Same type operation as a Wildcat train, but often with UP power on the point. Then, after loading, helpers are sent down from Martin yard to Savage as a light engine move. They are cut into the train as swing helpers right on the spur and then go over Summit without stopping at Helper. These Savage trains are fairly easy to spot because they normally have UP lead engines and Utah Ry helpers. Union Pacific also loads at Savage. After loading, UP helpers are cut into the train at at Helper yard. Then there is the third and final loadout in Utah coal country, the one at Skyline. This is at the end of the Pleasant Valley sub which takes off of the main line at Colton, about 5 miles or so east of Soldier Summit. This is strictly a UP operation and loads an average of one train a day. Skyline trains don't need helpers, as Skyline to Colton is downhill for loads and Colton to Soldier Summit is up hill but very low gradient. So, counting all 3 loadouts, Wildcat, Savage, and Skyline, maybe they total about 4-6 loaded coal trains a day over Soldier Summit. Swing helpers are normally cut out right at the summit
