Salt Lake & Western Railway
This page was last updated on June 24, 2007.
Additional Sources:
- Newspaper research — Information from the newspapers, 1881-1889.
- UP's Tintic Branches and Shay Locomotives — An article about mining and railroads in the Tintic Mining District, the destination of Salt Lake & Western Railway.
Overview
- Controlled by UP
- Incorporated - May 30, 1881
- Construction started - summer 1881
- First train on June 10, 1882
- Included with others to form Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway on July 27, 1889
- Became UP's Fairfield Branch.
Abandoned:
- Topliff to Boulter, 1927
- Five Mile Pass to Topliff, 1938
- Cutler to Five Mile Pass, 1952
Route:
From Cutler (north of Lehi) on Utah Southern, west and southwest to Five Mile Pass, the south to Boulter Summit and Tintic District.
Stations (UP Fairfield Branch):
- MP 0.0 - Cutler (formerly Lehi Junction)
- MP 1.6 - D&RGW Crossing (D&RGW over crossing via steel girder bridge)
- MP 1.9 - Salt Lake & Utah Crossing (at grade, on east bank on Jordan River)
- MP 2.5 - Roberts
- MP 4.9 - Clinton
- MP ?.? - Reeves (Swett, page 37)
- MP 7.2 - Webb
- MP 12.7 - Dahl Spur
- MP 15.2 - Cedar Fort
- MP 17.4 - Floyd
- MP 20.3 - Fairfield (connection with Salt Lake & Mercur Railroad)
- MP 23.6 - Five Mile Pass
- MP 29.6 - Topliff (site of three lime quarries)
- United States Smelting quarry
- Utah Sugar quarry
- American Smelting & Refining quarry
- MP 32.4 - Rush Valley
- MP 35.7 - Del Monte
- MP 43.32 (end) - Boulter (connection to UP Leamington Cutoff mainline at Boulter Summit)
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)
Remarks:
Robert Edwards (co-author of Utah Ghost Rails, 1989) told the author on February 28, 1979 that at one time, UP operated a passenger train from Salt Lake City to Lehi, and on to Los Angeles, via the Fairfield Branch.
Locomotive Roster
| Road Number |
Wheel Arrangement |
Builder | Builder Number |
Builder Date |
Notes and Disposition |
| 1 | 4-6-0 | Taunton | 863 | Aug 1882 | Renumbered to OSL&UN 984 in July 1889; renumbered to OSL 516 in 1897; scrapped in 1908 |
General Notes:
| a. | Salt Lake & Western 1 was built as Union Pacific 54 (2nd); sold to SL&W in 1882. |
| b. | Source: "Iron Horses To Promontory" page 184 |
| c. | Source: Kratville |
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