Charles Scofield's Railroads

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Charles W. Scofield was one of Utah's earliest railroad builders. He was the financial and organizing force behind three of Utah's first railroads: Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad in September 1872; Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railroad in October 1872; and Utah & Pleasant Valley Railway in December 1875.

With the organization Palmer's Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway in July 1881, William Palmer was able to buy Scofield's three roads and immediately gained an important presence in a state dominated by Union Pacific and its subsidiary roads.

Chronology History

Charles W. Scofield of New York. Scofield had extensive mining interests in Utah and was beginning to invest in Utah railroads as well. In making the sale of the Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad to the Scofield group, Hugh White agreed to remain with the company and direct the completion of the roadbed. [Salt Lake Herald, June 28, 1873; Corinne Daily Reporter, June 28, 1873.]

To finance construction $240,000 of first mortgage 8 percent bonds were sold on July 1, 1873, immediately after Scofield purchased control of the company. These bonds carried a maturity date of July 1, 1903. Additional funds for construction were realized from $45,000 cash paid on stock. [Letter, C. W. Scofield to Secretary of Interior, July 10, 1873, National Archives, Social and Economic Records Division, Records of the General Land Office, Records Group 49, Division F, Box 3]

Scofield and his associates took control of BC&CF at their first annual stockholders meeting on October 27, 1873. [Salt Lake Tribune, October 30, 1873]

The non-Mormon officers of the Bingham Canyon felt that the actions of the Mormon-controlled Utah Southern were serious enough to prompt them to make plans to build their own narrow gauge line to connect with Salt Lake City. Accordingly, on November 23, 1875, President C. W. Scofield and the other officers of the Bingham Canyon road filed articles of incorporation for the Salt Lake City and Bingham Railroad Company to accomplish that purpose. [Salt Lake and Bingham Railroad, Articles of Incorporation, November 25, 1873, Utah State Archives; Salt Lake Tribune, November 26, 1873] This threat of a competitive road was apparently effective enough to cause the officers of the existing lines to discuss and solve their differences for the new road was never built, and complaints about the lack of cooperation disappeared from the newspapers.

In June 1875, the Scofield group took control of the Wasatch and Jordan Valley Railroad. From August of 1873, when the W&JV was finished to Fairfield Flat, until June of 1875, the company had failed to meet operating expenses by $26,000. It had also failed to pay the interest due on its $240,000 of outstanding bonds for the period from July 1, 1873, to June 30, 1875. The solution to this crisis came from Charles W. Scofield and his associates when they offered to purchase the road in June, 1875. Scofield also owned and operated the profitable Bingham Canyon and Camp Floyd Railroad. The sales agreement called for Scofield to purchase 1,000 shares of the railroad's unissued stock for $26,000; this amount would be used to pay the company's floating debts. He further agreed to assume the back interest payments on the bonds and provide the funds to finish the line to Alta. In return, he was to receive all remaining unissued stock and bonds and was to buy all outstanding stock from the stockholders at the current market value. According to Scofield all portions of this sales agreement were carried out, and he became the sole owner of the company. Later some of this stock was distributed to George Goss, George M. Young, Benjamin W. Morgan and other business associates of Mr. Scofield.

Scofield's first step after purchasing the Wasatch and Jordan Valley Railroad was to begin the construction of a narrow gauge tramway from Fairfield Flat to Alta. Plans were to use horses or mules to pull the cars up and to use gravitation as the means of locomotion on the downward run. This was the same principle that he was using successfully on his branch lines at Bingham Canyon.

Work on the tramway was started in the middle of August, 1875, and the road had been completely graded and track laid the eight miles to Alta by September 12. The total cost of the tramway was $50, 000. Heavy rail was used and construction was prosecuted in a manner that would permit a locomotive to be used on the line should one be manufactured that had sufficient power to climb the steep grades.

The tramway was officially opened on September 12, 1875, and passengers were carried from Alta to Sandy.

Actual supervision of construction of the tramway had been under the direction of Superintendent George Goss who also served as superintendent of the Bingham road and had an excellent reputation as a railroad manager.

Although organized in December 1875, Utah & Pleasant Valley was not able to start construction until Scofield became involved in late 1876. Construction started in spring 1877. Scofield and his associates took formal control of U&PV at the October 1878 stckholders meeting.

By mid-1878 the Utah & Pleasant Valley Railway had not yet laid any rail, and was having problems paying the interest on its construction bonds, which meant that it might not be able to complete its line to the mines. It was rescued in October 1878 by Charles W. Scofield, an investor from New York City who had also saved and taken control of both the Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad and the Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railroad -- two narrow gauge lines which traversed the Salt Lake Valley between the mining camps of Alta and Bingham Canyon, meeting and connecting with the Utah Southern Railroad at Sandy. (Reeder, p. 372, from Poor's, 1879, p. 923) With Scofield's support the Utah & Pleasant Valley was able to complete its line into Pleasant Valley and the coal company's mine there. In return Scofield was given control of the railroad which meant that he and his associates controlled three of the most important rail lines within the state at that time.

The management of the BC&CF road changed very little through the 1870's. C. W. Scofield remained as president and principal stockholder and B. W. Morgan and William B. Welles as officers and directors. George Goss continued to manage the affairs of the company as general superintendent.

The Bingham Canyon and Camp Floyd Railroad lost its identity as an individual road in April of 1879 when it was consolidated with the Wasatch and Jordan Valley Railroad under the name of the latter. C. W. Scofield had been president of both roads since 1875 and found that consolidation of the two lines was the only economically feasible way of continuing the operation of the Wasatch and Jordan Valley Railroad to Alta, where the mines were failing.

On April 29, 1879, Charles W. Scofield officially combined the Bingham Canyon and Camp Floyd Railroad with the Wasatch and Jordan Valley under the name of the latter. Charles W. Scofield, Charles Lockhart, Benjamin W. Morgan, J. G. Kennedy and George M. Young were elected directors. Scofield also served as president; B. H. Morgan, vice president; J. O. Kennedy, secretary treasurer; and G. M. Young, general superintendent.

In July 1880, Scofield is shown as owing "some $95,000 to Clark, Post & Martin for rails; $11,050 owed to Howland & Aspinwall, on what not stated, but they owned the American Fork Railroad, etc.; and many others. Scofield's reported assets included the physical property of the various railroads, and sundry stocks and bonds, but the list did not go into any details." (Pitchad, Salt Lake Daily Tribune, 23 July 1880)

In February 1881, Scofield was agian associated with a new company "organized in New York for the Utah & Pleasant Valley; DeGraff has resigned the presidency and Cochrane the management. Scofield assumes the president's spot, and G. M. Young the management of the line. Young was the Superintendent of the W&JV. Scofield had been connected with the company before, and got into financial troubles, but is back now, and reportedly richer than ever." (Pitchard, The Territorial Enquirer, Provo, 26 February 1881)

To accomplish all of the construction in the territory of Utah, a new company by the name of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway was organized in July 1881. To shorten the construction time needed to reach Salt Lake City the D&RGW made a deal with C. W. Scofield to take over his three railroads - the Utah & Pleasant Valley to shorten the line and the Wasatch & Jordan Valley and Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd lines to provide it with ready sources of traffic when it got to Salt lake City. The three Scofield lines were purchased in December 1881 and the Rio Grande's rails reached Salt Lake City in June 1882. (Reeder, p. 387, from D&RG ICC valuation reports, pp. 806,896,901)

In May to August 1883, Scofield had control of Utah & Nevada Railway. [Salt Lake Daily Herald, 8 August 1883]

C. W. Scofield was involved in a rate case for petroleum products between Cleveland points outside of Ohio. He was partners with William C. Scofield, Daniel Shurmer, and John Teagle in the firm of Scofield, Shurmerand Teagle. [ICC Finance Reports, Volume 1, May 1887 to June 1888]

Charles W. Scofield Biographical Notes

Charles Wardwell Scofield was born on February 9, 1834 in Stamford, Fairfield County, Conn. In 1870 he was shown as being a hardware merchant, but by 1880 he was shown as being a railroad president.

His first wife was named Amanda M. They were married in about 1856, but she died early. There was apparently one child, Charles F. Scofield, born in about 1857 in New York.

His second wife was Lillian D. Austin, of California. She was considerably younger than her husband. Under the name of Libbie Stowell, Scofield's second wife was said to have made money in the west in mining speculation. She came to New York with about $85,000 and spent about $60,000 in preparing to stage the Passion Play. When all was ready she was prohibited from giving the performance. She was married to Mr. Scofield from about 1880 until 1888 when Scofield left her after a dispute about the improper attentions of a broker. He did not see her again. His second wife died and was buried in California in December 1912.

In June 1888, Scofield was shown in a New York Times item as being the former president of the Montgomery and Florida Railroad.

Scofield died on February 13, 1913 at age 80, after marrying his third wife (Jean Fitzsimmons, age 28) just three hours before. She had been a nurse whom he had known for about a year. Scofield is buried in Woodland Cemetery in Stamford. (source)

The same above mentioned source also shows that having met Brigham Young, and being impressed with the Mormon president and his church, Scofield and some of his friends contributed to the construction of the church's Salt Lake City temple.

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