Utah Central Railway (of 1992)
This page was last updated on September 4, 2006.
From Ogden Rails, second edition, page 162:
In September 1992, a local switching road called Utah Central Railway, began operations serving the Simplot grain storage facilities situated in Rio Grande's former West Yard. At the same time, the road began switching rail cars for Westinghouse Electric at their Western Zirconium plant at Little Mountain, providing interchange cars for both SP and UP.
After nine years of early operations in D&RGW's former Ogden yard, in August 2001, Utah Central leased from UP, the former D&RGW Transfer Yard, UP's Evona Industrial Lead, and the connecting Sugar Works Spur. By early 2000, prior to taking the formal lease of the trackage, Utah Central handled 3,500 cars per year. In January 2004, the road assumed contract switching services for the Business Depot Ogden, the privatized former U. S. Army Defense Depot Ogden.
From a message posted by "cozephyr" to an internet discussion group, dated May 15, 2003:
Utah Central from Ogden, UT, has purchased Denver & Rio Grande Western caboose 01480 in May 2003. The graffiti covered caboose had been stored at UP's Denver Locomotive Shop, Denver, CO, in recent years. The caboose will be overhauled in Denver and then shipped to Ogden, UT.
Utah Central has two portions. First: they work the former Southern Pacific line for the plant at Little Mountain that produces some kind of fuel for nuclear power plants. It's right next to the big salt plant. UP delivers the cars to an interchange track just north of the plant. It is the same spur that UP uses for the salt plant.
The second portion; Utah Central shares the old D&RGW yard at Ogden with Utah [Railway]. UC has the 3 or 4 north rails and Utah [Railway] has the rest. When I last worked there Utah Central did the switching for Dice Chemical, right in the Ogden Yard and the grain elevator on the north side of the old D&RGW yard. They also went west on the old D&RGW main to the old sugar works plant. Utah Central owns all the tracks at the sugar works, so I was told (about seven miles or so). They had the new steel mill, supposed to be 30 to 50 cars per week. They work the pole place, sugar place and a new fuel place, plus one of the tracks was for car repair. It was a fun job.
A description of Utah Central from the now defunct UtahDepot web site in May 2002 showed the folowing:
The Utah Central Railway (UCRY) is a small switching line in the Ogden Utah area. They switch the Simplot AgriSource Grain Elevator on 21st street. In addition to the grain elevator, UCRY services Dyce Chemical on the west end of the main yard, along with industry at the Ogden Industrial Park (Stratford) and Ogden Sugar Works. Major commodities include chemicals, asphalt, diesel fuel, plastic, coil steel, utility poles, sugar, wheat and lumber. The Utah Central Railway has a history which can be traced back to 1869. The current operation is based out of the Amalgamated Sugar factory site at West Haven. The road has 10 employees, two SW 1500 units, and handles around 3,500 carloads per year. Interchange is between UP in the Ogden main yard or BNSF at Transfer (West) yard. For their first motive power, they used former Air Force GE 44 ton switchers. They now run two SW1500s painted black, UCRY 82 and 83. They also used a UP caboose from Ogden Union Station, but repainted it in UCRY colors. It's now back at the station wearing its UCRY paint and they now have an MP caboose. (from http://utahdepot.railfan.net/UCRY.htm)
Chronology History
September 23, 1992:
Utah Central Railway (UCR) began rail operations over lines owned by Westinghouse
Electric Corporation totaling 2.75 miles located in Utah. The company started
with five employees and interchanged with Southern Pacific. It operated from
two separate locations. (Railroad
Retirement Board Employer Determination 94-25)
August 14, 2001:
Utah Central Railway leased from Union Pacific the following Ogden area
trackage: 1) former D&RGW Transfer Yard, mile posts 781 to 788, including
passing and stub tracks; 2) Evona Industrial Lead; 3) Relico Spur; 4) Sugar
Works Spur; 5) Dyce Bypass Track, up to the point of switch to the Shasta
Lead Track; 6) Tracks 713 and 714, serving Dyce Chemical. (STB Finance Docket 34051, service
date August 22, 2001)
February 6, 2004:
Utah Central Railway received federal Surface Transportation Board approval
to operate over 15 miles of tracks located within Business Depot Ogden, the
former Defense Depot Ogden which was deactivated and turned over the the
City Of Ogden on September 30, 1997. The new Business Depot Ogden is a joint
venture between Ogden City and The Boyer Company to develop BDO as a light
manufacturing, warehousing, and administrative business center. (STB Finance
Docket 34457, service date February 6, 2004; Wikipedia article) (Boyer
BDO web site)
