Utah Railroads

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on January 5, 2024.

Lists of Utah Railroads

Listings of Railroads of Utah -- An index page that includes an alphabetical list of the railroads of Utah. Also included is information about Utah's railroads as they were regulated by the Utah State Public Service Commission, along with information from the records of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission.

Maps of Utah Railroads

Maps -- Maps of locations for railroads in Utah.

General Information

Charles W. Scofield's Railroads -- An index page for Charles W. Scofield's railroads, including Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd, Wasatch & Jordan Valley, and Utah & Pleasant Valley.

First Ore Shipment -- Information about the first ore shipment out of Utah, during the summer of 1869.

Great Salt Lake Resorts -- Infomation about the resorts that served visitors to the shores of Great Salt Lake; includes links to pages about individual resorts.

Hilton's American Narrow Gauge Railroads -- Extracts of Utah narrow gauge railroads from George Hilton's book American Narrow Gauge Railroads.

Industries, Locomotives -- Locomotive rosters and information about rail-served industries in Utah that have their own locomotives, including U. S. Steel's Geneva plant.

Ira Swett's Interurbans of Utah -- A digital version of Ira Swett's classic work that documented Utah electric interurban railroads. (Sorry, no photos)

John W. Young's Railroads -- An index page for John W. Young's railroads, including the Salt Lake & Fort Douglas, Salt Lake & Eastern, and Utah Central companies.

John W. Young Papers -- Notes and source material from the John W. Young Collection at the LDS Church Historian's Office, which includes letters, telegrams, and account books.

Joseph G. Jacobs -- Information about J. G. Jacobs, builder of three railroads that used Shay locomotives.

LA&SL In Utah, South of Salt Lake City -- Tracks owned by LA&SL; all UP lines south and west of Salt Lake City (leased to UP in 1936; merged with UP in 1987)

OSL in Utah, Salt Lake City to Ogden, and north of Ogden -- Tracks owned by OSL; all UP lines north of Salt Lake City (leased to UP in 1936; merged with UP in 1987)

Onward -- An online article about William Mason's "Onward," a small 0-4-4T engine that ran on the American Fork Railroad in Utah in 1872-1873, and returned to Utah in 1882-1886. The article is based largely on the work of Garrie Tufford, but borrows from the work of others as well.

Pacific Railway Commission -- Research notes about the Pacific Railway Commission hearings of 1887, with a focus on railroads in Utah.

Pioche Railroads and Mines -- Information about the railroads and mines of Pioche, Nevada, with a map. Although not located in Utah, the railroads and mines at Pioche, Nevada, were always closely tied to Utah, with almost all outbound ore traffic from Pioche going to mills and smelters in Utah.

Proposed Utah Railroads -- Information about some of the proposed railroads in Utah.

Railroads In Utah, Utah History Encyclopdia -- Includes the updated text of an article Don Strack wrote in 1994 for the Utah History Encyclopedia about the history of Utah's railroads, along with a link to the online verion of the Utah History Encyclopedia.

Shay Locomotives in Utah -- Roster listing of Shay locomotives used in Utah; based on an original list extracted from Koch's Shay book in August 1980.

Streetcars and Street Railroads -- An index page for Street Railroads, Streetcars and Trolleys in Utah, including the streetcars of Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan, and Provo, along with information about the bus systems in Utah (Salt Lake City Lines, UTA, etc.).

Steam Dummies In Utah -- Information about the small steam locomotives (motors) that had wooden bodies that looked like streetcars. Steam dummies were used in Ogden, Provo, and north of Salt Lake City to Lagoon.

Union Pacific Controlled Railroads -- An index page for the railroads in Utah that were built by companies controlled by Union Pacific, including all the predecessor companies, standard gauge and narrow gauge.

Union Pacific, Not In Utah -- Information about various Union Pacific subsidiaries (not in Utah) that added their own locomotives to UP's large fleet of locomotives, both steam and diesel.

USRA and Utah Railroads -- Information about the USRA and Utah Railroads, and the period of control from March 1918 through March 1920.

Utah Rail Men -- Information about the men who helped develop Utah's railroad industry.

Utah's First Ore Shipment -- Information about the first ore shipment out of Utah, during the summer of 1869.

Utah Railroads and Locations

(listed alphabetically by subject or company name)

American Fork Railroad 1872-1878 -- Information about the American Fork Railroad, a 3-foot narrow-gauge railroad built in 1872 from American Fork, into American Fork Canyon. The road was torn up in June 1878, and its rails and equipment sold to other local railroads, including its unique Mason locomotive.

Amtrak -- An index page for Amtrak car and locomotives.

Amtrak In Utah -- Information about the operations and facilities of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) in Utah.

Ballard & Thompson Railroad -- Information about the Ballard & Thompson Railroad in eastern Utah, which connected with D&RGW at Thompson, and operated five miles north to a coal mine.

Bamberger Railroad -- Information about the Bamberger Railroad (1939-1959), and its predecessor companies; Bamberger Electric Railroad (1917-1939), Salt Lake & Ogden Railway (1896-1917), and the Great Salt Lake & Hot Springs Railway (1891-1896).

Bamberger's Alco/EMD RS-1m -- An edited version of the original text used for an article published as "Bamberger 570/Union Pacific 1270" in Railroad Model Craftsman, Volume 57, Number 6, November 1988.

Bingham & Garfield Railway 1908-1948 -- Information and timeline of events on the Bingham & Garfield Railway, owned by Utah Copper Company and, after 1936, Kennecott Copper Corporation.

Bingham Canyon & Camp Floyd Railroad 1872-1881 -- Information about the narrow gauge railroad built in 1872 between Sandy and Bingham Canyon; sold to D&RGW in 1881, becoming Rio Grande's Bingham Branch; later became Union Pacific's Bingham Industrial Lead, and is the home today of UTA's Mid Jordan light rail line.

Bingham Central Railway -- Information about the electrified narrow-gauge railroad that operated through the Mascotte tunnel between Bingham canyon and Lark; originally owned by Ohio Copper Company and later by United States Smelting, Refining and Mining; replaced in 1952 by a new 3.9-mile tunnel constructed by Kennecott for the benefit of USSR&M.

Carbon County Railway -- Information about the Carbon County Railway, a coal-hauling industrial line in eastern Utah. Also included is a photo album that shows the line's early Baldwin locomotives.

Castle Valley Railroad (1909-1914) -- Information about the Castle Valley Railroad, built from Hiawatha to Mohrland in 1910, new line completed in 1913, and sold to Utah Railway in 1914.

Castle Valley Railway (1901-1908) -- Information about Castle Valley Railway and the later D&RGW Castle Valley Branch in Salina canyon, Utah. Built in 1903; dormant 1904-1921; abandoned in 1942.

Central Utah Rail Project -- A proposed 43 mile rail line from Levan to Salina to haul coal.

CML Railroad -- Information about the CML Railroad, organized in 2012 to take control of the movement of iron ore from the mines at Iron Mountain in Iron County, to a connection with UP at Iron Springs on the Cedar City Branch. (See also: Iron Mountain Railroads)

Consolidated Railway (1901-1904) -- Information about one of the early street railroads in Salt Lake City.

Copper Belt Railroad -- Information about the Copper Belt Railroad, a Shay-operated railroad located in Bingham Canyon, in service from 1901 to 1908, then as D&RGW branches until 1926. This page also includes a roster listing of the Copper Belt's five Shay locomotives.

Corinne Railroad Museum -- Information about the Sons of Utah Pioneers museum at Corinne, Utah (1958-1979)

Crescent Mining Company 1882-1900 -- Information about the 30-inches gauge, Shay operated railroad built and owned by the Crescent Mining Company in Park City.

D&RGW In Utah -- An index page for the construction and operation of D&RG, RGW, and D&RGW in Utah, from 1871 to October 1989, when the D&RGW officially became part of SP's Central Region.

Deep Creek Railroad -- Information about the Deep Creek Railroad that operated south from Wendover, Nevada, for 45 miles to Gold Hill, Utah, hauling copper and gold ores from 1917 to 1939.

Deseret Power Railway (former Deseret Western) -- Information about the Deseret Western Railway (1984-2001) and Deseret Power Railway (2001-today), a privately owned electrified railroad that operates between the Deserado coal mine in western Colorado, and the Deseret coal-fired power plant in eastern Utah.

Echo & Park City Railway 1881-1898 -- Information about the predecessor to UP's Park City Branch.

Emigration Canyon Railroad -- Information about the Emigration Canyon Railroad, which ran between Salt Lake City and its namesake canyon east of the city. Organized in 1907 and abandoned in 1917.

Eureka Hill Railway 1907-1937 -- Information about the Eureka Hill Railway, a narrow gauge railroad in Utah's Tintic Mining District that used Shay locomotives exclusively. Included is a timeline of the road's history, and a full roster of their locomotives. Many thanks go to George Pitchard, Sam Bass, and Stan Jennings for sharing their research on this company.

Great Salt Lake & Hot Springs Railway -- Information about the Great Salt Lake & Hot Springs Railway, which was reorganized in 1896 as the Salt Lake & Ogden Railway in October 1896, and name changed to Bamberger Electric Railroad in August of 1917.

Great Salt Lake Resorts -- Infomation about the resorts that served visitors to the shores of Great Salt Lake; includes links to pages about individual resorts.

Grant Tower -- Information about the former interchange trackage and control interlocking tower that was centrally located in Salt Lake City, and which today serves the combined operations of Union Pacific and Utah Transit Authority.

Heber Creeper and Heber Valley Railroad -- A compilation of notes and source data about the Heber Creeper (1970 to 1993) and Heber Valley Railroad (1993 to today) tourist railroad that operates between Heber and in Utah's Provo Canyon.

Heber Equipment Lists -- Listings of the equipment at Heber City, Utah (Heber Creeper, Wasatch Mountain Railroad, Heber Creeper, and Heber Valley Railroad)

Helper Western Railway -- (See National Coal Railway)

Huslers -- Information about the pioneer flour mill on UP's Provo Subdivision at about 3000 South in Salt Lake City.

Inland Railway -- Information about the Inland Railway, an in-plant railroad that was wholly-owned and controlled by the Inland Crystal Salt Company, operating adjacent to the Salt Lake, Garfield & Western immediately east of the Saltair resort. Includes information about Inland Crystal Salt Company.

Iron Mountain Railroads -- Information about the railroad operations for the movement of iron ore from the mines at Iron Mountain in Iron County, to a connection with UP at Iron Springs on the Cedar City Branch. The rail line itself is owned by Union Pacific and has been leased for operation to several operators since 2006. First as Utah Southern (2006-2012), then as CML Railroad (2012-2015), then as Black Iron LLC (2015-2020), then as Utah Iron LLC after late 2020.

Kenilworth & Helper Railway -- Information about the Kenilworth & Helper Railway, a line built in 1907 to bring coal from the mines of Independent Coal & Coke's Kenilworth mine. The line was six miles long and was replaced in 1926 by D&RGW's newly constructed Kenilworth Branch.

Lake Shore Railroad -- Information about the short-lived private railroad built by Utah-Idaho Sugar company to move sugar beets from the growing area north and west of Spanish Fork, to their sugar factory at Spanish Fork; includes a link to a Google map. (Updated June 3, 2019)

Little Cottonwood Railroads -- Information about the railroads that were built into Little Cottonwood Canyon, to ship both the mining ores from the Alta district, and granite from the quarries at the mouth of the canyon. (Updated April 23, 2019)

Little Cottonwood Transportation Company 1910-1924 -- Information about Little Cottonwood Transportation Co. that leased D&RGW's narrow gauge line from Granite (Wasatch) to Alta, from 1913 to 1925. (Updated April 23, 2019)

Logan Streetcars -- Basic information about the history and operations of Logan's streetcars, built in 1910 and removed in 1924.

Los Angeles & Salt Lake (before 1936) -- Information about UP's lines south of Salt Lake City, known first as San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, and after 1916 as Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. All LA&SL lines in Utah were originally built by Oregon Short Line or its predecessors, and were sold to SPLA&SL in 1903.

West of Milford -- Information about the railroads and mining west of Milford, Utah; includes coverage of LA&SL's Frisco Branch, and the Newhouse, Copper Gulch & Sevier Lake Railroad.

Moab Tailings -- Information about moving the tailings of the uranium mill at Moab, Utah, including information about the two Department of Energy locomotives assigned to the operation.

Museum Railroads -- Information about the museum railroads in Utah, including Lagoon and Pioneer Village.

National Coal Railway -- Information about the rail line in Gordon Creek Canyon, built in 1925 to haul coal from several mines; built and operated by Utah Railway; abandoned in 1954.

NSD Clearfield -- Information about Naval Supply Depot (NSD) Clearfield, and its railroad operations.

New East Tintic Railway 1896-1900 -- Information about New East Tintic Railway, builder of UP's Mammoth Branch in the Tintic Mining District, and the original operator of Union Pacific's only Shay locomotives.

Newhouse, Copper Gulch & Sevier Lake Railroad 1903-1915 -- Information about Newhouse Mines & Smelters Company, and its Shay-operated railroad.

Ogden & Hot Springs Railroad (1889-1903) -- Information about the steam-operated line between Ogden north city limits, and Hot Springs.

Ogden & Northwestern Railway (1903-1911) -- Information about the Eccles-owned company that bought the Ogden & Hot Springs line; sold to Ogden Rapid Transit in 1911 and became part of the electric railroad north from Ogden to Brigham City, and which later became part of the Ogden, Logan & Idaho interurban line between Ogden and Cache Valley.

Ogden Arsenal Railroad -- Brief notes about the railroad used by the U. S. Army at the Ogden Arsenal, later Hill Air Force Base.

Ogden, Logan & Idaho Railway -- Information about the Ogden, Logan & Idaho Railway, which was the result of the merger in 1914 of Ogden Rapid Transit Company, and the Logan Rapid Transit Company; the name was changed to Utah Idaho Central Railroad in 1918.

Ogden Street Railways -- An index page for the steam-operated and electric street railways in Ogden.

Ogden Rails -- A history of railroads in Ogden, Utah, from 1869 to today. Originally published as a 96-page soft cover book in 1997 in association with the Golden Spike Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Ogden, Utah. The original publication is sold out, and is out of print.

Ogden Rapid Transit Company -- Information about the street railway in Ogden that was owned by the Eccles interests. (includes the Utah Rapid Transit successor bus company)

Ogden Union Station -- Information about the Utah State Railroad Museum at Ogden Union Station.

Ogden Union Station Equipment -- Locomotive and equipment rosters of Ogden Union Station, and the Utah State Railroad Museum.

Ogden Union Railway and Depot Company -- Information about the joint UP and SP company that managed the Ogden freight and passenger terminal.

Ogden & Syracuse Railway 1887-1889 -- Information about UP's branchline to Syracuse in Davis County.

Oregon Short Line -- Information about UP's lines north of Salt Lake City, known first as Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway, and after 1897 as Oregon Short Line Railroad.

Park City -- An index page for Park City mines and UP's Park City Branch

Pioche Railroads and Mines -- Information about the railroads and mines of Pioche, Nevada, with a map. Although not located in Utah, the railroads and mines at Pioche, Nevada, were always closely tied to Utah, especially mills and smelters in Utah. The strongest connection was the narrow gauge Pioche Pacific which received several steel ore cars from Eureka Hill at Tintic.

Pioneer Village -- Information about Sons of Utah Pioneers' Pioneer Village, at both its original location on Conner Street in Salt Lake City, and at its later location at Lagoon amusement park.

KUED's Promontory -- Information about KUED's production of "Promontory," produced in 2002. The program gives a good background and discussion of the last spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, and attempts to answer the question of why Brigham Young did not attend the ceremony. Includes clips from an interview with Don Strack. Comments by Don Strack are at time stamp 10:03 and 17:48 (a total of about 15 seconds of air time).

Promontory Locomotives -- Information about the locomotives used by the Golden Spike National Historical Park at Promontory from 1969 to today.

Rio Grande In Utah -- An index page for the construction and operation of D&RG, RGW, and D&RGW in Utah, from 1871 to October 1989, when the D&RGW officially became part of SP's Central Region.

Salt Lake & Alta Railroad -- Information about Salt Lake & Alta Railroad (including locomotive roster) that leased D&RGW standard gauge branch between Midvale and Granite (Wasatch), from 1913 to 1917. (Updated April 23, 2019)

Salt Lake & Denver Railroad -- Information about the proposed railroad serving the Uinta Basin, proposed by Simon Bamberger and associates in 1919. (Updated May 30, 2019)

Salt Lake & Eastern Railway 1888-1890 -- Information about John W. Young's railroad, constructed from the end of his Salt Lake & Fort Douglas line at Sugar House, up Parleys Canyon headed for Park City.

Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railway 1883-1897 -- Information about John W. Young's Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railway, which operated in Salt Lake City and its eastern benches.

Salt Lake & Mercur Railroad -- An index page for the Salt Lake & Mercur Railroad, which operated in the southern Oquirrh Mountains. (Updated June 11, 2019)

Salt Lake & Ogden Railway -- Information about the Salt Lake & Ogden Ry., the predecessor to Bamberger Railroad.

Salt Lake & Utah Railroad -- Information about the electric railroad that operated between Salt Lake City and Payson, until its abandonment in 1947. (Updated June 7, 2019)

Salt Lake & Western Railway 1881-1889 -- Information about the predecessor to UP's early Tintic Branch between Lehi and Tintic

Salt Lake City Southern Railroad -- Information about Salt Lake City Southern Railroad, a shortline that operated in Salt Lake City from April 1993 to August 1999, when it was sold to Utah Railway. The line operates the freight rights on Utah Transit Authority's light rail line in Salt Lake City, on the former UP Provo Subdivision. (Updated October 7, 2018)

Salt Lake City and County Street Numbering -- Information about how Salt Lake City Streets were numbered during pioneer times.

Salt Lake City Railroad (1872-1901) -- Information about the original early street railroad in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City Union Depot & Railroad Company -- Information about the Salt Lake City Union Depot, jointly-owned by D&RGW and WP.

Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway -- Information about "The Saltair Route", which was first a steam road, then an electric interurban road, then a local Salt Lake City shortline with diesel locomotives.

Salt Lake Rapid Transit Company (1890-1901) -- Information about one of the early street railroads in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake, Sevier Valley & Pioche Railway 1872-1874 -- Information about the predeccessor company to the Utah Western Railway of 1874-1881.

Salt Lake Terminal Company -- The joint-owned terminal company used by Bamberger Railroad and Salt Lake & Utah Railroad.

Sandy -- An article about how Sandy, Utah, got its name. Used as a source for Lynn Arave's article in Deseret Morning News, August 17, 2007.

San Pete Valley Railroads -- An index page for the railroads of the San Pete Valley in central Utah, including the San Pete Valley Railway of 1874 to 1908.

Savage Bingham & Garfield -- Information about the Savage Bingham & Garfield Railroad that in October 2007 took over the freight operations along UP's former D&RGW Bingham Branch between Midvale and the Bagley Industrial Park, and the former D&RGW Garfield Branch between Welby (on the Bingham Branch) and Magna. (Updated October 7, 2018)

Southern Pacific in Utah -- An index page for Southern Pacific (and Central Pacific) in Utah. (See also: SP in Ogden.)

Southern Utah Railroad -- Information about the Southern Utah Railroad and its line between Price and Hiawatha, taken over by Utah Railway in 1917.

Streetcars and Street Railroads -- An index page for Street Railroads, Streetcars and Trolleys in Utah, including the streetcars of Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan, and Provo, along with information about the bus systems in Utah (Salt Lake City Lines, UTA, etc.).

St. John & Ophir Railroad 1912-1938 -- Information about the standard gauge St. John & Ophir Railroad that was in service between 1912 and 1928, between St. John on the LA&SL, and the mines in Ophir Canyon.

Summit County Railroad 1871-1881 -- Information about the narrow gauge predecessor to UP's Park City Branch.

Syracuse Area -- A web page of information about the railroads and rail-served industry in the area around Syracuse in north Davis County, and Hooper and Roy in south Weber County.

Tintic Area Railroads -- A article about the railroads in and around the Tintic mining district.

Tintic Range Railway (1891-1908) -- Information about the Tintic Range Railway, which became D&RG's Tintic Branch in 1908. Although the information has always been available on other pages, it is also presented here to have it all on a single page. Includes links to additional information about the Tintic Branch.

Tintic Southern Railroad -- Information about the failed Tintic Southern, actively planned from 2009 to 2015 to operate over portions of the former D&RGW Tintic Branch.

Tooele Rail Shop -- Brief notes about the Tooele Rail Shop located at Hill Air Force Base.

Tooele Valley Railway 1908-1982 -- Information about Tooele Valley Railway, a nine-mile shortline between a connection with UP and WP at Warner, Utah, east through Tooele to the copper smelter of Anaconda's International Smelting Company.

Uinta Basin Railway -- Information about the railroad that was proposed to transport oil being produced in Uinta Basin, from locations in Uinta Basin to a location on the Union Pacific at Kyune, Utah.

Uintah Railway -- An index page for information about the 36-inch narrow gauge railroad in eastern Utah; operating just 12 miles of mainline in Utah, along with five miles of branches in Utah. Most of the line's total of 62 miles were in Colorado, and it did not connect with any of Utah's railroads, so only minimal information is presented here as part of UtahRails.net.

Union Pacific In Utah -- A chronological history of the construction and operation of all of Union Pacific's lines in Utah, including descriptions and abandonments of its many branchline in the state. (large file, 178k)

Union Pacific's Park City (Utah) Branch -- An expanded version of an article published as "Union Pacific's Park City (Utah) Branch" in The Streamliner, Volume 15, Number 2, Spring 2001

Union Pacific's Tintic Branches and Shay Locomotives -- The original, unedited text used for an article published as "UP's Tintic Subdivision" in The Streamliner, Volume 19, Number 3, Summer 2005

Union Pacific's Route in Weber and Echo Canyons -- An edited version of the original text used for an article published as "Eastbound to Wahsatch" in The Streamliner, Volume 17, Number 3, Summer 2003.

U. S. Steel Geneva Works -- Information and locomotive rosters for U. S. Steel's Geneva Works, later operated by the independent Geneva Steel Corporation.

U. S. Steel Columbia Ironton Works -- Information and locomotive rosters for Columbia Steel's iron works at Ironton.

U. S. Steel Wellington Coal Wash plant -- Information and locomotive roster for U. S. Steel's coal washing plant near Wellington, Utah.

Utah Railway -- An index page for information about Utah Railway, a coal-hauling railroad in eastern Utah, including information about the road's steam locomotives, diesel locomotives, and some of the coal mines it served.

Utah & Nevada Railway 1881-1889 -- Information about the UP-controlled narrow gauge railroad west from Salt Lake City.

Utah & Northern Railway 1878-1889 -- Information about the UP-controlled narrow gauge railroad between Ogden and the Montana mines.

Utah & Pacific Railroad -- Information about the standard gauge line that was constructed between Milford and the Utah-Nevada state line, in 1898; purchased by Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1901.

Utah & Pleasant Valley Railway 1875-1881 -- Information about the narrow gauge line built between Springville and the coal mines at Winter Quarters, by way of Spanish Fork Canyon; sold to D&RGW in 1882.

Utah Central Rail Road 1869-1881 -- Information about Utah's pioneer railroad between Ogden and Salt Lake City.

Utah Central Railroad 1897-1908 -- Information about the Rio Grande Western-controlled company that purchased John W. Young's bankrupt Utah Central Railway.

Utah Central Railroad (of 1922) -- Information about the proposed Utah Central Railroad, proposed to be built to serve the Utah coal fields of Carbon County.

Utah Central Railway 1881-1889 -- Information about the UP-controlled consolidated company that extended between Ogden and Frisco in west central Utah, made up of Utah Central Railroad, Utah Southern Railroad, and Utah Southern Railroad Extension.

Utah Central Railway 1890-1897 -- Information about John W. Young's company that was a consolidation of his Salt Lake & Fort Douglas and Salt Lake & Eastern companies, along with his unbuilt Utah Western.

Utah Central Railway (of 1992) -- Information about the current Utah Central Railway, a small railroad that operates out of Ogden providing switching and local services to BNSF (Utah Railway) and Union Pacific.

Utah Eastern Railroad 1879-1887 -- Information about the narrow gauge railroad that competed with UP's Summit County Railway between Coalville and Park City, and which UP later controlled and shut down in 1883, then tore up in 1887.

Utah Eastern Railway 1897-1908 -- Information about the Rio Grande Western-controlled company that purchased John W. Young's bankrupt Utah Eastern Railway, eastward from Park City. Corporate structure used in 1899 to build RGW's Provo Canyon Branch.

Utah Idaho Central Railroad -- Information about the Utah Idaho Central Railroad that ran north from Ogden to Preston, Idaho, including predecessor roads Ogden Rapid Transit and Logan Rapid Transit.

Utah Light & Railway Company (1904-1914) -- Information about the largest street railroad in Salt Lake City.

Utah Light & Traction Company (1914-1944) -- Information about the largest street railroad in Salt Lake City.

Utah Northern Railroad 1871-1878 -- Information about the pioneering narrow gauge line that was built north from Ogden and into Idaho.

Utah Southern Railroad 1870-1881 -- Information about the pioneering railroad built south from Salt Lake City.

Utah Southern Railroad Extension 1879-1881 -- Information about the UP-controlled line between Salt Lake City and the mines at frisco.

Utah Southern Railroad (2006-2012) -- Information about the Utah Southern Railroad, organized in 2006 to move iron ore from the mines at Iron Mountain in Iron County, to a connection with UP at Iron Springs on the Cedar City Branch. (See also: Iron Mountain Railroads)

Utah State Railroad Museum -- Locomotive and equipment rosters of Ogden Union Station.

Utah Terminal Railway -- Information about Utah Railway's branch in Spring Canyon, Carbon County, Utah.

Utah Western Railroad 1874-1881 -- Information about the narrow gauge railroad that was built west from Salt Lake City.

Utah Western Railway, 1889-1890 -- Information about the projected and only partially completed line northwest from Salt Lake City to Great Salt Lake.

Wasatch & Jordan Valley Railroad 1872-1882 -- Information about the narrow guage line built between Sandy and Little Cottonwood Canyon; sold to D&RGW in 1882.

West of Milford -- Information about the railroads and mining west of Milford, Utah; includes coverage of LA&SL's Frisco Branch, and the Newhouse, Copper Gulch & Sevier Lake Railroad.

West Side Rapid Transit Co. -- Information about West Side Rapid Transit Co., a single-track street car line along Salt Lake City's Seventh West to "Tenth South" (today's 1300 South), then west across the Jordan River to the Garden City, Brighton, and Eldorado subdivisions. The line extended for seven miles, to about 3800 West. In 1893, a portion was converted to electric street car, and after 1895, steam dummy operations ended west of the Jordan River. The electric street car operated between downtown Salt Lake City and the Cannon farm at about 1000 West and 1300 South. Service ended 1909. The abandoned roadbed west of 900 West (known as Tenth West then) became the basis for today's California Avenue.

Western Pacific in Utah -- An index page for information about Western Pacific in Utah.

Locomotive and Equipment Rosters

Utah Small and Shortline Locomotive Rosters -- Locomotive rosters (steam and diesel) for railroads that operate (operated) solely within Utah, including Bamberger Railroad.

Utah Industrial Locomotive Rosters -- Locomotive rosters and information about rail-served industries in Utah that have their own locomotives, including U. S. Steel's Geneva plant.

Heber Equipment Lists -- Listings of the equipment at Heber City, Utah (Heber Creeper, Wasatch Mountain Railroad, Heber Creeper, and Heber Valley Railroad)

Ogden Union Station Equipment -- Locomotive and equipment rosters of Ogden Union Station, and the Utah State Railroad Museum.

Other Information

Adkins -- Marlowe C. Adkins' "A History of John W. Young's Utah Railroads, 1884-1894," completed in 1978.

Bancroft, Chapter 28 -- An early history of Utah railroads scanned from Bancroft's 1889 History of Utah.

Court Cases -- A very brief set of research notes from Third District court cases in 1879-1882.

Depots -- A basic listing of railro depots in Utah, from a 2009 list by the Railroad Station Historical Society.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Utah Railroads -- A 1967 history of Utah railroads published by Daughters of Utah Pioneers as part of their on-going histories; this one is from Our Pioneer Heritage, Volume 10 -- mostly pioneer stuff, to about 1900 -- but all of the early roads are in here. It's a bit long, but the article contains lots of original material, such as newspaper accounts and diary entries. (long file)

The Golden Pass -- A history of transportation in Parleys Canyon.

Great Salt Lake Resorts -- Information about the resorts along the east and south shores of Great Salt Lake, all of which were served by a railroad.

Interurbans of Utah -- An index page of digital scans of Ira Swett's "Interurbans of Utah" book.

Industries and Utah Railroads -- An index page for railroad-related industries in Utah, including canning, sugar beets, steel, metal smelting, and oil.

Johnson -- David F. Johnson's "The History and Economics of Utah Railroads," completed in 1947.

Jordan & Salt Lake Canal -- Information about the Jordan & Salt Lake Canal, along the east bench area of Salt Lake Valley.

Lagoon Resort -- Information about the resort that was the destination of Simon Bamberger's Salt Lake & Ogden Railroad from 1896 to 1902.

Lake Boats -- Information about the three steam boats that traveled Great Salt Lake in the 1870s.

Mining and Utah Railroads -- An index page for railroad-related mining in Utah, including coal, copper, smelting, iron, and granite.

Museum Railroads -- Information about the amusement park and museum railroads in Utah.

Nevada Central -- Brief notes about the railroad in Nevada that was owned by Union Pacific from 1881 to about 1883, when it was torn up, with some of its equipment coming to Utah.

Newspaper Indexes -- Research notes about Utah railroads from various newspapers. (These notes will be expanded as additional research is completed.)

Reeder -- Clarence A. Reeder's "The History of Utah's Railroads, 1869 - 1883," completed in 1970.

Together with Leonard Arrington's Great Basin Kingdom, this work by Clarence Reeder was the seed that started my interest in Utah railroads.

Rio Grande Rail Trail -- Lynn Arave's article in Deseret News about the Rio Grande Rail Trail in Davis and Weber counties.

Scanned Maps and Drawings -- A collection of scanned maps and schematic drawings produced in the 1906 to 1972 time period, showing railroad trackage, facilities and structures for railroads in the State of Utah.

The Sins of Stephen Ambrose -- A review of the book "Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built The Transcontinental Railroad 1863 - 1869," by Stephen E. Ambrose

Tullidge, Chapter 82 -- An early history of Utah railroads scanned from Tullidge's 1886 History of Salt Lake City.

Utah Territorial Prison -- Information about the territorial prison located in Sugar House, southeast of Salt Lake City. Research for this page comes from the the Salt Lake & Eastern needing federal permission to cross the penitentiary grounds. The prison building's exact location was along the northern edge of today's Sugar House Park, right adjacent to 2100 South, at about 1500 East.

Proposed Isolated Empire Railroad Project -- In October 2000 there was a lot of discussion of a proposed railroad that would connect the Deseret Western Railroad to Rifle, Colorado, in order to move as much as 10 million tons per year of processed phophate products from deposits in eastern Utah. (No further action was taken after the initial surge of publicity in 2000.)

Utah and Railroads in the Federal Register -- A search query of search terms "Utah" and "Railroad" in the Government Printing Office Federal Register.

Recommended Reading

Crossroads Of The West, by Blair Kooistra, Jim Belmont, and Dave Gayer (Pentrex, 1998)

Ogden Rails, by Don Strack (Union Pacific Historical Society, 2005)

Utah Ghost Rails, by Stephen L. Carr and Robert W. Edwards (Western Epics, 1989)

Utah History Encyclopedia. Edited by Allan Kent Powell (University of Utah Press, 1994)

Bibliography

Utah Rails Bibliography -- A bibliography listing of sources I have used.

Pure Fiction

A fictional railroad based on the real Salt Lake & Denver Railroad.

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