Rio Grande in Utah

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on November 16, 2024.

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This group of pages includes information about Denver & Rio Grande, and all its variations -- D&RG, RGW, and D&RGW.

Rio Grande in Utah, before 1908

D&RG In Colorado

Denver & Rio Grande Railway (in Colorado) ( 1870-1880) -- Information about D&RG in Colorado, before it came to Utah.

Scofield Roads

Information about the three railroads controlled by Charles W. Scofield; controlled by Rio Grande interests in 1880 and sold to D&RGW in 1881-1882.

D&RGW In Utah

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway (1881-1889) -- Information about the original Rio Grande lines in Utah, until the organization of the Rio Grande Western

Rio Grande Western In Utah

Rio Grande Western Railway (1889-1908) -- Information about the D&RGW after it was reorganized to be converted to standard gauge.

RGW Westward from Tintic -- Information about Rio Grade Western's planned extension westward from Silver City in the Tintic mining district. RGW completed its tracks to Eureka in early December 1891, then to Silver City in mid May 1892. Then in early July through mid September 1892, there were news stories about a completed survey west from Silver City to the Deep Creek mining district. The grade was completed as far south as the old Tintic mills near today's McIntyre on the UP, as well in a couple strategic spots to occupy them before UP could. It all came to an end with the Silver Crash of late 1893.

D&RGW/RGW Abandoned Grades -- A Google map showing the three abandoned grades in eastern Utah:

Rio Grande in Utah, after 1908

Rio Grande In Utah 1908 to 1988 -- An index page of information about Denver & Rio Grande in Utah, from 1908 to the SP merger of 1988.

Rio Grande In Utah 1988 to 1996 (as part of SP) -- A chronological listing and research notes of events and history on D&RGW trackage and locations in Utah from 1988 to 1996. I call this Rio Grande's Merger Era. This was when D&RGW was associated with Southern Pacific.

Rio Grande In Utah After 1996 (as part of UP) -- A chronological listing and research notes of major events on and around former D&RGW trackage and locations, after control of D&RGW and SP by Union Pacific in September 1996.

Ogden Gateway Case -- Information about the series of ICC orders, and court decisions that directly affected D&RGW and its interchange partners at Ogden, Utah.

Grant Tower -- Information about the interchange trackage and control interlocking tower, built by D&RGW in 1944, centrally located in Salt Lake City, and which today serves the combined operations of Union Pacific and Utah Transit Authority.

Lakota Crossing -- Information about the Lakota Crossing, four miles north of Provo, where the Rio Grande mainline (constructed in 1882) crossed the Union Pacific mainline (constructed in 1873). The crossing was made an automatic interlocking in 1931, and was removed in 1985 when Union Pacific began using traffic rights over the Rio Grande between Salt Lake City and Provo.

Rio Grande In Utah Branches, Stations and Sidings

Rio Grande, West Of Grand Junction -- A summary of all of the Rio Grande stations and sidings along Rio Grande's main line in Utah. (incomplete, work continues)

Rio Grande in Utah - Branchline Summary -- A summary and index of all of the Rio Grande branch lines in Utah.

Rio Grande In Utah - Bingham Branch -- Informaion about Rio Grande's Bingham Branch, from Midvale to Bingham Canyon.

Rio Grande In Utah - Cane Creek Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Cane Creek Branch in eastern Utah, completed in 1962 and still in operation.

Rio Grande In Utah - Goshen Valley Branch - Information about Rio Grande's Goshen Valley Branch, as part of the Tintic area branches.

Rio Grande In Utah - Lake Park Spur -- Information about a spur completed in 1886 to serve the Lake Park Resort at Farmington; the buildings were moved to in 1896 to create the Lagoon Resort; the spur was abandoned in 1925.

Rio Grande In Utah - Marysvale Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Marysvale Branch in central Utah; includes the San Pete Valley Railway.

Rio Grande In Utah - Orem Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Orem Branch, between Provo and Orem; purcahsed in 1946 when the Salt Lake & Utah interurban line was shut down.

Rio Grande In Utah - Park City Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Park City Branch, east of Salt Lake City; includes links to predecessor roads, and later Sugar House Branch.

Rio Grande In Utah - Pleasant Valley Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Pleasant Valley Branch, between Colton and Clear Creek, including Scofield and Winter Quarters.

Rio Grande In Utah - Provo Canyon Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Provo Canyon Branch, from Provo to Heber by way of Provo Canyon.

Rio Grande In Utah - Sunnyside Branch -- Information about Rio Grande's Sunnyside Branch in eastern Utah.

Rio Grande In Utah - Syracuse Branches -- A Google Map of the Syracuse-area branches and spurs in north Davis County.

Rio Grande In Utah - Tintic Branch -- Information about the Rio Grande branches in the Tintic area, including updates for the lines since abandonment.

D&RGW Utah Branches -- Four sheets of dates for all of D&RGW's branches in Utah. The information is for all the branches, proposed, completed and not completed, and includes the branch name, its mileage, the dates it was "commissioned", located (surveyed), and completed. There are several lines that were not constructed.

D&RGW Salt Lake City Depot -- Information about the Salt Lake City Union Depot and Railroad Co., which owned the Salt Lake City passenger station used by the partners D&RGW and WP. Page includes history of the building itself continuing through to current owership by the State of Utah.

Other Rio Grande in Utah Information

D&RGW Condensed Track Profiles -- Pages from D&RGW's Condensed Profile books for the Salt Lake Division in 1923 and 1934, and for the entire system in 1969.

D&RGW Employee Timetables -- A summary of D&RGW's Utah lines by using the employee timetables from 1938 through to the SP era after 1988.

D&RGW Thistle -- A Google Map of Thistle, showing the old line and the new line after the 1983 flood.

D&RGW System Maps -- Single page images of various D&RGW system maps

D&RGW Utah Industry Trackage -- A series of track diagram maps showing D&RGW industry trackage in Utah (and Colorado).

Kaiser Unit Coal Trains -- Information about the unit coal trains that ran between Kaiser's coal mine at Sunnyside, Utah, and Kaiser's steel plant in Fontana, California. Operated by D&RGW from Sunnyside to Provo, then by Union Pacific from Provo to California.

Rio Grande in Utah, General Notes

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

Rio Grande's Green River Bridges -- Information about the five bridges built to cross the Green River at Green River, Utah.

Rio Grande's Roper Yard -- An article by Paul Welsh, describing Roper yard where he worked in 1959-1965.

Rio Grande's Salt Lake City Yards -- Information about the main yard in Salt Lake City, and the later Roper yard.

Rio Grande Signals -- Information about signal systems used by Rio Grande in Utah.

Rio Grande's Utah Roundhouses -- Information about the Rio Grande roundhouses and turntables in Utah.

Rio Grande Western, Standard Gauged (1890) -- Information from the January and November 1890 issues of Railroad gazette, about the RGW being converted to standard gauge.

"When Thistle Vanished" -- An article by Hol Wagner about the Thistle slide of April 1983, taken from Trains magazine, July 1983. (used with the author's permission)

Copper Plant Accident -- The ICC report of the March 5, 1912 accident at the Copper Plant Spur, just north of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Cuprum Accident -- The ICC report of the February 15, 1912 accident at Cuprum Yard, in Bingham Canyon, Utah.

Soldier Summit Accident -- The ICC report of the October 16, 1917 accident at Soldier Summit, Utah.

Thistle Accident -- The ICC report of the October 14, 1914 accident at Thistle, Utah.

Utah Copper Trackage Agreements -- Information about joint trackage agreements between D&RGW and Utah Copper, transcribed from Agreement cards on file at D&RGW Utah Division offices in August 1983

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