D&RGW Salt Lake City Yards

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This page was last updated on December 5, 2023.

Overview

Rio Grande had two yards in Salt Lake City. The original yard, located in downtown, and the newer Roper Yard, located 2.6 miles south. The entire Salt Lake City terminal was a joint operation with Western Pacific.

The yard in downtown Salt Lake City was the original Rio Grande yard, first located when D&RGW was completed to Salt Lake City in 1881.

Salt Lake City yard had a capacity in 1943 of 290 cars. Roper yard was built in 1928, and had a capacity in 1943 of 2,160 cars.

In 1906, RGW purchased 480 acres from the LDS church, on what was known as "the Church Farm." The original intent was to abandon the original Salt Lake City yard, and move all facilities south to the new Roper location, to accommodate the operations of the Western Pacific Railway, which had just started construction west from Salt Lake City.

Discussions continued on a regular basis concerning the timing and best way to actually move the yard facilities. The limiting factor was usually the lack of sufficient funding from either RGW (later, D&RG) or from WP, or both. In 1913, the move was almost made, but financial conditions put an end to the plans, and the idea of moving the joint yard in its entirety was abandoned completely.

Roper Yard was first developed in 1916 when increased traffic levels showed that Rio Grande needed more yard space in Salt Lake City. The passing siding at Roper was expanded to include six new yard tracks that had a capacity of 1,000 cars.

During 1941, the total of 292 daily average of cars received and delivered to Rio Grande at Salt Lake City, was broken down as follows:

107 cars delivered to Western Pacific
110 cars received from Western Pacific
60 cars delivered to Union Pacific
7 cars received from Union Pacific
7 cars delivered to Bamberger
1 car delivered to Bamberger

Interchange

In 1943, interchange deliveries between Rio Grande and Union Pacific included interchange movements by Rio Grande from Roper yard to Union Pacific's North yard, and interchange movements by Union Pacific from North yard to Roper yard. In both cases, the locomotives returned "light" (without cars) to their respective home yard. Prior to the mid 1930s, return trips were made with whatever interchange cars were ready for the returning railroad. During the 1930s, the operating unions for the two respective railroads complained about work being stolen by the opposing railroad, and the practice of returning engines returning without cars ("light") was initiated. Traveling along the Rio Grande mainline between the two yards, a distance of 5.3 miles, each round trip by either road consumed as little as 3 hours 36 minutes in 1941, to as much as 9 hours 48 minutes in 1943, due to war time traffic congestion.

Deliveries to and from the Salt Lake & Utah, and to and from the Salt Lake Garfield & Western were not considered important to Rio Grande at Salt Lake City. The interchange with SLG&W was at First South, parallel with the passenger tracks along 6th (700) West. The interchanged cars were gathered as part of the normal operations of the Rio Grande's City Local. The interchange with Salt Lake & Utah was at 17th South, in the vicinity of SL&U's overhead crossing of the Rio Grande mainlines. The SL&U interchange cars were gathered by switch engines assigned to Roper.

Fourth West - Sixth West Track Change

A study completed by Rio Grande in December 1943 recommended adding a double track line parallel to UP's tracks along Fourth (500) West. Moving the mainline to Ogden away from its street-running along the center meridian of Sixth (700) West, with its 15 miles per hour speed restriction, over to a new route parallel to UP's line, would greatly improve train speeds through the area between Second South and Second North. The new tracks would also eliminate delays for trains bound for Ogden, which were required to stop before crossing the combined Union Pacific, Western Pacific, and Salt Lake Garfield & Western tracks at the intersection of Sixth West and South Temple streets. Because Union Pacific had priority over Rio Grande trains at this crossing, Rio Grande trains bound for Ogden at times added greatly to the congestion through the old Salt Lake yard while they waited proper clearance. The proposed line change was shown as the "Fourth West - Sixth West Track Change," and would later become known as the Grant Tower Interlocking.

Roper Yard

Roper Name

The first official reference to "Roper" was in Rio Grande Western employee timetable No. 46, dated July 16, 1900. The same location, 40 miles from Ogden and 111.5 miles from Helper, was shown as "Elgin" in RGW employee timetable No. 45, dated May 13, 1900.

July 30, 1900
RGW operated first standard gauge train to Park City. The new line was built from Lambs Canyon over Parleys summit, gauge widened from Gorgoza to Park City. The last narrow gauge train was operated on July 29th. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, July 30, 1900; Park Record, August 4, 1900)

The earliest reference found to the Roper siding in online newspapers was in the February 26, 1901 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, in a news item about the rail for the new Park City Cutoff being "piled up at Roper." In July 1901, thre name was again used, in a news item about proposed double tracking of the main line between Salt Lake City and Bingham Junction (Midvale).

The original location for what later became Roper, was Elgin siding. Elgin was the original connection of the Rio Grande Western's Utah Central subsidiary Park City Cutoff, the cutoff between the RGW mainline and Sugar House that allowed the removal of the portion of the Park City Branch from Salt Lake City streets, mostly 8th South and in the vicinity of 11th East between 8th South and 21st South. (See Salt Lake Tribune, October 9, 1900 for the reference to Elgin.)

October 9, 1900
"Graders have started to work at Elgin on the main line below Twelfth South (today's 21st South) upon the cut-off of the Utah Central." (Deseret Evening News, October 9, 1900)

October 9, 1900
"The Rio Grande Western has commenced grading for the cut-off of the Utah Central. Graders are at work at Elgin Station on the main line below Twelfth South, putting in a Y and starting the straight line east. It will take only thirty days to build the grade, but sixty days will be required before the line can be operated." (Salt Lake Tribune, October 9, 1900)

February 26, 1901
"Work will be commenced in a few days on tracklaying for the Utah Central cut-off. The steel is piled up at Roper, where the cut-off leaves the main line." (Salt Lake Tribune, February 26, 1901)

1913
Online newspapers show a site called "Roper farms" at about 1300 South (10th South in those days). A UP map from 1913 shows a Roper Avenue on the same alignment as 10th South, but the newspaper notices for sidewalk and sewer improvements stop using the Roper Avenue name by 1916, using 10th South after that. The Roper Avenue name was used in 1906 as the location where RGW's new passenger main split off from the freight main. This same junction was just north of today's 1300 South, and is still there.

(The street names in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County were changed in May 1916, in this case from the earlier "10th South" to today's 13th South) (Read more about street names in Salt Lake City and County)

1916
Early newspapers from the period before 1916 show a Roper Avenue, also known as 10th South, which today is 13th (1300) South. But newspapers after 1916 no longer use the Roper name when referring to that first major road south of 9th South.

A 1917 map of D&RG lines in Salt Lake City shows Roper siding as the site of double crossovers between the double track mainline south from Salt Lake City, with a siding along the west side, and the connection with the Park City Branch on the east side. The Elgin Dairy was located west of the D&RG mainline at the same location. This same 1917 drawing shows that adjacent to the D&RG mainline, there is property owned on both sides by the LDS church. This explains the informal name of "church farm yards" used at later times.

A search through online historical newspapers, during the 1916-1917 and 1928 periods when improvements were made, found that the rail yard at 21st South was known as "the old church farm" or "the church farm yards."

(A rumor among railroad employees suggests that the Roper name may come from what was known as the "Roper pig farm," where the church farm was located.)

A search among available online newspapers found that the earliest reference to Roper Yard was in the January 11, 1933 issue of the Ogden Standard Examiner, in a news item about the apparent suicide by carbon monoxide inside an automobile, of a D&RGW employee who worked as a yard clerk there.

A brief classified ad in May 1942 used the Roper name along side the Church Farm name, in which a farmer was selling some cattle that were located in the stockyard at Roper.

A search through the few employee timetables that are available, found that in Salt Lake Division timetable No. 101, dated June 17, 1928, there was a station called Roper located between Murray and Salt Lake City. This same timetable shows Roper the beginning point of the Park City Branch, mile post 0.00.

Roper was shown on employee timetables, at mile post 742.5. Salt Lake City was mile post 745.1 (2.6 miles north of Roper), and Murray was mile post 738.4 (4.1 miles south of Roper).

D&RGW and WP (as the "Gould" roads) bought 1,100 acres of the "old church farm" in May 1906, for $86,000. The intent then was to move the entire Salt Lake City yards from downtown, south to the new site, keeping in mind that WP started construction in May 1906, but wasn't completed until November 1909.

In a January 1914 newspaper item about the growth of coal traffic from the Sunnyside mine, it was mentioned that "The Church Farm yards in Salt Lake are to be built in order to handle the large increase in traffic and to be used as a storage yard." (Eastern Utah Advocate, January 22, 1914)

Work began in July 1916 (completed in September) for the first tracks in the new yard, a set of six tracks that could hold up to 1,000 cars. The new yard was idle and empty in early 1921 for lack of business, but was reopened in August 1921 when business increased. At the same time, Roper became the arrival and departure yard for Salt Lake City, to relieve congestion in the downtown yard.

New tracks were added at Roper in April 1928, along with moving the running-repair car shop from the downtown site.

The new expanded Roper Yard opened in August 1928. Between 1916 and 1928, Roper was used as an auxiliary yard to the main Salt Lake City yard. In 1928, the roles were reversed, when due to increasing traffic, and to reduce costs of switching within Salt Lake City's restricted yard, centered around 3rd South and 4th South. The changes in 1928 made Roper Yard the main yard for Salt Lake City, with the old downtown yard became the auxiliary yard.

June 9, 1929
"In Eastern Div. timetable No. 12 of June 9, 1929, Rio Grande's Roper Yard was designated for the first time as the Salt Lake terminal for WP freight trains. WP continued to utilize this yard for many years, although some trains shifted to UP's North Yard in the 1970s. Roper yard today is UP's major terminal in Salt Lake City." (Jeff Asay, The Iron Feather, page 176)

March 1934
D&RGW "recently completed yards in Salt Lake City 1-1/2 miles long by 1000 feet wide containing 10 tracks with a capacity of 110 cars each and 10 tracks with a capacity of 50 cars each and an ice dock 1400 feet long with a 60-car capacity." (Salt Lake Telegram, March 7, 1934)

March 12, 1939
The new yard office and engine crew locker room was under construction "last week" at Roper yard. The concrete and brick structure included showers and lockers for 200 employees, as well as a large office for general clerical work, and three smaller offices for the yardmaster and assistants. (Salt Lake Tribune, March 12, 1939)

In 1943, due to war time traffic increases, Roper was holding back about 200 cars per day for Western Pacific, compared to holding just 25 cars per day in 1941. Expansion of Roper was badly needed to support projected increases due to the Pacific War Theatre. The congestion and the volume of traffic was limiting proper maintenance to the yard tracks, and several derailments had occurred at Roper due to poor track. Additional Lead Tracks were to be added in 1944 at both the west end (21st South) and the east end (30th South).

The tracks at Roper included the following:

10 tracks adjacent to the mainline, with a capacity of 973 cars. The tracks varied in length, with the maximum being 116 cars, and the minimum being 49 cars. The tracks were used to received westbound Rio Grande trains, and to make up trains for further movement by Rio Grande to Ogden, or for interchange to Western Pacific or Union Pacific at Salt Lake City.
10 tracks used to "accumulate" cars for Ogden and interchange to Southern Pacific, as well as general traffic bound for Western Pacific, and for Rio Grande customers in the Salt Lake City vicinity, and between Salt Lake City and Ogden. These 10 tracks were also used to store bad-order cars, and to hold stock cars awaiting cleaning.
One scale track, 43 cars in length, with the track scale located about midway on the track. Cars to be weighed were accumulated throughout the day, and weighing was completed as a single assignment for a switch crew.
Five tracks, 28 to 44 cars in length, used to make up the Park City and Garfield locals, and to make up Rio Grande eastbound Salt Lake City-to-Helper local trains.
Five tracks, 77 to 87 cars in length, known as the "Ice Dock Tracks," that included two tracks that directly served the ice dock, which itself could accommodate only 22 cars on each track. The other three tracks were used as an inbound track for trains from Ogden, and to hold perishable cars bound for points east on the Rio Grande. The two ice house tracks were also used for inbound Western Pacific trains, and Rio Grande trains inbound from Ogden.
Repair-in-place tracks for car repair, with a combined capacity of 60 cars; used primarily for running repairs and not rebuilding of cars.
Three tracks used as wash tracks; all three were stub-ended at the east (compass south) end. These three tracks were used to prepare cars for loading, and at times, for car storage. The total capacity was 156 cars, ranging from 46 to 56 cars on each track.
The wash tracks were also used as caboose tracks, an very inconvenient situation when a desired caboose is needed.
Two Engine Tracks, used for inbound and outbound Rio Grande and Western Pacific locomotives, steam and diesel; one track was 1,043 feet in length and was used for inbound locomotives, and the other was 1,032 feet in length, and was used for outbound locomotives. One of the two water columns at Roper was located on this outbound track; the other water column was at the east end, at 30th South.
One Stock Yard track, holding 33 cars; stub-ended at the east end. The stock yards at Roper were seldom used, with most customers preferring to use the Salt Lake Union Stock Yards in North Salt Lake, which was a joint facility used by both Rio Grande and Union Pacific.
A new caboose track was to be added in 1944, along with a new through track to get locomotives and cabooses to their trains as needed. The caboose track would double-ended to allow access to cabooses at either end.

The outbound engine track was also used to fuel and service diesel switchers, and the new 5,400-horsepower road locomotives being delivered to both Rio Grande and Western Pacific. There was some concern in 1943 about not having a track dedicated to the storage of 5,400-horsepower diesel locomotives that had been serviced and were awaiting their outbound call. But at the time, Rio Grande diesels were being turned back at Soldier Summit and returned east, and Western Pacific diesels were being called for their westbound trips before arriving in Salt Lake City with their eastbound trains. Plans for post-war operations projected storage times of three hours for locomotives awaiting an outbound call. A new track was to be added in 1944 at Roper for this purpose, adjacent to the run-around tracks at the west (compass north) end of Roper yard at 21st South, for both Rio Grande locomotives, and for Western Pacific locomotives.

Diesel locomotives were preferred in the old Salt Lake yard, to comply with Salt Lake City's anti-smoke ordinance. The anti-smoke ordinance did not apply at Roper, but diesel locomotives were preferred due to the lack of coaling facilities.

Other improvements at Roper during 1944 included a pneumatic tube system to allow transfer of paperwork between the yard office at 21st South, and the east end at 30th South. Also in 1944, a two-way radio communication system was to be added to allow better communication, along with a loudspeaker paging system throughout the yard, replacing the "dummy" telephone system that required a person monitoring each end of the line.

Tracks located adjacent to the mainline between Salt Lake City and Roper included:

Three tracks, 18 to 21 cars in length, used by switch engines to run around cars during normal switching operations.
A single track adjacent to the mainline between 9th South and 13th South, used for stock car cleaning.

The ice for the ice dock at Roper was purchased Utah Ice and Cold Storage Company, from its plant at 3rd South and 5th West on Rio Grande tracks, or from its plant on 5th West between 2nd and 3rd North, on Union Pacific tracks. During 1941, a total of 234 cars passing through the Salt Lake terminal required re-icing.

Salt Lake City Old Yard

The study completed in December 1943 showed that the 11 tracks in the old yard in Salt Lake City, with a combined capacity of 290 cars, were not used to make up or break up trains, or as an arrival or departure yard. These 11 tracks were used for the following:

Storage of cars awaiting spotting at the freight house, or other local industries.
Storage of cars awaiting movement to Roper after returning from the freight house, or from local industries.
Storage of cars awaiting repairs at the adjacent car shops.
Storage of cars awaiting movement to Roper, and repairs had been completed.
Storage of cars containing company materials, including locomotive coal.

Also in Salt Lake City were the following:

Freight House, consisting of both an inbound freight house and an outbound freight house; a total of eight tracks with a total capacity of 140 cars. On both inbound tracks and outbound tracks, cars were spotted adjacent to each other, with their doors matching, and transfer ramps were placed between cars to allow movements across multiple tracks. The inbound freight house, and its four tracks, was also used for all less-than-car-load (LCL) on both Rio Grande and Western Pacific. There was also a four-track automobile unloading platform capable of end-door unloading.
Wagon Tracks (also known as Team Tracks) specifically used to load and unload wagons and trucks; total capacity of 33 cars, on tracks that ranged from nine cars to 12 cars in length. One track was leased to the Salt Lake Tribune for storage of cars loaded with newsprint.
Two roundhouses; one 18-stall brick structure built in 1883-1884, with three stalls assigned to the repair of diesel locomotives. The second roundhouse was an eight-stall corrugated structure built in 1917, with five stalls assigned to the repair of "mallet" locomotives.
Back Shops, Car Shops and Storehouses.
The coal chute had 300-tons capacity and was built in 1917; used to supply 400-500 tons of coal per day to steam locomotives.
A 750,000 gallons per day water treatment plant was completed in 1942; used to wash boilers as well as supplying water to locomotive tenders.
A 12,000-gallon fuel oil storage tank for diesel fuel.
A separate fuel oil facility for Western Pacific oil-burning locomotives.
A five-track passenger yard, with a capacity of 30 cars, performed all needed repairs and servicing of passenger cars for both Rio Grande and Western Pacific.

Salt Lake City Roundhouse

Maps

D&RGW in Salt Lake City in 1951 -- a page taken from the D&RGW Traffic Manual of 1951.

Salt Lake City yards -- Several maps showing the industries along the D&RGW lines in Salt Lake City; starting at Roper.

Sources

Based on information from a document called "Report On D&RGW Terminals," dated December 16, 1943. The original document is on file at the Colorado Railroad Museum, and photocopies of the Salt Lake City portions were furnished in February 2008 through the courtesy of John Tudek.
Online newspapers available at Newspapers.com and other sites have also been consulted extensively.

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