UtahRails.net

UtahRails.net

The History Of Utah's Railroads, 1869-1883

By Clarence A. Reeder, Jr.

(Return to Reeder Manuscript Index Page)

Chapter 3

The Utah Central Railroad

Once it had been definitely decided that the route of the transcontinental railroad would be built north of Great Salt Lake and would leave Salt Lake City some thirty-five miles south of the main line, Brigham Young lost no time in laying plans for a connecting railroad to the capital city. Articles of incorporation for this purpose were filed on March 8, 1869; and the Utah Central Railroad Company was established.

The articles stated that the purpose of the company "was to establish a railroad from a junction with the Union Pacific Railroad at Ogden to Salt Lake City through Weber, Davis and Salt Lake counties."[1]

Capital stock of $1,500,000 divided into 15,000 shares of $100 each was issued. Five directors were appointed to manage the affairs of the company. They were: Brigham Young, Sr., William Jennings, Feramorz Little, Daniel H. Wells, all of Salt Lake City, and Christopher Layton of Kaysville. All of these men held prominent positions in the Mormon Church.

At the time of incorporation, only 420 shares of capital stock worth $42,000 had been subscribed.[2] This was only a small percentage of the amount issued but was more than the $1,000 of stock per mile of road required before a company could be incorporated. Brigham Young purchased 200 of these shares, nearly half of those sold.[3]

Within a week after the filing of the articles of incorporation, the board of directors met and elected Brigham Young as president of the railroad; William Jennings, vice president; Joseph A. Young, general superintendent; Jesse W. Fox (the Mormon church surveyor), chief engineer, John W. Young, secretary; and Daniel H. Wells, treasurer. Joseph A. and John W. Young were both sons of Brigham Young. At the same meeting the directors instructed the general superintendent and chief engineer to proceed at once to locate the road.[4]

Preliminary surveys were completed and arrangements made so that the company was ready to commence construction in May. On May 17, 1869, Brigham Young and a party composed of members of the Mormon Church First Presidency, Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and Utah Central Railroad officers journeyed to Ogden to conduct ground-breaking ceremonies. The ceremony, which was held near the Weber River immediately west of Ogden, was not lengthy and was conducted before a rather large crowd who had gathered for the occasion. It began at 10:00 a.m. with a few remarks by President Brigham Young in which he noted that already the communities of Utah were joined by telegraph communication and now ground was about to be broken to unite Utah by rail. He stated that he looked forward to the same beneficial changes that Salt Lake-would realize upon completion of the Utah Central that Ogden was now enjoying through the transcontinental railroad. He noted that rails would bring the citizens of the world to Salt Lake City to witness the good works of Mormonism, and he expressed joy in the thought that the citizens of Utah Territory would be able to communicate with each other much easier. The railroad, he noted, would also reduce the cost of transportation on foodstuffs and other products used daily by the people.[5] The President then cut the first sod with a shovel and remarked that "it was customary to break ground with a pick, but that he believed in using a tool best adapted to the soil."[6] President George A. Smith of the Mormon Church First Presidency then dedicated the ground for a railroad and prayed that all things necessary might be made available to complete it. He asked for the blessings of the Lord on President Young and all others associated with the railroad and prayed that the work might be speedily accomplished. After the prayer, President Young removed the first sod that he had cut. Rousing cheers followed, and a musical number was rendered by an Ogden band. This concluded the ceremony; the crowd dispersed, and those from Salt Lake City were on their way homeward by 10:30 a. m.[7]

Jesse Fox, engineer for the Utah Central, had established the route the railroad would follow between Ogden and Kaysville prior to the ground-breaking ceremonies. Work on that portion of the road was begun on the 1st of June, 1869.[8]

The remainder of the route was selected on a trip made by some of the officers and directors of the road, including President Young, Vice President William Jennings, Directors Feramorz Little and Christopher Layton, General Superintendent Joseph A. Young and Chief Engineer Jesse W. Fox. These men journeyed by carriage from Salt Lake City to Hot Springs on the 10th of June, 1869, where they were met by the bishops and prominent citizens of Bountiful, Centerville. Farmington and Kaysville.[9] During the day, the party moved northward; and by evening the exact location of the road had been selected as far north as Kaysville where the party stopped at Bishop Layton's home for the night. The bishops had earlier been asked to locate the most suitable route through their ward areas and a depot site, paying particular attention to the location in relation to the communities the railroad would serve. As the party passed north, each bishop in turn, beginning with the bishop of the Bountiful Ward, laid his plan before President Young and the assembled party. Ali was discussed; citizens were given the opportunity to voice approval or disapproval; and a majority approval was obtained before the route and depot location were definitely decided upon. President Young also obtained the pledge of each bishop and the prominent members of each ward to provide the labor to lay the roadbed through the boundaries of their ward.

On Friday, the 11th of June, the party continued northward from Kaysville to the Weber River where work had been in progress since the 1st of June. As the company journeyed toward the Weber River, they found grading camps all along the line.[10]

Financing the construction of the Utah Central Railroad was handled in several ways. The grading of the roadbed was made the responsibility of the citizens of the various communities along the right-of-way. In payment for their labor, they received stock in the company, railroad tickets, receipts for tithing payments, credit for repayments to the Emigration Fund of the church, or orders on Z.C.M.I.[11] or the Bishop's Storehouse. John W. Young's track layers received regular wages, but their payment was delayed. The rolling stock and rails were obtained from the Union Pacific Railroad, as previously noted, as payment for construction contracts that had been awarded to Brigham Young by that company.[12]

Bishop Christopher Layton of Kaysville, one of the directors, wrote of the method of construction of the Utah Central Railroad:

The construction of a railroad by the people in return for a share in the ownership of the road was a method of railroad building without precedent. This cooperative effort, however, was common among the Mormon people and demonstrated their unity and faith in the guidance of their leaders. The Mormon communities which the road was to serve looked at the project not simply as one to make money for the company, but as a desirable and beneficial enterprise for all of the people.

For the most part, the route of the Utah Central Railroad followed flat country that was easy to grade. The most difficult parts of the line were in Weber County where Bishop Lorin Farr of Ogden was responsible for supervising the northernmost fifteen miles of construction. In this section a bridge had to be built over the Weber River, and a large cut leading up from the river to the bench had to be dug. Bishop Farr divided his part of the road into sections and assigned a team of men, working under a captain, to each section. This procedure led to spirited competition among the teams to see which could accomplish its portion of the work fastest and in the best manner.[14]

The Salt Lake Telegraph records the division of Mayor Farr's contract to sub-contractors:

Lester J. Herrick	from west bank of Weber River to 26 stake
Joseph Parry	from 26 to 53 stake
Richard White	" 53 to 66 "
R. Ballantyne	" 66 to 119 "
F. A. Hammond	" 119 to 146 "
Henry Holmes	" 146 to 199 "
Daniel Rawson	" 199 to 226 "
A. P. Stone	" 226 to 239 "
G. Belknap	" 239 to 265 "
W. W. Raymond	" 265 to 291 "
A. McFarlane	" 291 to 450 "
S. Bingham	" 450 to 476 "
S. F. Halvorsen	" 476 to 502 "
T. Richardson	" 502 to 528 "

Work progressed rapidly; by mid-August grading was complete from Ogden to Kaysville, and the bridge over the Weber River was about half completed.[16]

Ties had been obtained, and Assistant Superintendent Feramorz Little planned to start laying them immediately in anticipation of the arrival of rails from the East.[17] These ties had been laid as far as Kaysville by mid-September, and a switch connecting the Union Pacific Railroad to the Utah Central Railroad was completed at Ogden.[18]

The first rails arrived before the end of September, and John W. Young organized a party of track layers and commenced laying the rails. The work started at Ogden and proceeded south, and switches and sidings were built wherever needed as the work progressed. Arrangements were made for the Union Pacific Railroad to carry the rails on its cars to the point where they were to be used.[19] It should be noted that while most of the grading and preparation of the roadbed had been done under the direction of the bishops of the wards along the route, John W. Young selected and hired a crew of men to lay all of the track. His expectations from his men and his belief that they were engaged in the work of the Lord were well stated in a letter he wrote to his workmen:

The non-Mormon newspaper, the Utah Reporter, published at Corinne, saw this work and lack of ready pay in a somewhat different light. In reporting on the driving of the last spike that completed the Utah Central, it cleverly referred to this failure to pay as:

Despite the fact that the track layers on the Utah Central Railroad did not receive pay immediately for their work, there is evidence that there were very few, if any, bad feelings over this and that the men appreciated the spirit John W. Young had shown as their leader. The following testimonial was presented to him at the completion of the construction:

John Young was able to secure the services of seventy men to lay track. This number was increased to 150 at times. The crew, which lived on a construction train right at the railhead, was able to lay about one-half mile of track per day.[23]

With the working force available, it appeared that the railroad would be completed to Salt Lake City before the end of 1869; but there were delays in the receipt of rails. Despite these delays, track was laid to Kaysville by November 24 and to Farmington by November 29,[24] Adequate rails were not available to continue south from there however. Reports in the local papers indicated that rails kept coming in quantities of a carload or two at a time.[25] Young decided to hold up further track laying until an adequate quantity of rails was on hand to proceed to Bountiful. He waited until the end of December at which time fifty-nine carloads of iron had arrived and track laying was again commenced. Telegraph reports indicated that enough additional iron had been shipped from Omaha via the Union Pacific Railroad to finish laying track to the terminus of the road in Salt Lake City.[26]

The Utah Central Railroad officially opened for business with regularly scheduled passenger and freight service to Farmington the week after rails were laid to that community. Beginning December 6, 1869, two passenger trains ran daily from Ogden to Farmington where stage connections to and from Salt Lake City were made.[27] The fare for passage from Farmington to Ogden was one dollar; from Kaysville to Ogden, seventy-five cents; and from Farmington to Kaysville, twenty five cents.[28]

As track laying neared completion to Salt Lake City early in January, the excitement of the moment was caught by the Salt Lake correspondent of the Ogden Junction when he wrote:

Work was completed on the Utah Central during the first week in January, 1870, and the 10th of that month was chosen as the day for an appropriate ceremony to mark the completion of the railroad.[30] The Territorial Legislature passed a joint resolution congratulating the president and board of directors of the Utah Central Railroad on the completion of their road and recognizing the great contribution the railroad would make in the future development of the Territory.[31] The Salt Lake City Council also passed a resolution congratulating the officers and directors of the railroad, officially proclaiming the 10th of January as a day of celebration and recommending a suspension of business for the day so that all who wished could participate in the ceremonies. The Council appointed a Committee of Arrangements consisting of Jeter Clinton, A. C. Pyper, John Clark, Heber P. Kimball and Henry Grow to lay proper plans for the events of the day.[32]

Over fifteen thousand persons turned out on that day to witness the driving of the last spike. A special train from Ogden carried the officially invited guests from that city. These included the presiding ecclesiastical and civil authorities of Ogden, many other prominent citizens and Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad officials. An excursion train was also scheduled and carried hundreds of other Ogden people to the ceremonies.[33]

At noon, three guns were fired, and flags were raised in various parts of the city. The trains from Ogden arrived between one and two o'clock, and the ceremony began.

A platform car next to the engine at the end of the track was prepared for the principal guests which included President Brigham Young and all of the other officers of the Utah Central Railroad, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon church, a dozen officials from the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, General Gibbons and his staff from Camp Douglas, and members of the press. The Camp Douglas band and two other bands from Salt Lake were on hand to provide appropriate music.

At nine minutes past two o'clock, President Brigham Young drove the last spike. He used a large steel mallet which was engraved with the initials "U C R R," a "beehive" and the motto "Holiness to the Lord!"[34] The spike, similarly engraved, was made of native Utah iron. The last tie had been made from a locust tree which had been planted and raised near the spot. The driving of the last spike was greeted by cheers from the crowd, a thirty-seven gun salute--one for each mile of rail--and martial music from the assembled bands.[35]

Elder Wilford Woodruff, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, offered the dedicatory prayer in which he thanked the Lord, praised President Brigham Young and the Mormon people for their diligence and energy, and called forth the blessings of the Lord on the people, the railroad and the country.[36]

The dedicatory prayer was followed by a speech prepared by Brigham Young but read by the Honorable George Q. Cannon, Utah's delegate to Congress. The speech began by noting the history of the Mormon people, emphasizing their journey across the plains to Utah and how, from destitute circumstances in an inhospitable country, they had grown and prospered. He pointed out that the Union Pacific Railroad had failed to pay the Mormon people for much of the work of grading that they had done on that road, but he quickly emphasized that this had been a blessing. It was because of this that agreement had been made with the Union Pacific to provide iron and rolling stock for the Utah Central Railroad. He next praised the brethren who built the Utah Central "without purse or script," and stated that they had acted as "Elders of Israel," which was the highest compliment that he felt could be paid a man. In concluding he called for unity among all citizens of the Territory and prayed that the railroad would serve to benefit all of Utah's people.[37]

The next speakers were Vice President William Jennings and Superintendent Joseph A. Young, officers of the Utah Central. Their messages were similar to President Young's.

Colonel B. O. Carr of the Union Pacific Railroad spoke next and drew loud cheers as he lauded the Mormons for their achievements and pointed out that the Utah Central was probably the only railroad west of the Missouri River that had been built entirely without government subsidies.[38]

Speeches, cannon salutes, band music and toasts went on for much of the afternoon.[39]

The non-Mormon paper, the Utah Reporter, reported the events in connection with the completion of the Utah Central with a different view:

That evening the city was alive with crowds. Candies, lamps, Chinese lanterns, and tinted transparencies of various colors and shapes lit the principal streets; and fireworks lit the heavens.[41] A grand ball was held that evening which was attended by the most prominent Mormon and non-Mormon citizens of the Territory.[42] Buildings were decorated with pictures and signs. Probably the most novel was that of the Deseret News office which displayed a sign reading:

Finally, late in the night of January 10, 1870, the celebration recognizing the completion of the Utah Central Railroad came to an end. People went back to their individual work and interests; the good feelings between Mormon and non-Mormon that had been evident for the day disappeared. Early the next morning the managers and the workmen of the new railroad set about the business of putting their road into profitable operation.

Regular freight and passenger service between Salt Lake City and Ogden commenced on January 12. Two trains ran each way daily; one in the morning and one in the evening. The fare from Salt Lake City to Woods Cross was sixty cents; to Centerville, seventy-five cents; to Farmington, one dollar; to Kaysville, one dollar and thirty-five cents; and to Ogden, two dollars.[44] A third train was soon added on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.[45]

The road had been in regular operation for only one day when an accident occurred. About two hundred and fifty members of Morgan's Commercial College of Salt Lake City had taken an excursion train to Ogden for a day's recreation and sight-seeing. On the return trip that evening, the last three cars of the train were derailed about six or seven miles south of Ogden. Two to three hundred yards of track were torn up due to a loose rail. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but John W. Young and a crew spent half of the next day repairing the damage so that service could be resumed.[46]

The completion of the track was only the first step in building a successful railroad. The job of constructing depots in Ogden, Salt Lake City and at other points along the line was rapidly completed. Freight buildings, repair shops, ice houses and other buildings necessary to the running of a railroad were added and then expanded and improved during the first years of operation. Two additional engines, manufactured by McQueen and Company of Schenectady, N. Y., at a cost of $6,000 each, and several cars were received during February of 1870.[47] Further additions to the rolling stock of the company continued as business increased.

In January of 1870, after the road had been completed, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives to grant the Utah Central Railroad a right-of-way through public lands. It became law on December 15, 1870, as "An Act Granting to the Utah Central Railroad Company a Right of Way Through the Public Lands for the Construction. of a Railroad and Telegraph.[48]

The act granted the Utah Central the right to build a railroad and telegraph line across public land from a point at or near Ogden to Salt Lake City. Permission to remove earth, stone or timber from adjacent land was also granted. The right-of-way was 200 feet in width on each side of the track.[49]

According to Leonard J. Arrington, the greatest economic impact of the completion of the Utah Central Railroad was in the field of mining. The proximity of a railroad with adequate transportation facilities made the extensive development of the mines in the Salt Lake area possible. The long wagon hauls to the transcontinental railroad at Ogden were no longer necessary, and ore could be shipped at a relatively inexpensive rate.[50]

The completion of the Utah Central also led to the building of other railroads in the next decade that were constructed throughout the northern half of the Territory. These railroads, as they reached the mines located in the mountains south, west and east of Salt Lake City, fostered additional mining development. Records indicate that products of mining composed 80 percent of the outward railroad freight business during the entire decade of the 1870's and that the amount of freight carried had a direct relationship to the extent and success of the mining operations in Utah.

In addition to mining products, the principal exports carried by the railroads from Utah were: wool and hides, salt, fruit, farm produce, wagons, lumber, building materials, livestock, dressed meat, and fire clay and brick. Imports over the Utah Central consisted of merchandise for personal and household needs, coal, coal products used in mining, wagons, railroad material, pig iron and machinery.

Available records differ to some extent on the amount of freight that was carried on the Utah Central Railroad during the first decade of its operation, but some idea of the amount can be obtained from the table on page 89, a consensus summary of the various available sources, showing the amount of freight business of the road each year through 1880. In 1881 the road was consolidated with other lines.[51]

Until the last quarter century, the railroads of the nation were the principal means of public transportation. In the 1870's and 1880's passenger service played as important a role in the railroad business as did freight, and every effort was made to provide adequate service to potential customers.

UTAH CENTRAL RAILROAD - FREIGHT TRAFFIC

Year	Freight Carried Inward (toward Salt Lake City)		Freight Carried Outward (toward Ogden)
	tons	pounds	tons	pounds
1871	53,372	1,348	14,723	663
1872	93,337	948	18,739	985
1873	116,766	1,450	27,693	1,754
1874	104,874	16	32,040	386
1875	92,079	526	27, 094	1,029
1876	100,528	505	38,291	1,873
1877	94,492	1,005	45,897	898
1878	83,389	1,518	34,049	490
1879	100,351	97	23,510	1,421
1880	116,768	1,382	24,111	464

The Utah Central offered several kinds of passenger service in addition to the two regular passenger trains that ran daily between Ogden and Salt Lake City. One of these services was an accommodations train which was run daily, except Sunday, for the convenience of local people wanting to go to Salt Lake City to do their shopping. This train left Ogden early in the morning and arrived in Salt Lake City in time for passengers to have a full day for business and shopping before returning on the same train in the early evening. Passengers could make arrangements with the conductor to have the train stop to pick them up or let them off anywhere along the line. Those riding the accommodation train both ways on the same day paid only a one-way fare. One-way fares on the Utah Central in 1870 were:[52]

In addition to the accommodation train, the Utah Central ran "mixed trains" which carried both passengers and freight. The purpose of these trains was also to provide inexpensive transportation. Fares were not quite half of the regular first class tickets.[53]

In 1875 the road added a market train service which was run daily and was similar to the accommodations and mixed trains.[54]

Frequently additional trains were run at reduced rates to carry passengers to special events. Most common among this type of service were the trains that were run to the semi-annual Mormon Church conferences. Other events to which special trains were frequently run were celebrations on holidays and special dramatic and musical performances.[55]

Organized groups on various kinds of excursions, picnics, sight-seeing, conventions or other activities could charter a special car or even a special train at reduced rates. Excursions by special car or train on the Utah Central Railroad were reported frequently in the local newspapers throughout the 1870's.[56]

Special trains were also run during the summer months from Salt Lake to a resort at Lake Side on the Great Salt Lake near Farmington where bathing and boating in the lake were possible, and fine picnic facilities were available. At the resort one could also take a steamboat excursion on the steamer "City of Corinne." This popular resort added thousands to the number of passengers the Utah Central carried each year.[57]

Fares were reduced as the Utah Central gained operating experience. By 1873 the regular fare from Ogden to Salt Lake City on all trains had been reduced to $2.00. For those traveling or. the regular train, a round trip ticket was only $3.00. In addition, as early as 1871, mileage tickets were sold which entitled the holder to travel 592 miles for $25.00 or from Ogden to Salt Lake City for about $1.50 per trip.[58]

Official records of the financial operations of the Utah Central Railroad are no longer extant.[59] By examining a number of sources however, it is possible to gain some idea of the cost of building the road and its operating expenses and profits.

Authorized by the articles of incorporation, the company had issued $1,500,000 worth of stock divided into 15,000 shares and had issued $1,000,000 of first mortgage bonds dated January 1, 1870, and due January l, 1890. Interest was payable at 6 percent on these bonds.[60]

Leonard J. Arrington has estimated that the cost of building the road was $850,000. Of this, $530,000 was for iron and rolling stock received from the Union Pacific Railroad; the remaining $320,000 was for grading, bridge building and track laying. Dr. Arrington further observed that "the real burden, of course, rested with the men of the priesthood in northern Utah who labored on the U.P. contract and on the Utah Central for 1ittle more than 'tithing pay'."[61]

Several different sources provide information about the earnings of the road. A report appeared in the Salt Lake Daily Herald in February of 1872 which listed the gross earnings of the Utah Central for 1870 at $136,005.51 and for 1871 at $338,792.38. This was an increase of $202.786.87.[62] A monthly comparison by years for the early operation is also available and has been consolidated in the following table.

Earnings of the Utah Central Railroad for March

	1870	1871	1872
Passengers	$ 3,306.80	$ 6,541.40	$ 7,087.39
Freight	2,936.59	11,032.62	19,239.92
Express	275.00	195.04	332.22
Mail		888.50
Sundries	.50	83.40	172.68
TOTALS	$ 6,518.89	$ 18,740.96	$ 26,832.21

Earnings of the Utah Central Railroad for April

	1871	1872
Passengers	$ 10,608.55	$ 10,678.90
Freight	14,732.46	18,375.72
Sundries	334.57	424.97
TOTALS	$ 25,675.58	$ 29,479.59

Two letters provide further information regarding the earnings of the company. The first is a letter from President Brigham Young to the editor of the New York Herald, written April 10, 1873. In response to a question as to why he had resigned many of his positions in the commercial field,. President Young replied that he was seventy-two years of age and needed to separate himself from the vigors of the business world for the good of his health. He then assured his correspondent that the railroads in Utah were in an excellent financial state, noting that the gross earnings of the Utah Central Railroad for 1872 were $420,000, while expenses were only $210,000, leaving a net earning of $210,000.[63]

The second letter was from W. W. Riter to the firm of Markee and Grier of New York. The purpose of the letter was to obtain loans on bonds of the Utah Central Railroad. It lists gross earnings of the road from May l, 1872, to April 30, 1873, as appears in the following table:

UTAH CENTRAL RAILROAD
May 1, 1872, to April 30, 1873

Gross Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 456,400. 69
Operating Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 175,518.97
Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,177.04
Total Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 181,696.01

NET EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274,704.68

Interest on bonds at 6% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,090,60

Balance of earnings applied to dividends
on $1,500,000.00 stock is nearly 14%. . . . . . .$ 297,614.08

Poor's Manual of Railroads provides financial statistics for several periods, including the years ending April 30, 1876, and April 30, 1879, which are provided in the following tables:

UTAH CENTRAL RAILROAD
Operations for the Year Ending April 30, 1876

Earnings
From Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 84,388.75
From Freight Traffic . . . . . . . . . . 282,740.84
From Mail & Express . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,774.17
From Minor Sources . . . . . . . . . . . .19,442.75

[error in computation - overage +.2]

TOTAL Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . $ 392,346.71

Current Expenses
For Maintenance of Way . . . . . .   $ 27,905.73
For Rolling Stock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,298.70
For Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,504.23
For Other Purposes. . . . . . . . . . . .   6,993.00

[error in computation - shortage -92.19]

TOTAL Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159,609.50

NET EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 232, 737. 12

UTAH CENTRAL RAILROAD
Operations for the Year Ending April 30, 1879

Earnings
From Passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 71,797. 17
From Freight Traffic . . . . . . . . . .   291,507.07
From Mail & Express . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,9S9.56
From Misc. Receipts . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 263.36

[error in computation - shortage - 3.03]

TOTAL Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 392,524.16

Current Expenses
Operating Expenses . . . . . . . . . . $ 168,698.65
(43.01%)

TOTAL Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168,698.65

[error in computation - shortage -100.00]

NET EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 223,725.51

Interest on Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 62,290.63

Dividends on Stock (12%) . . . . . . . 180,000.00

In addition to the records already mentioned, some of the account books of the Utah Central Railroad are available at the L.D.S. Church Historian's Office. These records show that operating expenses of the road were about 40 percent of the gross earnings and that freight shipments accounted for about 80 percent of the income.[64]

Consolidation as the Utah Central Railway

Sometime during 1880 John Sharp, who served as president of the Utah Central and Utah Southern railroads and as working head of the Utah Southern Railroad Extension, began negotiations with the other officers, directors and stockholders of these companies to consummate a merger of the three roads. As required by the 1876 amendment to the Utah Railroad Act of 1869, approval for the merger had to come from the stockholders.[65] These approvals were obtained by June of 1881; and articles of incorporation, consolidating the three companies, were prepared.[66]

The new company was named the Utah Central Railway Company. It was chartered to run from Ogden, south to Frisco in Beaver County, a distance of 280 miles. Nine directors were selected to manage the company: Sidney Dillon, Jay Gould and Frank G. Brown of New York City; John Sharp, Feramorz Little and William Jennings of Salt Lake City; Fred L. Ames of Boston; S. H. H. Clark of Omaha; and William B. Doddridge of Evanston, Wyoming. The new company issued $4,225,000[67] of capital stock divided into 42,250 shares of $100 each.

The directors of the new road elected Sidney Dillon, president; John Sharp, vice president and general manager; and James Sharp, assistant superintendent.

Under provisions of the consolidation, stock of the new company was issued for the stock of the Utah Central Railroad at the rate of one and a half to one; for the Utah Southern, at the rate of eleven to ten; and for the Utah Southern Extension, at the rate of one-quarter of the amount of the original stock.[68] In actual dollars this amounted to:

Railroad	Old Stock Value	New Stock Value
Utah Central Railroad	$1,500,000	$ 2,250,000
Utah Southern Railroad	1,500,000	1,650,000
Utah Southern Railroad Extension	1,300,000	325,000[69]

The new company was equipped with 21 locomotives; 25 passenger cars; 9 baggage, mail and express cars; 131 box cars; and 193 platform cars to conduct its business.[70]

The net earnings of the consolidated company in 1882, its first full year of operation, appear in the following table.

UTAH CENTRAL RAILWAY
Operations for the Year Ending December 31, 1882

Earnings
From Passengers. . . . . . . . . . . . $ 308,839.70
From Freight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,170,472.64
From Mail & Express . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,587.48
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,587.75

TOTAL Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,531,487.57
($5,466.03 per mile)

Current Expenses
For Maintenance of Way . . . . . . . .$ 172,655.96
For Rolling Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204,696.60
For Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . 223,247.67
Misc. & Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,937.54

TOTAL Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633,537.77
($2,262.63 per mile)

[error in computation - shortage -149.43]

NET EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   897,800.37

Payments
Interest on Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . $ 333,000.00
Dividends on Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . 253,500.00
Permanent Improvements . . . . . . . . 299,800.37

TOTAL Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886,300.37

[error in computation - shortage - 149.43]

BALANCE:   SURPLUS . . . . . . . . . . . 11,649.43

UTAH CENTRAL RAILWAY
General Balance Sheet December 31, 1882

Cost of road, etc. . . . . 9,125,000.00
Materials & Fuel . . . . . .   268,119.12
Current Accounts . . . . . . 424,507.29
Cash on Hand . . . . . . . . . 59,618.45

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,877,244.86

LIABILITIES

Capital Stock . . . . . . . 4,225,000.00
Profit & Loss . . . . . . . . . 252,383.77
Sundry Accounts . . . . . . 499,861.09
Funded Debt . . . . . . .   4,900,000.00

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . 9,877,244.86

UTAH CENTRAL RAILWAY
Funded Debt

Character of Bonds	Date	Interest		When Due	Outstanding
UCRR 1st Mortgage, gold	Jan. 1, 1870	6	Jan. & July	Jan. 1, 1890	1,000,000
USRR 1st Mortgage	July 1, 1871	7	Jan. & July	July 1, 1891	1,451,000
USRR 1st Mortgage	July 1, 1879	7	Jan. & July	July 1, 1909	499,000
USRR Ext. 1st Mortgage	July 1, 1879	7	Jan. & July	July 1, 1901	1,950,000

Earnings of the Utah Central Railway in 1883, the last year of this study, are found in the table below:

UTAH CENTRAL RAILWAY
Operations for the Year Ending December 31, 1883

Earnings
From Passengers . . . . . . . . . $ 272,857.91
From Freight . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861,048.67
From Mail & Express. . . . . . . . . . 30,770.09
From Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . 27,809.17

TOTAL Earnings . . . . . . . . . $ 1,192,485.84
($4,258.88 per mile)

Current Expenses
For Maintenance of Way . . . . . 156,015.13
For Rolling Stock. . . . . . . . . . . 206,804.55
For Transportation . . . . . . . . . 195,912.85
For Misc. & Taxes. . . . . . . . . . . 36,047.61

[error in computation - overage + .1

TOTAL Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . 594,780.32
($2,124.22 per mile)

NET EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . 597,705.52
(50.12%)

Payments
Interest on Bonds . . . . . . . . . . 333,000.00
Dividends on Stock . . . . . . . . 253, 500.00

TOTAL Payments . . . . . . . . . . 586,500.00

BALANCE: SURPLUS . . . . . . . . $ 11,205.52

The Union Pacific Railroad acquired a large interest in the Utah Central Railroad soon after it was completed. Brigham Young held 7,600 shares of the stock in 1872. Bishop John Sharp went east that year and negotiated the sale of 5,000 shares of that stock to the Union Pacific Railroad.[71] This amount had been increased to 5,300 shares by 1878. This, along with additional stock held by officers and directors of the Union Pacific, gave that company control of the Utah Central by 1878.[72]

The Union Pacific owned $1,886,000 of the $4,225,000 total stock of the Utah Central Railway Company when it was organized in 1881.[73]

After 1878, the names of Sidney Dillon, S.H.H. Clark, Jay Gould and other officials of the Union Pacific appeared as directors of the Utah Central. Some prominent Mormons, such as Feramorz Little, John Sharp and William Jennings remained on the board; but Mormons no longer dominated the board as they had prior to 1878.[74]

The Utah Central Railway remained in existence until 1889 when it was made a part of the Oregon Short Line, a subsidiary company of the Union Pacific Railroad. Its track is part of the Union Pacific's main line to Los Angeles today.[75]

Footnotes

[1] Utah Central Railroad Company, Articles of Incorporation, March 8, 1869, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah. The articles of incorporation of more than sixty railroad companies will be referred to in this work. As many as three different dates appear in each of these charters. One date would be the date the articles were prepared; a second, the date the company was organized; and a third, the date the articles were filed with the territorial or county auditor. In referring to the articles of incorporation, I have selected a date in each case that appears on the document and is best tied to the other sources being cited.

[2] Utah Central Railroad Company, Articles of Incorporation, March 8, 1869, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[3] Utah Central Railroad Company, Articles of Incorporation, March 8, 1869, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[4] Deseret Evening News (SLC), March 10, 17, 1869.

[5] Deseret Evening News (SLC), May 17, 19, 1869. Letter, Brigham Young to Albert Carrington, L.D.S. Millennial Star (Liverpool), June 26, 1869.

[6] Deseret Evening News (SLC), May 19, 1869.

[7] Deseret Evening News (SLC), May 19, 1869.

[8] Deseret News (SLC), June 16, 1869.

[9] Each of these communities and the surrounding farming areas also formed the boundaries of a Mormon ward which was presided over by a bishop.

[10] Deseret News (SLC), June 16, 1869.

[11] Z.C.M.I. is the abbreviated name of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, a chain of general merchandise stores that were owned by the church during the period under discussion.

[12] Deseret Evening News (SLC), September 4, 1869; Ogden Junction, March 8, 1871; Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 273-274.

[13] Myron W. McIntyre and Noel R. Barton (eds.), Christopher Layton. Colonizer, Statesman, Leader (1821-1898) (Salt Lake City: Christopher Layton Family Organization, 1966), p. 119.

[14] Deseret Evening News (SLC), June 2, 1869; Deseret News (SLC), June 16, 1869.

[15] Salt Lake Telegraph (Ogden), June 1, 1869. An additional five miles was allowed Weber County, making a total of fifteen miles of roadbed to be graded under the direction of Lorin Farr.

[16] Deseret News (SLC), August 18, 25, 1869.

[17] Deseret News (SLC), August 18, 25, 1869.

[18] Deseret News (SLC), September 15, 1869.

[19] Deseret Evening News (SLC), September 14, 1869.

[20] Letter, L.D.S. Church Historian's Office, John W. Young Railroad Letter File.

[21] The Utah Reporter (Corinne), January 13, 1870.

[22] Deseret Evening News (SLC), January 27, 1870.

[23] Salt Lake Telegraph, November 4, 1869.

[24] Deseret News (SLC), October 20, November 17, 24, 29, 1869.

[25] Deseret News (SLC), December 29, 1869; Deseret Evening News (SLC), December 21, 1869.

[26] Deseret News (SLC), December 29, 1869; Deseret Evening News (SLC), December 21, 1869.

[27] Ogden Junction, January 1, 1870.

[28] Ogden Junction, January 1, 1870.

[29] Ogden Junction, January 8, 1870.

[30] Deseret Evening News (SLC), January 7, 1870.

[31] Utah, Resolution Congratulating the President and Directors of the Utah Central Railroad, Utah Session laws, 19th sess. (1870). p. 144.

[32] Deseret Evening News (SLC), January 7, 1870.

[33] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[34] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[35] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[36] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[37] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction. January 12, 1870.

[38] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction. January 12, 1870.

[39] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction. January 12, 1870.

[40] The Utah Reporter (Corinne), January 13, 1870.

[41] Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[42] Deseret News (SLC), January 12, 1870; Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[43] Ogden Junction, January 12, 1870.

[44] Ogden Junction, January 19, 1870.

[45] Deseret News (SLC), February 28, 1870.

[46] Deseret Evening News (SLC), January 14, 15, 1870.

[47] Ogden Junction, January 22, February 23, 1870; Deseret Evening News (SLC), February 10, 1870; Deseret News (SLC), March 2, 1870; L.D.S. Millennial Star (Liverpool), March 8, 1870.

[48] Statutes at Large, vol. XVI, pp. 395-396 (1870).

[49] Statutes at Large, vol. XVI, pp. 395-396 (1870).

[50] Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, pp. 43-44.

[51] Salt Lake Daily Herald, January 5, 1873, January 16, 1876, January 10, 1877, January 10, 1879, January 22, 1881; Deseret Evening News (SLC), January 13, 1875; Salt Lake Daily Tribune, January 1, 1878; Ogden Junction, January 10, 1880. Edward L. Sloan (ed.), Gazetteer of Utah and Salt Lake City Directory. 1874 (Salt Lake City: Salt Lake Herald, Publishing Company, 1874), pp. 43-44.

[52] Deseret News (SLC), July 9, 1870; Ogden Junction, October 1, 1870, January 14, 1871; Deseret Evening News (SLC), November 26, 1870.

[53] Ogden Junction, July 15, 1871, October 30, 1875.

[54] Ogden Junction, July 15, 1871, October 30, 1875.

[55] Ogden Junction, April 13, 1870, October 4, 1873, June 1876; Salt Lake Daily Tribune, May 26, 1875; Salt Lake Daily Herald, May 8, 1877.

[56] Examples of these are found in the Ogden Junction, July 15, 1870, August 14, 1875; Deseret Evening News (SLC), October 12, 1870; Salt Lake Daily Herald, November 9, 1872; Deseret News (SLC), July 18, 1877.

[57] Salt Lake Daily Herald, June 8, 14, 1870; Salt Lake Daily Tribune. May 9, 1872, August 8, 1877.

[58] Salt Lake Daily Herald, March 24, 1871; Ogden Junction. December 31, 1873; Salt Lake Daily Tribune, January 4, 1874.

[59] U. S. Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Report, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Valuation Docket No. 1060 (1933), p. 386. Records of the company were absorbed into the records of the Oregon Short Line when it became part of that system in 1889. Whatever records had been passed on were destroyed in a fire on January 9, 1912.

[60] Financial Statement, Utah Central Railroad for year ending April 30, 1873, by John Sharp, L.D.S. Church Historian's Office, Utah Central Railroad Letter File.

[61] Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, p. 274.

[62] Salt Lake Daily Herald, February 4, 1872.

[63] Letter, Brigham Young to editor, New York Herald, April 10, 1873, L.D.S. Church Historian's Office, Brigham Young Letter File.

[64] Account Books, Utah Central Railroad Company, 1871-1880, L.D.S. Church Historian's Office, Special Records Collection.

[65] Utah, an Act to amend An Act providing for the incorporation of railroad companies and the management of the affairs thereof, Utah Session Laws, 23rd sess. (1876), pp. 217-218; Salt Lake Herald, May 15, 1881.

[66] Salt Lake Daily Herald, May 15, June 18, 1881

[67] Utah Central Railway Company, Articles of Incorporation, July l, 1881, Utah State Archives.

[68] Henry V. Poor, Manual of Railroads of the United States for 1881 (New York: H.V. & H.W. Poor Co., 1881), p. 725.

[69] Henry V. Poor, Manual of Railroads of the United States for 1881, p. 725.

[70] Henry V. Poor, Manual of Railroads of the United States for 1881, p. 898.

[71] U.S. Congress, Senate, Pacific Railway Commission Hearings, Testimony of John Sharp, S. Exec. Doc. #51, 50th Cong., 1st sess. (1887-1888), pp. 2154-2155. Sharp's testimony was given in 1887 before a commission authorized by Congress on March 3, 1887, to examine the working and financial management of all railroads that had received aid from the Government in bonds. The act is reproduced in full in the Report of the Directors of the Union Pacific Railway Company to the Stockholders for the Year ending December 31. 1886, pp. 163-166. A latter from John Sharp to Brigham Young from the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York City, dated April 6, 1872, details the provisions of this sale and also indicates that the Union Pacific purchased the stock to prevent the Central Pacific from gaining control of the Utah Central. Huntington offered to purchase all of President Young's stock while Sharp was in New York. Letter, L. D. S. Church Historian's Office, John Sharp Letter File.

[72] Salt Lake Daily Herald, August 14, 1870, February 18, 1871, March 21, 1878; Deseret Evening News (SLC), June 1, 1871, April 12, 1873; Salt bake Dally Tribune, June 27, July 22, 1876, January 25, 1877, March 21, 1878.

[73] Report of the Directors to the Stockholders, Union Pacific Railroad, annual report, December 31, 1884, p. 73.

[74] Salt Lake Daily Herald. August 14, 1870, February 18, 1871, March 21, 1878; Deseret Evening News (SLC), June 1, 1871, April 12, 1873; Salt Lake Daily Tribune, June 27, July 22, 1876, January 25, 1877, March 21, 1878.

[75] U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Report, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Valuation Docket No. 1060 (1933), pp. 387, 420-421.

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