Tintic Branches
Index For This Page
UP's Branches in the Tintic Mining District.
This page was last updated on September 22, 2025.
(Return To the Union Pacific In Utah Page)
(Based on information contained in SPLA&SL Tintic Branches track profiles dated March 1915. These profiles were located in the UP engineering office in the Depot Annex, Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 29, 1988. The engineering department had already been moved to Omaha, but there were still numerous engineering files still located in Salt Lake City.)
UP's Tintic Subdivision -- Information about the railroads that served the Tintic Mining District, including the New East Tintic Railway and the LA&SL Tintic branches.
UP's Shays -- Additional information about Union Pacific's Shay locomotives, which operated on the Tintic branches.
LA&SL Silver City Branch (1882)
LA&SL Silver City Branch (1.94 miles)
Completed by the Salt Lake & Western Railway in 1882
- MP 0.48 - Silver City Jct. (on Eureka Branch) (elev. 5,794)
- MP 2.39 - Silver City (elev. 6,027)
- MP 2.66 - end
Maximum grade: up to Silver City, 2.62 percent
Maximum curvature: 4 degrees
Newest rail, S.H. 75 lbs., 1915
Silver City Branch rail relaid, completed on 4 December 1915, reported in August 1917
At Silver City:
- Retire crossover at Silver City (Work Order 87, 100 percent completed on 23 August 1932) (from LA&SL drawing 562-15)
- Move car body from Tintic to Silver City, for agent's quarters (Work Order 5452, dated 11 March 1925, 100 percent completed on 28 May 1925) (from LA&SL drawing 562-15)
- LA&SL drawing 1666, S-7, dated November 10, 1908, shows Tintic Smelter, D&RGW Railway trackage in Silver City, with wye tracks, and Eureka Hill Railway
LA&SL Eureka Branch (1889)
LA&SL Eureka Branch (3.66 miles)
Completed by Salt Lake & Western Railway in 1889
- MP 0.00 - Tintic (elev. 5,790)
- MP 0.48 - Silver City Jct. (also known as Tintic Wye)
- MP 1.59 - Mammoth Jct.
- MP 3.66 - Eureka (elev. 6,321)
Maximum grade: up to Eureka, 3.56 percent
Maximum curvature: 7 degrees
Newest rail: S.H. 75 lbs., 1917
(from LA&SL drawing 562-14)
- New 24 x 93 foot depot; acquire new right of way; retire old depot; new depot to be located across tracks, in direction of Main Street. (Work Order 5372)
- Construct 496.3 feet extension to Track 10. (100 percent completed on 22 August 1926)
- Retire 147 feet of Track number 7 and 149.5 feet of pile trestle; along south side of Bullion-Beck Mill. (Work Order 86, 100 percent completed on 23 August 1932)
LA&SL Northern Spy Branch (1891)
LA&SL Northern Spy Mine Branch (3.03 miles)
Completed by OSL&UN in 1891
- Station 0+00 - Silver City (elev. 6,027)
- Station 40+35 - Rabbit Mill Spur
- Station 99+09 - Tesora Mine Spur
- Station 160+00 - Northern Spy Mine
MP 2.65 (at Silver City, from Tintic) to MP 5.43 (Northern Spy mine)
3.03 miles, 4% grade, 52-pound rail
Maximum curvature: 16 degrees
The Northern Spy Mine Branch (also referred to as the Northern Spy Extension) was completed in February 1892.
The Northern Spy Branch, was the rail line from Silver City to the ore bins of the Northern Spy mine in Ruby Hollow. Jesse Knight had purchased the Northern Spy mine in 1899 as one of his earliest mining acquisitions.
In 1917, Jesse Knight's Northern Spy mine failed due to rising water levels in the mine, a problem that caused the failure of many Tintic mines. The Northern Spy Mine Branch that served the Northern Spy mine laid unused until it was abandoned in 1921, reinstated in 1926 for car storage, and abandoned again in October 1937 and taken up.
Northern Spy Mine was "eliminated" on 15 January 1917
Branch retired in January 1922, tracks not removed
Reinstated in 1926 as side tracks
Retired and track taken up in October 1937. (Work Orders 946 and 1059, dated 25 October 1937; 100 percent completed on 14 December 1937)
LA&SL Mammoth Branch (1893)
(Mammoth Junction to Mammoth)
Completed by OSL&UN in December 1893
- 1.8 miles, 4% grade
- MP 1.59 to MP 3.24
- LA&SL bought D&RGW's interest in joint trackage at Mammoth on August 7, 1944
- Form 30; No.712; 19 May 1916; "Appn" 1682; $22,922.94
(from LA&SL drawing 562-16)
- Construct 621.7 foot spur for American Smelting and Refining, called "AS&R Spur"; jointly owned, 50/50 between UP and D&RGW. (Work Order 5366; 100 percent complete on 15 December 1924)
LA&SL New East Tintic Branch (1896)
LA&SL New East Tintic Branch (2.03 miles)
Mammoth mill to Mammoth mine, by way of a 6 percent switchback; Mammoth mill was connection to UP and D&RGW branches
Completed by New East Tintic Railway in 1896; sold to Oregon Short Line RR in November 1900; sold to San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake RR in July 1903.
(Read more about the New East Tintic Railway)
Mile Posts
- MP 3.22 - Mammoth (elev. 6,264)
- MP 3.65 - end of switchback track (approximately 235 feet long)
- MP 3.61 - back to switchback switch
- MP 5.21 - Mammoth Mine (elev. 6,791)
5.79 percent grade from Mammoth to switchback (engineering station 0+00 to 22+31.69, MP 3.645)
6 percent grade from switchback to Mammoth mine (engineering station 20+17 to 105+01.2, MP 5.21)
Maximum curvature: 30 degrees
Newest rail: S.H. 90 lbs., 1923 (other portions, S.H. 60 lbs., 1890)
Combined with Mammoth Branch in employee timetables
Maps
Map of the Salt Lake & Western Ry. -- later known as the Union Pacific's Fairfield Branch
Map of UP's Tintic area branches -- A Google map of UP's Tintic area branches
Map of D&RGW's Tintic branches -- A Google map of Rio Grande's Tintic branches, including the Dividend and Iron King Spurs, also known as the Burgin Mine Spur
Map of Eureka Hill Railway -- A Google map of Jesse Knight's narrow gauge line in the Tintic Mining District
Map, Railroads of the Tintic District -- Josh Bernhard's Google map of the railroads of the Tintic District
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