UtahRails.net

(This page printed from UtahRails.net, Copyright 2000-2019 Don Strack)

Union Pacific's Utah Division

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on December 10, 2017.

(Return To The Union Pacific In Utah Page)

Overview

The following comes from Model Railroader magazine, September 2017:

Like public timetables, employee timetables contain the schedules of regular trains. However, they contain other important information necessary to work on a railroad, so an employee timetable must exist whether its territory has scheduled trains or not.

Major railroads like the New York Central and Union Pacific issued employee timetables for divisions or groups of divisions. Smaller lines might have only one timetable covering the entire system.

Typically, an employee timetable lists the stations on the lines it covers, their milepost locations and hours of operation, passing sidings and their length, and other facilities such as water tanks and wyes. They also include the schedules of regular trains, if any. Systems of operation, such as Yard Limits, Automatic Block Signal, or Centralized Traffic Control are shown. Contemporary editions would specify Track Warrant Control (TWC) or Form D Control System (DCS) methods, where they apply. Track diagrams have now become common in timetables, too.

A timetable will also contain special instructions. These may modify certain operating rules, state speed limits and tonnage ratings, and give other detailed information. Close clearance notices naming industries served can feed a modeler's imagination.

Utah Division

(Note: Only lines in Utah, and lines in each Utah Division timetable, are covered.)

In the Union Pacific Railroad time table No. 45, dated August 22, 1909, that portion of UP in Utah was shown as the Ninth District, Evanston to Ogden. The portion of Union Pacific designated as the Utah Division encompassed 347 miles from Rawlins to Ogden. Rawlins to Green River was the Seventh District; and Green River to Evanston was the Eighth District. This was before any of the double track was added to the Ogden to Wahsatch grade in Weber and Echo canyons. This same timetable covered the entire railroad, and included the Nebraska Division (Omaha to North Platte, 787 miles), the Wyoming Division (North Platte to Rawlins, 461 miles); the Kansas Division (Kansas City to Ellis, 750 miles); the Colorado Division (Ellis to Denver and Cheyenne, 749 miles); and as mentioned, the Utah Division. At this time, the OSL, OR&N and SPLA&SL were each operationally separate from UP.

LA&SL, 1921 to 1931 -- Until 1931, the LA&SL was split into two divisions, the Los Angeles Division and the Salt Lake Division, with Caliente as the separation point. In 1931 the two were combined into a single division, the Los Angeles Division.

With the formal lease of both the OSL and the LA&SL on January 1, 1936, the operational changes included the designation of the OSL as the Central District, and the LA&SL as the Southwestern District. In 1937, the Central District was combined with the Southwestern District to form the South-Central District, or SCD.

Utah Division, Central District employee time-table, No. 246, dated March 9, 1937, Supplement No. 2, superseding Supplement No. 1

On August 1, 1941, the Los Angeles Division was changed to the California Division and cut back to end at Caliente. At the same time, the Utah Division was enlarged to include the former LA&SL Salt Lake Division, to Caliente.

Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 112, dated September 1, 1947

1948 Changes

"A major realignment and consolidation of divisions had just taken place and effective February 29, 1948, the Union Pacific eliminated two divisions. The Colorado Division was spun off into the Kansas and Wyoming Divisions and the Washington Division was consolidated with the Oregon Division. At the same time, the company started anew the sequential numbers for each division with No.1. (with the exception of the Bridge Subdivision.) It is interesting to note that these divisions created in 1948 remained basically unchanged until about 1980." (Art Riordan, from the introduction of the UPHS reprint of the entire set of UP employee timetables, dated February 29, 1948)

On January 1, 1948 the Utah Division was cut back to include just the former OSL north from Salt Lake City to McCammon. The California Division was extended to Salt Lake City, with the Salt Lake City to Lynndyl (the old Utah Southern) line being designated as the First Subdivision, and the newer Salt Lake City to Lynndyl Leamington Cutoff being designated as the Second Subdivision. The Lynndyl to Milford line became the Third Subdivision, and the Milford to Caliente line became the Fourth Subdivision. All as part of the expanded California Division.

At the same time, the Utah Division was expanded east to Green River, cutting back the Wyoming Division. The Utah Division was also expanded north to Pocatello, and on to Butte, cutting back the Idaho Division to Pocatello. New No. 1 timetables for each division were issued on February 29, 1948 reflecting these changes.

Utah Division Timetable No. 1, dated February 29, 1948

California Division Timetable No. 1, dated February 29, 1948

Utah Division, South-Central District, Special Rules No. 9, dated August 1, 1949

Full Dieselization, 1949

On September 11, 1949, the three districts (Eastern, Northwestern and South-Central) were reorganized to reflect the dieselization of the South-Central and Northwestern districts:

1949 to 1975

The Utah Division remained unchanged from September 1949 to November 1983, when the operations of the former WP were officially added to the Utah Division.

Examples in the UtahRails collection include:

Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 5, dated September 11, 1949
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 7, dated September 24, 1950
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 9, dated June 17, 1951
Utah Division, South-Central District Special Rules No. 13, dated July 1, 1954
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 22, dated June 12, 1955
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 30, dated September 21, 1959
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 44, dated June 22, 1969
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 47, dated May 1, 1972, includes Special Rules
Utah Division, South-Central District employee time-table No. 48, dated September 16, 1973

Timetables, After 1975

South-Central District Timetable No. 1, dated January 12, 1975

Eastern District Timetable No. 1, dated May 15, 1976

System Timetable No. 1, dated February 12, 1978

System Timetable No. 2, dated December 10, 1978 (no change for Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 3, dated March 9, 1980 (no change for Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 4, dated October 26, 1980 (no change for Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 5, dated May 31, 1981 (no change for Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 6, dated May 23, 1982 (no change for Utah Division)

(UP control of WP was granted on December 22, 1982, with an effective date of January 1, 1983; the two were formally merged on June 17, 1987.)

(The last WP timetable was No. 10, issued on October 31, 1982)

System Timetable No. 7, dated July 17, 1983 (WP added as Western District)

System Timetable No. 8, dated November 20, 1983 (WP west of Winnemucca added as Western Division)

January 1, 1985
The following division changes were made on January 1, 1985. (Union Pacific INFO magazine, January 1985, page 4)

System Timetable No. 1, dated April 28, 1985 (no change for Utah Division trackage)

System Timetable No. 2, dated October 27, 1985 (Missouri Pacific Railroad only; no Utah Division information)

System Timetable No. 3, dated April 27, 1986 (first with named subdivisions)

On April 29, 1986, the Utah Division was eliminated. (Union Pacific Salt Lake Route, page 45)

System Timetable No. 4, dated October 26, 1986 (no Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 5, dated April 5, 1987 (Granger Subdivision changed to Salt Lake Subdivision) (no Utah Division)

System Timetable No. 6, dated May 15, 1988 (Utah Division reinstated)

System Timetable No. 7, dated October 29, 1989

System Timetable No. 8, dated April 7, 1991
(Red, white and blue cover to commemorate Operation Desert Storm)

System Timetable No. 1, dated April 10, 1994 (Service Units)

System Timetable No. 2, dated October 29, 1995 (no change for Utah Division)

1997 Changes

January 17, 1997
"Union Pacific has recently changed the boundaries, and in a couple cases, the names of the four regions comprising the system. The old Midwest Region and part of the Western Region is now called the Northern region. Beginning at Ogden, UT and McCammon, ID, it extends east covering the states of WY, CO, NE, IA, MN, WI and northern IL. The old Eastern Region is now call the Central Region covering southern IL, MO, northern AR, KS, OK, west TX, NM and AZ. The Southern Region is track south of Little Rock, AR and Ft. Worth, TX to the Gulf of Mexico and west to Alpine, TX. The Western Region consist of all states from UT and ID to the West Coast." (Update Line, Union Pacific Communications Department, January 16, 1997; last day was January 17, 1997)

1998 Changes

On October 25, 1998, the entire railroad was reorganized into 18 service units, in three regions. The Salt Lake City Service Unit was created from portions of the Los Angeles and Cheyenne service units.

In 1999 (?), the Utah Service Unit was created from portions of the Salt Lake City Service Unit (?) to better manage the operations of coal trains. The Utah Service Unit encompassed subdivisions south and east of Provo.

2004 Changes

February 1, 2004
UP's Cheyenne and Denver service units were combined, with new headquarters being located in Denver. The new service unit included all former D&RGW lines in Colorado, as well as the old kansas Pacific across Kansas, along with assorted branches in Colorado and the old UP mainline and associated branches across Nebraska (from O'Fallons) and Wyoming, west to Ogden, Utah. (David Blazejewski, email dated January 20, 2004)

More Information

Summary of the changes to UP in Utah in September 1998

(See also The Streamliner, Vol. 4, Number 2, page 28 for a summary of the history of UP in Utah.)

Sources

Union Pacific employee timetables in the UtahRails collection

Loren Johnson email posted to Union Pacific group at YahooGroups, August 31, 2003

Copies of various UP Wyoming division timetables furnished by Tim Zukas

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