Utah Central, DUP

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From Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 10, pages 137-192 (published in 1967)

Although the Mormons sought isolation from their persecutors, and more than found it in the arid regions of the Great Basin, they were not long in realizing the need for a better type of transportation than was provided by the slow-moving oxen. Thus it was with joy that they learned of a proposed transcontinental railroad that would link the East to the West. Indeed, according to Tullidge, "It is a singular fact, yet one well substantiated in the history of the West, that the pioneers of Utah were the first projectors and first proposers to the American nation of a transcontinental railroad." It has been said that on the initial journey to Utah, Brigham Young would often point out the route where one day such a railroad would be built. Further proof of their great desire for better transportation and communication facilities was voiced at the first session of the territorial legislature of 1851-52 when ".... memorials to Congress were adopted, praying for the construction of a national central railroad and also a telegraph line from the Missouri River via Salt Lake City to the Pacific." The great dream became a reality on May 10, 1869, when the Golden Spike joined the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific at Promontory.

It was only a matter of a short time before a web of small railroads began spreading throughout the territory. As with all the other projects that had been undertaken by the Latter-day Saints in their conquering of the frontier, the building of railroads was accomplished in much the same manner. The people of each settlement became responsible for the line that would run through their area. The men [p.138] must build the grades, haul the timber for the ties and lay the rails. Once again they were called upon to abandon other pressing personal work to build for the benefit of the whole. It seems that such dedication should have been rewarded by more financial gain for the builders, but it became a sad reality that almost as soon as the branch railroads were built by the sweat and labor of the Saints, they were absorbed by the more powerful roads.

The Utah Central Railroad

In June of 1868, President Young realized that the terminus of the first railroad to span the continent would not be in Salt Lake City. The following statement gives his reaction:

If the company which first arrives should deem it to their advantage to leave us out in the cold, we will not be so far off but we can have a branch line for the advantage of this city.

President Young made good his prediction by organizing the Utah Central Railroad Company March 8, 1869, with capital stock $1,500,000 or 15,000 shares valued at $100 each. The first stockholders were Brigham Young, Joseph A. Young, George Q. Cannon, Daniel H. Wells, Christopher Layton, Briant Stringham, David P. Kimball, Isaac Groo, David O. Calder, George A. Smith, John Sharp, Brigham Young, Jr., John W. Young, William Jennings, Feramorz Little and James T. Little. These stockholders were all Mormons, and all came from Salt Lake City with the exception of Christopher Layton of Kaysville, Davis County.

Brigham Young was president, his son Joseph, general superintendent, D. H. Wells, treasurer and Jesse W. Fox, chief engineer.

When the decision was reached that the northern route had been chosen and the railroad would be laid by way of Ogden, Corinne, Promontory, then north of the Great Salt Lake on to Nevada, the authorities of Salt Lake City were much disturbed, fearing that the gentile city of Corinne would be chosen as the junction. Immediately the Church Authorities made arrangements to purchase about 135 acres of land in West Ogden, which was offered free of charge for a station, to the two railroad companies, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific, if they would make Ogden their junction. Promontory also proved to be deficient in natural resources which would justify the companies in building their railroad shops there and in making that point the permanent junction of the two great companies. Ogden, on the other hand, was favorably located and had many other advantages. In November 1869, the Central Pacific purchased forty-seven miles of line from the Union Pacific and leased a remaining five miles, thereby making Ogden the terminal for both roads. They built the station on the free land donated by the Church, and from that time forward Ogden was known as the "Junction City."

The track laying was commenced at Ogden September 22, 1869, and the construction of 36.34 miles of line to connect Salt Lake City [p.139] with the Weber Junction was completed January 10, 1870, creating radical local changes, which affected the mining and commercial enterprises of the territory, as well as the every day life of the citizens.

The following letter published in the Millennial Star, was written May 22, 1869, to Albert Carrington by Brigham Young:

On the 17th inst., the First Presidency broke ground at Ogden for the railroad between Ogden and Salt Lake City. There was no great display, no speech making; though somewhat unexpectedly a large concourse of people assembled to witness the ceremony. I merely cut the sod using the spade for the occasion, which I considered more appropriate than a pick, as being the right tool in the right place. The sod, I am informed, was afterwards borne away in fragments as a memento of the event.

On May 15, 1869, Jesse W. Fox, chief engineer of the Utah Central Railroad, took H. S. Young and Jesse W. Fox, Jr., to the west side of Ogden City and there directed the boys to drive some stakes along a line survey westerly toward the Weber River. An engineering party had been organized and later added to, which embraced the following persons: Jesse W. Fox, Sr., chief engineer, John Fewson Smith, C. L. Ericson, James H. Martineau, Abraham F. Doremus, Charles W. Hardy, Joseph W. West, Rodney C. Badger, Hyrum S. Young, Jesse W. Fox, Jr., Oscar F. Hunter, Calvin Richards, Wilford Hinchcliffe, Robert Moyes, camp cook; Brigham Martin, Frank Kimball, James X. Ferguson.

From a Deseret News editorial published June 16, 1869, we quote:

I am indebted to President George A. Smith, who accompanied President Brigham Young, for the following particulars of the locating of the line of the Utah Central Railroad: President, Brigham Young; vice president, Wm. Jennings; directors: Feramorz Little and Christopher Layton; general superintendent, Joseph A. Young, and chief engineer, Jesse W. Fox. The officers of the Utah Central Railroad left Salt Lake City on Thursday morning and at the Hot Springs met, by appointment, the leading citizens of Davis County, numbering at least one hundred men, nearly every public man in the county and many of the farmers being there. The wagons and carriages numbered nearly forty. Leaving the road the party struck the bottom, and after as careful an examination as possible under the circumstances the northwest corner of Brother Daniel Wood's farm, lying about a block east of the meetinghouse at Bountiful, was selected as the point near which the depot for that place should be located. Brother Daniel Wood strongly urged that the lane east of his farm should not be interfered with by the line, he and his neighbors preferring that it should run through his farm, he offering the land for nothing. President Young, before fully deciding upon this point for the site for the depot, called upon [p.140] Bishop Stoker and the people of Bountiful to express their feelings. They were unanimously in favor of the place located.

From Bountiful the party proceeded to Centerville, when a point about a quarter of a mile from the town was chosen for the depot in the same manner as at Bountiful, the people's wishes, as well as those of the owners of the land, being consulted.

Farmington was next reached, and after the party had dined, they proceeded to examine the land west of the town. Bishop John W. Hess had looked over three routes, either of which he thought might answer; but as there is only a narrow strip of land between the town and the lake his feelings rather leaned to the western route of the three, as by that the line would run through a barren piece of land. An examination of the route caused the President to conclude that the line could be run there at ten thousand dollars less expense than by either of the other two. Before deciding upon adopting it, however, he called upon the people to learn from them whether they wanted Farmington to come to the railroad or the railroad to come to Farmington. The reply was in favor of the latter proposition, so a route about half a mile west of the meetinghouse was selected. Bishop Hess has since expressed his entire satisfaction with the route, and says he and his people are willing to undertake the grading through his ward.

After examining the route as far as Kaysville, President Young put up at Bishop Layton's for the night. Starting out in the morning, a site for the depot was selected in the vicinity of Brother Barton's brick house--a distance probably of not more than eighty or one hundred rods west of the meetinghouse at Kaysville. From this point the party went to the engineer's camp about two miles from Kaysville, and examined the profile of the route as far as surveyed. There are three corps of engineers already at work, and more are wanted, as men are waiting to take jobs of grading, all that has been surveyed having been let out.

Under the guidance of Chief Engineer Fox, the party proceeded along the line as far as the Weber, giving the route a thorough examination. Grading parties were at work all along the line and several portions were completed. The big cut, leading up from the Weber River on to the bench, is being rapidly pushed through. The engineers were instructed not to have any grade on the line exceed forty feet to the mile, or any curve exceed three degrees to the mile.

From all indications the line will be completed at an early day. The grading is being taken hold of with energy and spirit and the people feel deeply interested in the project. President Young, and the other officers of the Utah Central Railroad have taken the right method to secure their good feelings.[p.141] Probably their course is unexampled in the history of railroad building. But the Utah Central Railroad is not being built by a company solely to make money, or for its own benefits; but for the good of the people and the country, and it is desirable that whatever is necessary to make the scheme a success should be done by the common consent of all concerned. Prosperity attend it, is the wish I here express on every hand.

[Photo caption] Black Hawk -- Built by Williams and Hinkley 1861. It was a construction engine. Photo taken in 1876 by Engineer C. F. Husbands, Original in Pioneer Memorial Building, Railroad Exhibit.

The work continued during the summer of '69 with labor supervised by the bishops of the towns along the line. Some received their pay in stocks or bonds; some paid their debt to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund and others received only railroad tickets. For those who donated their time, the Church received shares of stock. Late December 1869 the one hundred fifty men who were hired to complete the tracks into Salt Lake finished their work, and the last spike was driven Monday, January 10, 1870, the day appointed for the laying of the last rail of the Utah Central Railroad. The weather was cold, a heavy fog hung over the city of Great Salt Lake, but a multitude assembled, and by two o'clock p.m. there was gathered around the depot block about 15,000 people. As the train with the invited guests from Ogden and other northern settlements came dashing toward the end of the track, shouts arose from the assembled city. A large steel mallet had been made at the Church's public works blacksmith shop. The last spike was forged of Utah iron manufactured by James Lawson. The mallet was elegantly cased, bearing on the top an engraved beehive surrounded by the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord," and underneath the beehive were the letters U.C.R.R.; a [p.142] similar insignia consecrated the spike. The sun, which had hidden himself behind the clouds during the whole day, burst forth as in joy to witness the event of the laying of the last rail almost at the very instant. It was like a glad surprise, and the assembled thousands took it as a happy omen. The honor of driving the last spike in the first railroad built by the Mormon people was assigned to President Young. After the performance of the ceremonies, a salute of thirty-one guns, one for each mile of the road, was fired.

Horatio Hancock coupled the first car of the Utah Central Railroad to the engine named "Black Hawk" at Ogden and was conductor of the first construction train. When the last three miles of track were laid, William Jeffs, Sr., was appointed fireman and Albert Gray, brakeman. As soon as the road was completed, Mr. Hancock was made conductor on the passenger train which ran from Ogden to Salt Lake, and Arthur Tippets was named engineer.

Chief engineer of the Western Division of the U.P.R.R., had this to say regarding the Utah Central Railroad:

I have but one word to say to the working men of Utah, and that I will say briefly; I have been fifteen years engaged in railroad business, but I have never seen a single road made to which capitalists did not contribute their money, or the responsibility of which did not fall upon the Government or the State in which said road was made. But here, nearly forty miles of railroad have been built, every shovelful of dirt of which has been removed by the working men of Utah, and every bar of the iron of the road has been placed in position by their labor. You can publish to the world that the working men of Utah built and own this road. I have said one thing and I want to say one thing more. Do not stop where you are. When you laid the last two rails today, they stuck out a little. That means, Go On!

The following is taken from a speech of Colonel B. O. Cart of the Union Pacific Line:

The Utah Central Railroad, although only thirty-seven or thirty-eight miles long, is perhaps the only railroad west of the Missouri River that has been built entirely without Government subsidies; it has been built solely with money wrung from soil which, a few years ago, we used to consider a desert, by the strong arms of the men and women who stand before me. And almost everything used in its construction, but especially the last spike, is the product of the country--All I have to say further is that I cannot imagine how any man, whether Mormon, gentile, saint or sinner, can do other than feel happy at the completion of this road. I wish it the utmost success on its journey to the far South.

In 1872 Bishop John Sharp, acting for the Church, negotiated with the Union Pacific to sell 5,000 shares of Utah Central stock [p.143] at $50.00 a share held by the Church, but the Church managed the road until 1879 when control of Utah Central fell into the hands of Union Pacific.

Engines -- Two new locomotive engines, Nos. 3 and 4 for the Utah Central Railroad arrived at Ogden February 7, 1870. They were built by McQueen and Company, Schenectady, New York, at a cost of $12,000. The building of freight houses, passenger and freight landings, etc., at the Utah Central Railroad depot was pushed ahead rapidly, and in a short time a neat and commodious depot was built, with every convenience necessary for the comfort of the traveling public.

From the diary of James Lawson:

Before January 10, 1870, I made the last spike which connected the two roads. It is constructed of iron polished so brightly as to look almost like silver. It is beautifully engraved on top with the words, "Holiness to the Lord," and beneath this is an almost perfect beehive representing the seal of Utah. I also made the hammer which drove the last spike as well as the Golden Spike. The Utah Central road was opened to traffic on January 10, 1870. It continued under the presidency of Brigham Young, Sen., for a short time and then his son, Superintendent Joseph A. Young, succeeded his father as president of the company; but on February 17, 1871, he resigned the presidency and his original office of general superintendent, when his father resumed the presidency and Feramorz Little was appointed superintendent. John Sharp succeeded Little in 1871, and in 1873 was elected president of the company, as well as continuing in the superintendency of the road.

From the records of Horatio Hancock:

I coupled the first car to the engine named Blackhawk at Ogden and was engineer on the construction train day after day as we made progress to Salt Lake. Robert Bult was engineer and William Jells was fireman; Albert Gray, brakeman. The last night before the completion of the road we came back to Ogden and stayed up part of the night decorating the engine, Blackhawk, with flags and ribbons, preparatory to the celebration January 10th. We coupled on four coaches which made up the train with Union Pacific officers and business men of Ogden on board. I was the conductor. The second train was piloted by Charles Mayard, engineer and John Leavitt, conductor. This train carried the employees who worked on the road. As soon as the road was in running order, I was the conductor on the passenger train running between Salt Lake and Ogden. (End of quote.)

In February 1870 one million dollars worth of first mortgage bonds were issued to pay President Young's debt to his Union Pacific sub-contractors and their workmen. The Utah Central Railroad Company was given as security. A committee was formed to solicit the cooperation of the Saints in buying the bonds, but there was very little response to this appeal. At the general conference held at [p.144] Salt Lake City in October 1870, President Young told the people that "it is the mind and will of God that the Elders should take the Utah Central Railroad bonds and own the railroad." Failing to receive the amount he needed, President Young borrowed $125,000 from the president of the U.P. Railroad.

UTAH CENTRAL RAILROAD FREIGHT TRAFFIC

March 1874

INWARD	TONS	LBS.	OUTWARD	TONS	LBS.
Building Material	11	50	Crude Bullion	800	478
Crude Bullion	560	70	Lead	160
Coal	4710	1070	Merchandise	102	594
Coke	541	870	Ore	595	1820
Charcoal	435		Produce	102	20
Iron Ore	273	720	Sundries	11	287
Lumber	215	295	Wool and Hides	39	1546
Livestock	120
Merchandise	1045	494
Ore	61	1000
Produce	253	700
Railroad Material	95	1720
Sundries		1000
Wood	21	1000
Wagons	55	700
	8395	9689
TOTAL INWARD	8395	9689	TOTAL OUTWARD	1809	4745
GRAND TOTAL	10204	14434

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