Utah-Idaho Central Railroad Equipment
Index For This Page
This page was last updated on July 22, 2013.
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Taken from "Interurbans of Utah" by Ira Swett, pages 67-90.
Overview
The predecessor company of the UIC, the Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railway Company, was formed in May 1914 by merging the Ogden Rapid Transit Company and the Logan Rapid Transit Company, both Eccles corporations.
The following comes from Ira Swett's Interurbans of Utah, page 77:
Hyman-Michaels Company took on the job of scrapping the rail line and rolling stock; work progressed rapidly: a light diesel locomotive powered the rail-pulling train, while cars were burned at Ogden Shops. Here are some "lasts" for your records:
1. Last passenger train: February 15, 1947
2. Last freight train. February 28, 1947
3. Last car, any type: March 18, 1947 (Car 051)
89 UIC steel gondolas of the 1000 Class were sold to other railroads; the remainder of UIC's rolling stock was scrapped, although (records are unreliable) it is possible that one or two electric locomotives were sold for continued use.
Motorized Passenger Cars
500-517
Motor cars 500-517 were built in one lot by American Car Company, St. Louis, in 1915. Cars 500-506 were motors from the beginning, but old company records list cars 507-517 as "Interurban Trailers" for an indefinite time. The date of their motorization is not known, but probably occurred the following year, for similar steel trailers 600-605 were purchased from American in 1916. Cars 500-517 cost $12, 500 each, while 600-605 were $5,500.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
| Builder: | American Car Company, St. Louis |
| Type : | Triple-compartment, steel |
| Weight: | 86,000 pounds |
| Length: | 61 feet, 8 inches |
| Width: | 9 feet, 4 inches |
| Height: | 13 feet, 0 inches |
| Motors: | 4 Westinghouse 334-E-6 (115 HP) |
| Gear Ratio: | |
| Control: | Westinghouse HL |
| Brakes: | Westinghouse AMM |
| Brake Valve: | M-24-A |
| Trucks: | Brill 27 MCB-3 |
| Wheelbase: | 7 feet, 0 inches |
| Wheels: | 36 inches |
| Seats: | 62 |
| Lights: | 7 56-watt Tungsten lamps |
The four Motors were run on either 750 or 1500 volts DC; on the higher voltage, the motors were operated in series so that there was a potential of 750 volts across each. The UIC 500s were geared for a free running speed of 47-50 mph on the level with an average of 1,350 volts on the trolley. The unit switch control apparatus was of the HL type, different from the standard outfit in the provision of unusually great creeping distance, exceptionally powerful blowout coils and additional switches connected in series to break the arc. The air brake equipment consisted of Westinghouse AMM combination straight and automatic air brake apparatus with M-24-A brake valve. A continuously running dynamotor furnished 750 volts for the control of lighting circuits and the air compressor. This compressor was connected mechanically to the dynamotor by means of a multiple disc clutch which was normally held by a spring in a closed position. Whenever the air pressure reached a predetermined value, the governor admitted air to a small cylinder, disconnecting the clutch and stopping the compressor but allowing the dynamotor to continue running. The lighting equipment for the cars consisted of two circuits of seven 56-watt tungsten lamps with Alba shades. Headlights and heaters operated direct on 1,500 volts.
When new, the 500s ran up to Huntsville in Ogden Canyon and on Washington Blvd. to 25th St. in Ogden. Other unusual service included being pressed into service to haul freight cars, as well as two of them running on the Quinney branch as school trippers. On special occasions, the 500s operated to Salt Lake City via Bamberger but photos of them south of Ogden are quite rare.
While there is reference in company records of seven pantograph trolleys being ordered on October 18, 1918, they were undelivered and no 500 ever ran with a pantograph.
At the time of final abandonment, only the following motors were operating: 500, 503, 504, 505, 508, 509, 512-515, 517. The others passed from the passenger scene as indicated:
501: Stored
502: Stored after bad accident in 1945.
505: Seats out, windows painted over and used to haul LCL freight since 1939.
507: Burned at Ogden; stored at Ogden Shops.
510: Same as 505
511: Used to haul LCL merchandise train.
516: Retired after wreck in 1920 on Quinney branch; robbed for parts.
All cars remaining on the property were scrapped in 1947.
600-605
Cars 600-605 were trailer coaches built by American Car Company in 1916 and conformed closely to 500-517 in appearance except that the 600s were straight coaches. An unusual feature originally was equipping these trailers with trolley poles, so that when standing in yards uncoupled, they could be provided with heat and light.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
| Builder: | American, 1916. |
| Type: | Coach Trailer |
| Weight: | 55,000 pounds |
| Length: | 61 feet, 8 inches |
| Width: | 9 feet, 2 inches |
| Height: | 13 feet (over roof) |
| Brakes: | Westinghouse |
| Trucks: | Brill 27 MCB-3X |
| Wheelbase: | 7 feet, 0 inches |
| Wheels: | 36 inches |
| Seats: | 72 |
| Bolster Centers: | 39 feet, 10-1/2 inches |
| Height, rail to sills: | 42-1/2 inches |
| Height, sills to trolley base: | 9 feet, 8-1/2 inches |
| Headlining: | Agasote |
| Roof: | Plain arch, wood and canvas |
| Couplers: | O.B. |
| Curtains: | Pantasote |
| Interior Trim: | Polished bronze |
| Heaters: | Consolidated |
| Seats: | Brill "Winner" green leather |
Inasmuch as UIC had so many powered cars, the trailers in later years saw comparatively little use in passenger service. Only 600 and 603 remained straight passenger trailers until the end; the others:
601: Scrapped at Ogden, December 17, 1946.
602: Rebuilt into express and mail car, 1945.
604: Rebuilt into fruit car without windows, then rebuilt into bunk car 04.
605: Rebuilt into combo: 4/5 express-mail, 1/5 passenger.
All remaining cars were scrapped at Ogden in 1947.
800-802
UIC operated three express motors: 800, 801 and 802. The origin of these cars is controversial; one source states they were rebuilt from OL&T cars in 1916 --- another claims they were bought in the east. At any rate, the Eights were not up to the UIC's usual high standard; they had wooden bodies with steel underframes. Official UIC records list the 800 as being built in 1916 at a cost of $7,850; 801 and 802 came a year later and cost $11,760. 800's life was brief; it was completely destroyed in a head-on collision with motor 517 on November 22, 1917, near Fairview, Idaho which resulted from a dispatcher's error. 801-802 had a much longer life; for years they were used to pull freight in rush seasons. Both met their end when operating MU in 1945; they plowed into a freight train at Dewey gravel spur and were scrapped.
Company Service Cars
| 1 | Line car, single truck, built at Ogden Shops in 1914. It used a truck from an old streetcar and two GE 90 motors. It was 26 feet long, 14 feet, 6 inches high from rail to railing, and 6 feet, 10 inches wide. It was equipped with shelves, lockers and hooks for handling wire and ropes, and carried long bars or shovels under its top platform. Its speed was about 35 mph. |
| 01-03 | Maintenance of way box cars, all wood. Built 1916, scrapped 1925. |
| 04 | Ex-passenger trailer 604; used as double-bunk maintenance-of-way car, painted Tuscan red. Scrapped in 1947. |
| 101 | Steel hand-operated derrick; built 1916 by Industrial Manufacturing Company in Bay City, Michigan. Scrapped in 1947. |
| 011 | Derrick tender, all wood; built-up box from flat; trolley and headlight. Scrapped 1947. |
| 025 | Work motor, wood body, wood underframe. A flat-bed motor, used until 1938. Built by OL&I, 1916. |
| 026 | Sweeper, wood body, steel truck, built 1909 by McGuire-Cummings for ORT. Last recorded December 31, 1934. |
| 027 | Sand car, wood body, wood underframe and steel truck. Built 1917; last recorded in 1928. |
| 028 | Snow plow; scrapped 1937. |
| 029 | Line car; double truck, 30 inch wheels. Used in Ogden Canyon. Last record: November, 1935. |
| 051 | Line car; wood body, steel sides, steel end sills, built 1917 by OL&I. Used for years as Ogden line car. Had St. Louis trucks. Scrapped 1947. Cost $7,700. |
| 052 | Line car; wood body, built 1918 by OL&I, cost $7,375. Used as the Logan line car. It was the last car run on UIC, making final trip on March 8, 1947. Scrapped 1947. |
| 061 | Motor less wedge plow; built 1916, cost $3,100. Scrapped 1947. |
| 062 | Motor less wedge plow; built 1917, cost $3,100. Used on SL&U for many years and painted SL&U red. Scrapped 1947. |
Freight Locomotives
Utah Idaho Central Freight Locomotives B-B -- 5 locomotives (400 horsepower)
| UIC Number |
Previous Number |
Builder | Builder Number |
Date Built |
Purchase Price |
Notes |
| UIC 901 | OL&I 901 | Baldwin-Westinghouse | 42052 | Apr 1915 | $15,150 | 1 |
| UIC 902 | OL&I 902 | Baldwin-Westinghouse | 42476 | Sep 1915 | $15,150 | 2 |
| UIC 903 | OL&I 903 | Baldwin-Westinghouse | 43683 | Jul 1916 | $16,300 | 3 |
| UIC 904 | OL&I 904 | Baldwin-Westinghouse | 45657 | May 1917 | $20,100 | 4 |
| UIC 905 | OL&I 905 | Baldwin-Westinghouse | 45658 | May 1917 | $20,100 | 5 |
General Notes:
- UIC 901-905 were standard Baldwin-Westinghouse 50-ton steeple cab freight locomotives
- UIC 901-905 were built as Ogden Logan & Idaho 901-905 in 1915-1917; to Utah Idaho Central on January 1, 1918
Notes:
- UIC 901 was scrapped in 1947
- UIC 902 was scrapped in 1947
- UIC 903 was scrapped in 1947
- UIC 904 was sold to Cornwall Street Railway Light & Power Company number 12 in April 1948; operations ended in Fall 1971 (after line was sold to Canadian National Railways); sold to The Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven, Connecticut in 1972
- UIC 905 was wrecked in 1946; scrapped soon after.
Specifications for UIC 901-905
| Type: | All-steel, steeple cab |
| Weight: | 100,000 pounds |
| Length: | 36 feet, 6 inches |
| Width: | 10 feet, 0 inches |
| Height: | 12 feet, 2 inches |
| Motors: | 4 Westinghouse 562-A6 (100 HP) |
| Gear Ratio: | 7:60 |
| Control: | Westinghouse HLF |
| Brakes: | Westinghouse 14 EL |
| Trucks: | Baldwin Rigid Bolster |
| Wheels: | 36 inches |
| Journals: | 5 inches x 10 inches |
| Truck Centers: | 18 feet, 0 inches |
| Truck Wheelbase: | 7 feet, 0 inches |
Other Locomotives
| UIC 25 | Purchased second-hand in 1945 from Oregon Electric, but used very little. It was the only General Electric motor on UIC, and had the standard GE steel steeple cab body (very similar to Bamberger 525-528). |
| UIC 951 | This was UIC's oldest freight motor, built in 1910 by ORT as its #6. The ORT Annual Report for 1910 lists this car as an electric locomotive which cost $6,150 of which $3,100 was for body and trucks, the remainder for electrical equipment. It had a wood body, steel underframe and trucks. Old records show it to have been damaged by fire in 1916, and wrecked at Plain City somewhat later (in those days it served as a plow in winters); it was rebuilt, becoming OL&I 951. 951 was retired and scrapped in 1945. |
| UIC 952 | An all-steel electric locomotive, built by OL&I with work starting on September 22, 1916. It was built on a flat car body, using trucks and electrical equipment from a passenger motor "to be replaced upon receipt of new equipments." 952 was the fastest freight motor on UIC. It was scrapped in 1947. |
LCL freight was handled by two rebuilt passenger motors, 505 and 510; they provided speedy and efficient cartage for light shipments, and were augmented by 511 which handled the overnight merchandiser.
Freight Equipment
| Type Car | Numbers | Type Const. | Remarks |
| Cabooses | 401-403 | Wood, Arch bar | 2 |
| Gondola | 600-615 | Wood, Arch bar | 3 |
| Gondola | 1000-1099 | Steel | 4 |
| Flat | 7001, 8000-8011 | Wood, Arch bar | |
| Box | 10002-10020 | Wood, Arch bar | 5 |
| Box | 10021-10023 (1939) | 6 | |
| Ballast | 11001-11025 | Wood, dump | 7 |
| Refrigerator | 20000-20010 | Wood, Arch bar | 8 |
| Stock | 35000-35011 | Wood | 9 |
| Small Dump | Dl-Dl2 (1913) | Wood, dump |
REMARKS ON ABOVE:
| 1. | In above roster, all cars acquired 1915-1916 except where indicated in parenthesis. All scrapped 1947 except as indicated above. |
| 2. | 401-403, wood cabooses, built by OL&I in 1916 at a cost of $460 each. All scrapped in 1947. |
| 3. | 600-615 used for coal and bricks; last one scrapped 1938. |
| 4. | 1000-1099 built new for UIC in 1920-1921 by Ralston Steel Car Company (Columbus, Ohio) and cost $3,062 each; 89 cars sold 1947 via Hyman-Michaels: 20 cars sold to C&G; 20 cars sold to Con. of Cuba; 3 cars sold to Gulf States Steel (Atlanta); 35 cars sold to KO&G, rest to various roads. |
| 5. | 10002-10020 mostly gone by 1938 |
| 6. | 10021-10023, ex-PFE Reefers, newly listed 1939. |
| 7. | 11001-11025 were center dumps used to sugar beets; most were scrapped from 1931 to 1939. |
| 8. | 20001-20003 came from ART (St. Louis) |
| 20004-20009 bought second hand from ART in 1916; ex-5570, 5616, 5626, 5627, 5581, 5525; cost $410 each | |
| 20010 ex-PFE.; new to UIC in 1939. | |
| 9. | 35000-35011, ex-OSL, purchased from UP (OSL) in 1916 for $225 each. |
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