I was at Smelter, Utah (between Tooele and Salt Lake City) and noticed over by the railroad tracks that there was a sign saying it was the start of the Pacific Time Zone. That surprised me since that time zone doesn’t start until you leave Utah into Nevada. Maybe the railroad has a different boundary than the rest of us? I can imagine how that would be helpful for the stations and junctions out in the desert but I never knew about anything like that. If you know, please share.
Pacific Time Zone in Utah?
14 Saturday Mar 2020
Posted in Uncategorized
Hi Jacob. I know your name from geocaching. Historically the western part of Utah was in the Pacific Time Zone, although nobody used it in every day life. It may have had something to do with WWII. I have some old maps showing this boundary. I think this was officially done away with in 1969.
https://www.abc4.com/news/wirth/wirth-watching-past-laws-on-daylight-savings-time/
Thank you! That’s cool to find out and cool to know there’s still a sign as proof.
That being said, railroads do tend to put such boundaries where it’s most convenient for them and their personnel. I think you’ll find time zone boundaries on the railroad rarely align exactly with the civil boundaries.