Bamberger Railroad, Farmington Station

From the spot where you are standing, passengers boarded the Bamberger Railroad’s southbound trains. The Farmington Station building, formerly a pioneer schoolhouse, was directly across the street to the east and has since been remodeled into a private residence. The tracks ran north and south up the middle of the street that is now 200 West. Simon Bamberger built the railway in 1891 to transport coal from his mine and to provide service for the local business traveler. The line reached Farmington in 1895. Steam-powered engines delivered passengers to the Lagoon amusement park, which Bamberger had built to generate rail business. The rail line quickly became an important source of both passenger and freight service with stops at Salt Lake, North Salt Lake, Bountiful, Centerville, Farmington, Lagoon, Kaysville, Layton, Clearfield, the Arsenal, Sunset, Roy, and Ogden. In 1910 the rail line was electrified. Trains ran on the hour, with more frequent service at peak times. Trains reached a top speed of about 75 miles per hour. Trips between Farmington and Salt Lake took only 26 minutes. By the 1950s, America’s love for the automobile took over. Improved roads and better cars took people off the trains and onto the freeways. The last day of service was September 15, 1952. In 2008 FrontRunner commuter trains began traveling a nearly identical path just a few blocks to the west.

This historic marker is located at the Leavitt / Clark House at 208 West State Street in Farmington, Utah in the Clark Lane National Historic District.