17 Friday Nov 2023
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Historic Buildings, Moved Buildings, Mt Pleasant, Railroad, Railroad Depots, Sanpete County, Telegraph, utah
The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Depot on the Marysvale Branch in Mount Pleasant, Utah.
845 South State Street in Mt Pleasant, Utah
The depot was moved from its original location at 500 West Main Street:
17 Wednesday May 2023
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Amtrak, Emery County, Green River, Railroad, Train Stations, utah
30 Sunday Apr 2023
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Old Faithful #279
This engine is a symbol of an era past. It is a reminder of the significant part railroading played in the history of Pioche. #279 was purchased in 1927 from the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad Co., for use on the Jackrabbit to Pioche line by the Pioche Pacific Railroad Co. It was retired from service in 1939 and housed at Jackrabbit until it was donated to the town of Pioche in 1957 and moved to this located by a group of interested local citizens.
Located at Pioche Town Park at 186 4th Street in Pioche, Nevada
19 Sunday Mar 2023
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California, California Historical Landmarks, Historic Markers, Kern County, National Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks, Railroad
Tehachapi Loop
From this spot may be seen a portion of the world-renowned Loop completed in 1876 under the direction of William Hood, Southern Pacific railroad engineer. In gaining elevation around the central hill of the Loop, a 4,000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below.
This is California Historical Landmarks #508.
Also located at this same overlook:
Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line
In front of you is the world famous Tehachapi Loop which is about halfway upgrade to the Tehachapi Pass. This steep line averages 2.2% in gradient in its 28 miles of length. This feat of civil engineering genius was crowning achievement of civil engineer William Hood of the Southern Pacific Railway Company. It is one of the seven wonders of the railroad world.
The Tehachapi Pass Railroad Line was cut through solid and decomposed granite by up to 3000 Chinese laborers from Canton, China. They used picks, shovels, horse drawn carts and blasting powder. This line, which climbs out of the San Joaquin Valley and through the Tehachapi Mountains had 18 tunnels, 10 bridges and numerous water towers for the old steam locomotives. It was completed in less than 2 years time under the leadership of civil engineer J.B. Harris, Chief of Construction, a remarkable feat.
This line was part of the last and final link of the first railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was a primary factor in the early growth of the City of Los Angeles and the State of California.
This single track line, essentially unchanged, is still in constant use today, 122 years after its completion. It passes an average of 36 freight trains each day. This attests to the superior job of both engineering and construction done by the two civil engineers and the Chinese laborers.
26 Monday Dec 2022
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Caboose No. 55
This caboose was built in 1918 by the Mt. Vernon Car Company for the Utah Railway Company. It was refurbished in 1958 at which time the steel siding was added. Caboose No. 55 traveled the route from Provo to Mohrland from 1918 to 1975. That’s 57 years!
This is located at the Helper Museum at 294 South Main Street in Helper, Utah
19 Monday Dec 2022
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The Last Hurdle
On the weathered hillside above you are the footprints of fierce rivals, straining for the finish line in the greatest race of the 19th century.
The stakes were high. Each mile of track laid down meant enormous land grants and hefty federal subsidies. Blasting up from California came the Central Pacific Railroad, led by four eminent Sacramento businessmen with 10,000 Chinese laborers.
Eastern money and rough immigrant track gangs pushed the Union Pacific Railroad out from Omaha, barreling across the Plains and through the Rockies.
Both competitors had one last obstacle – the ascent of the Promontory Mountains – the steepest grade east of the Sierra Nevada. In the middle of this tough grade, was the unavoidable 500-foot-wide Spring Creek ravine.
By the spring of 1869, both railroads hurtled over this ravine, each making the leap in its own way.
The Track that United the States
A sharp eye can still pick out the marks of early railroad building along this rugged escarpment, even if the original iron rails and timber ties themselves are gone.
These fading remnants tell the story of a daunting engineering challenge – linking the Western states to the rest of the nation. Inscribed here, amid the sagebrush and bedrock of northern Utah is a tale of grand dreams and brute work, greed and glory.
22 Thursday Sep 2022
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Presented to
James K. Knudson
Administrator Defense Transport Administration
– By –
Robert M. Gilmore
—
From No. 1678, One of the oldest locomotives on the Southern Pacific system, which was built in April 1900 by the Cooke Locomotive and Machine Company of Patterson, New Jersey. During the 52 years it was in operation, the locomotive gave approximately one million miles of service over the various districts of the Southern Pacific. After many years in freight service in this country it was transferred to the Southern Pacific of Mexico in 1946 and operated between Nogales and Guadalajara, Mexico in freight and passenger service until December 1951 when it was returned to this country and retired in 1952.
This bell given to Park Valley, by Cam Harmon, Brigham City, Utah. Erected at Park Valley October, 1969
01 Monday Aug 2022
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Caliente, Historic Buildings, Lincoln County, Neo-Mission, Nevada, NRHP, Railroad, Railroad Depots
The Caliente Railroad Depot
A large Neo-Mission type depot built in 1923, serving not only as Division Offices of the Union Pacific Railroad, but also as a hotel as well as a civic Center. Today it remains the most imposing structure in Caliente. The City of Caliente has taken it over in order to prevent its destruction In order to justify its cost, a City Hall complex and civic center is being constructed within the building. The exterior of the building is being left in its original form. Wherever possible the original wood, etc. is being left in the interior.
Caliente was founded by a railroad whose operations were based on steam motive power. It became U.P.’s best equipped steam facility between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. For many years Caliente was a division point between Las Vegas and Milford, Utah. Engine and trail crews changed here. in the days of steam locomotives, Caliente also was the center of a helper district – the terminal for locomotives and crews that assisted trails upgrade between Carp and Caliente, Caliente and Crestline, and Modena and Crestline. During World War II, 17 helper crews were assigned here and about 150 were employed in the locomotive, car, and agents departments.
The interior has extensive oak paneling, ornate doors, vaulted ceilings, and tile floors. The City is retaining all original paneling and tile and interior changes are being kept to a minimum.
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Located at 100 Depot Avenue in Caliente, Nevada and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#74001146) March 5, 1974.
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The building is 54 feet by 341 feet (18,414 sq. ft.), white, with a red tile roof. Railroad tracks immediately adjacent to the depot have been removed and the City plans to landscape a portion of the 2.2 acres now under lease. A few years ago the rows of Lombardy poplars in the lawn on the south end of the building were cut.
The architectural style, generally known as the Mission Revival or the neo-Mission was used on the Union Pacific stations between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The Caliente depot is the only station of its type left in Nevada It was designed by the Los Angeles firm of John and Donald Parkinson, Architects. They also designed the Los Angeles depot. A styling note is the full arched openings on the lower floor, with a rectangular pattern around all openings on the second floor. Wrought iron guard rails protect upstairs door openings (fire escapes).
The second floor was originally used as a hotel for the overnight accommodation of train travelers and railroad officers. A separate adjacent dormitory (now removed) served layover train crews in the last years of the Age of Steam. The second floor facilities have been removed and there are no current plans for the use of the area although access has been maintained.
“Following the war Caliente’s importance as a railroad center began to decline. The diesel locomotives, which replaced the steam engines in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, could be run in multiples with one crew eliminating the need for helpers, nor did they require fuel, water, and servicing as frequently. Forces and facilities were gradually reduced as diesel power gained prominence.
Shop facilities were moved to Las Vegas in 1948. The roundhouse, water tank, and excess yard tracks were removed and the depot turned over to the City of Caliente on a long-term lease (10 years for $1) in 1970.” – Allen Krieg, Union Pacific Railroad
28 Thursday Jul 2022
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Railway Depot Built, But No Train Arrived!
The leading area industry of the late 1800s and early 1900s was mining Gilsonite, a glossy black hydrocarbon-resin. Henry Ford used it to produce the lustrous black paint on his Model T, and Anheuser Busch lined beer barrels with the tar-like substance. Today it is used in inks, building products, and protective coatings. The Uinta Basin lays claim to the only commercial mining of this substance. This industry sparked the construction of a narrow gauge railroad in 1904 to ship Gilsonite to the world market.
In 1905 the Uintah Railway and Freight Company constructed its railroad station, directly across from you, for the purpose of housing a railroad depot, freight station, and telegraph office. Despite the fervent efforts of the community, the rails never reached Vernal. The freight station continued to ship produts such as local wool. Until the 1940s, when modern highways and the trucking industry took over, the freight station also provided service to and from the rail line, located 57 miles southeast of the now-deserted ghost town of Watson.
Freight and passengers were transported from Vernal to the railway on a daily basis in wagons and, later, in modern motor coaches. This building now serves as a warehouse.
This is #19 of the 21 stop history walking tour in downtown Vernal, Utah. See the other stops on this page:
This marker is located at 90 North Vernal Avenue in Vernal, talking about the location across the street at 89 North Vernal Avenue.
20 Wednesday Jul 2022
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Ely, Historic Markers, Lincoln Highway, Nevada, Nevada Historic Markers, Railroad, White Pine County
Nevada Northern Railway
Mark Requa’s Nevada Consolidated Copper Company laid 150-mile of track from Cobre, on the Southern Pacific line, to Ely in 1905-06 to haul ore from the Copper Flat mines west of Ely.
Ore was loaded into railroad gondolas at Copper Flat for the trip to the smelter at McGill, over a double-track trestle that was 1720 feet long. The trestle burned in 1922 and was replaced with an earth-fill span.
Passenger service and the “school train” carrying McGill youth to Ely High School ended in 1941. With the closing of local copper mines in 1983, the railroad ceased operations. Currently, part of the line serves the Nevada Northern Railway Museum for live steam rides. The East Ely shop complex for the Railway was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2006.
This is Nevada State Historical Marker #100 located at the White Pine Public Museum at 2000 East Aultman Street in Ely, Nevada.
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