Utah Railroading and Railfanning In "The Beehive State"

Utah railroading is recognized for its historic role in being the site of the completion of our country’s first transcontinental railroad, which took place at Promontory on May 10, 1869 between the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific (today the site is home to the Golden Spike National Historic Site). History aside, Utah’s traffic has typically been natural resources like coal and copper although with Union Pacific’s main line running through Salt Lake City don’t be surprised to see a little bit of everything traveling through the state! During its height the Beehive State was once home to four Class Is although today the state’s trackage is mostly under the control of Union Pacific (with its ownership of the Southern Pacific, Western Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Western) with the rest operated by BNSF and a few shortlines like the historic Utah Railway.

While Utah railroading has its beginnings with the connection of the transcontinental railroad at Promontory just a year later in 1870 the Utah Central Railway completed its main line from the transcontinental connection at Ogden with Salt Lake City, a distance of some 40 miles. Following the Utah Central other important lines to traverse Utah include the Southern Pacific through the purchase of the Central Pacific, the Union Pacific’s Overland Route which ran through northern Utah, the Western Pacific’s main line which would terminate in Salt Lake City, and the Rio Grande had extensive branch line service in central and eastern Utah along with its main line to Salt Lake City.

With two main lines along with operating most of the state’s trackage today, perhaps the Union Pacific is the most-recognized and influential railroad ever to operate in Utah. The Union Pacific’s original main line (that is still in use today and quite busy) is the Overland Route, which runs between Ogden, Utah; Omaha, Nebraska; and Chicago. Today’s Union Pacific is much different from the system prior to 1980 as it operates as far north as Seattle, as far west as Los Angeles/Long Beach, as far east as Minneapolis, and as far south as Dallas, Brownsville, and New Orleans (and about every west in between!).

The UP of today, however, was not as large or wealthy prior to the 20th century. It struggled on and off during the late 19th century but after coming under the guidance of Edward Harriman the UP has generally lived a prosperous life since that time. As the 20th century progressed so too did the UP, being instrumental in the development of lightweight streamliners in the 1930s (the M-10000) which would be the forerunner of today’s common diesel-electric locomotives.

The current UP system began to take shape in 1982 when it purchased rival Western Pacific, which granted it access to northern California, and soon after this it would take over the Missouri Pacific to reach Chicago, St. Louis, and Texas. In 1988 the company grew even larger when it purchased the Katy (the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) and in 1995 did the same with the Chicago & North Western. Finally, just a year later in 1996 the UP purchased the gigantic Southern Pacific, a one-time powerhouse railroad that by the time of its take over by UP was a company that was floundering (so much so that it had been purchased earlier by the much smaller Denver & Rio Grande Western).

The future of the Union Pacific is as wide open as the great western plains where the railroad operates. However, if the company’s past is any measure of what may happen in the years ahead, I think we can safely say that when the merger movement picks up again the Union Pacific and its famous shield logo will continue to flank locomotives during their daily task of moving goods across the country.

While UP dominates the Beehive State one shouldn’t forget about the historic Utah Railway. The railroad is still based in its original headquarters located near Martin, Utah and is nearing its 100 birthday in 2012 having been incorporated in early 1912. Today it continues to carry on in much of the same way as it was originally intended, hauling coal.

In 2002 the railroad was sold to the Genesee & Wyoming family of shortlines, although it continues to wear a version of its original livery, much of the reason because of its storied history. Today the Utah Railway hauls more than 90,000 annual carloads and operates over 400 miles of track although only 45 of those are actually owned (the rest are leased from the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific). Of note, the railroad also owns the Salt Lake City Southern Railroad, which itself serves over 30 customers between downtown Salt Lake City and Draper, Utah (about 25 miles away).

Along with the Utah Railway and UP, BNSF makes a brief appearance in the Beehive State, operating a single line through the northern half of the state and reaching Salt Lake City. Along with BNSF a few shortlines also operate in Utah and include the Deseret Western Railway and Salt Lake Garfield & Western Railway.

In total, these railroads operate nearly 1,500 miles of trackage. For more information on Utah railroading, in terms of route mileage over the years please take a look at the chart below.

Utah railroading is also home to the famed California Zephyr as Amtrak has been continuously operating the train over much of its original route dating back to the days of the CZ’s ownership under the Rio Grande, Burlington and Western Pacific. And, Utah will also be home to a commuter rail system in 2008 as its highly anticipated Frontrunner is to debut, operating between Salt Lake City, Pleasant View and Ogden.

While the Golden Spike National Historic Site is likely the most well known railroad museum in Utah other interesting sites include the Heber Valley Historic Railroad, which operates a historic Baldwin steam locomotive and runs over ex-Rio Grande trackage (the Heber Branch) in the beautiful Provo Canyon region. Believe me, a trip on the railroad is well worth the time and money! Other interesting museums include the Ogden Union Station Railroad Museum and the Western Mining and Railroad Museum.

In all, not only is the exquisite natural beauty of Utah alone worth a trip to the Beehive State but also seeing its interesting and unique railroad operations make a visit to Utah quite rewarding as well.