General Palmer began a new railroad from Salt
Lake City and Ogden to meet with his Denver
and Rio Grande (D&RG) in Grand
Junction, CO. He originally named the line the Denver and Rio Grande Western
Railway and it
was the main supply line to many areas in Utah. Eventually the main route
joined up with the D&RG near Grand Junction, then continued on to Denver
on a great transcontinental journey. From Ogden connections could be made
to the west coast on first Central Pacific, then later Western Pacific,
and eventually Southern Pacific trains.
The name of the Railroad was changed to Rio Grande Western (RGW)
in 1889 when the system was standard gauged and improved. In 1921 the RGW
was taken over by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.
Upon leaving Grand Junction, the railroad followed the
Colorado River west into Utah, through Ruby Canyon. This vast
river valley that is cut out of the rocks, is known for its deep red
sandstone colors. These are the last views of the river as the tracks
cross the Utah border and then climb out of the canyon. Moving west along
the Book Cliffs near Cisco, the tracks cover
desolate lands where the old time settlers still managed to survive by
raising sheep. In this region water is a premium and there is no other
major source of water until reaching Green River.
After crossing the Green River, the route turns to the north, around
Beckwith Plateau, and traverses a long flat desert across an old dried up
lake bottom. And dried up is the key word here as there is no water for
the next 50 miles until reaching the Price River at Woodside.
From here the railroad follows the river to the City of Price
and then on to Helper at the base of the Wasatch
Mountain Range. Helper was a major maintenance, repair, and helper
station. Coal mining is a major industry in the region and the railroad
had several large branch lines into the surrounding hills to haul the coal
out of the mines. Additional engines would be added to the train for the
next long haul west through Castle Gate and then
over 7, 440 feet high Soldier Summit.
The tracks continue to follow the Price River to its headwaters at
Soldier Summit and then cross the watershed divide into Spanish Fork
Canyon. From here the train proceeds west down the river valley to the
helper town of Thistle. A major branch line to Marysvale
runs southwest from Thistle serving mines and communities in the area. The
main line continues down the American Fork Canyon from Thistle, winds its
way out of the Wasatch mountains and into the Great Salt Lake basin at Provo.
This town is one of the large cities founded by Latter Day Saints
(Mormons) settlers in the 1850's. It lies on the shores of Utah Lake, a
major freshwater body that drains north, into the Great Salt Lake. Provo
is a major smelting and industrial center and the nearby steel mill was a
major source of revenue for the railroad.
From Provo, the line runs north again and follows along the Wasatch
Range to Salt Lake City. Here the railroad operated many small branch
lines to various types of mining facilities in all directions including
the largest open pit copper mine in the world at Bingham
Canyon.
Salt Lake City has several other major railroads operating in the area
and one was the Rio Grande's arch enemy, the Union Pacific. The Rio Grande
was a late comer to this scene and it took a major effort just to eek a
track from Salt Lake to Ogden and sneak into town using another UP
competitor's right of way. From Ogden, "The Gateway to the
West," the railroad could connect with other transcontinental lines
to the coast.
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