In 1861, the town of Echo, Utah was founded. When tracks were laid down in Echo, the town shifted from an agricultural community to a railway hub. By 1869, the first of many trains passed through the area and its first railway station. As was…

Known as the Promontory Branch Stations, the Central Pacific Railroad maintained nearly 30 section stations along the tracks in Utah. These stations were each located roughly 10-12 miles apart and provided needed maintenance and upgrades to the rail…

Though the joining of the rails at Promontory, Utah was an iconic moment, the resulting route from the Sierra Nevada Mountains through Promontory was too steep and long for trains that were longer, faster, and carrying increasing numbers of…

Devil’s Gate-Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant is located in Weber Canyon. The power station was completed in 1910 on the Weber River. Crowded between steep, winding canyon walls alongside the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 84, the plant has…

Designed by architect and Santa Barbara, California native Francis W. Wilson, the Grand Canyon Train Depot is one of fourteen log depots ever constructed in the United States and is now one of only three remaining. Out of these, the Grand Canyon…

Nestled in the Black Canyon, the Hoover Dam helps control the Colorado River’s flooding cycle that once devastated nearby communities. Construction started in 1931 and finished in 1935. 21,000 individuals worked on the monumental project and just…

The Pine View Dam is a beautiful example of nature and human innovation. The Pine View Dam is made up of three unique layers that combine to comprise its overall integrity: artisan wells, original 61-foot structure of the 1930s, and the addition of…

Utah’s first hydroelectric plant was constructed by the Ogden City Electric Company in 1883. It supplied direct current to a few private customers in Ogden and nine city lights, but the next year high water partially destroyed the building. By 1887,…

Completed in July 1909, the Union Depot in downtown Salt Lake City, served as a connecting point for the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad to the Oregon Short Line. Previous to the construction of the depot and connecting railroads,…

The Ogden Union Stockyards were a significant part of the Ogden community during their operations. The stockyards were the feed stops for countless train cars containing cattle, sheep, and hogs. A good portion of these animals were sold or…

The Weber River Railroad Bridge, also known as the Ogden Pegram Truss Railroad Bridge, was built by Edge Moor Bridge Works (based out of Wilmington, Delaware) for the Oregon Short Line Railroad. It replaced an iron bridge that had been at that…

The Oregon Short Line Company was established in 1878 to provide the Union Pacific with access to the Pacific Northwest. In 1906, that company built the Brigham City Train Depot. A.C. Rainey and his staff of 22 laborers constructed a “Hudson Bay…