Utah interurban railroads photograph collection, 1928-1964

Overview of the Collection

Title
Utah interurban railroads photograph collection
Dates
1928-1964 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.2 linear feet, (2 archives boxes)
Collection Number
P0820
Summary
The Utah interurban railroads photograph collection consists of images of engines, passenger cars, and other equipment used by various interurban railroads in Utah. Photographs also available online.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

"THE WISE AND THRIFTY RIDE OUR CARS": HISTORY OF UTAH INTERURBAN RAILROADS

The opening of the new TRAX railroad line by the Utah Transit Authority on December 5, 1999, was hailed as one of the major events of the decade for Salt Lake City and the growing communities along Utah's Wasatch Front. Planners and UTA officials believe that the fifteen miles of railroad from downtown Salt Lake City to Sandy will ease traffic congestion in Utah's most populous areas and usher in a new age of socially conscious transportation. The construction of the new line aroused passions in people of all political persuasions, and while it might seemed at the time like today's hottest news, it was not the first time that Utahn's have gone through major light rail line construction. Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front have a long tradition of interurban railroads, stretching back over a hundred years. A horse-drawn trolley system was in place in Salt Lake City by the early1870s, and the first electric trolley cars ran on Salt Lake City's streets in 1890, six years before Utah even became a state. For more than fifty years, residents all along the Wasatch Front could hop on a red car of the Bamberger Line, or one of the other interurban railroads, and go almost anywhere from Preston, Idaho, to Provo, Utah. The modern TRAX is fifteen miles long; at the peak of the interurban railways in northern Utah there were 150 miles of trolley lines in Salt Lake alone, with another 30 miles in Ogden, Logan, and Provo. They carried thousands of passengers every year, and were a major factor in the development of Salt Lake City from a big western town to the major urban center that it has become.

The following detailed history of northern Utah's interurban railways is adapted from the entry for "Railroads," by Don Strack, [in] UTAH HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA, edited by Allan Kent Powell. (Salt Lake City : University of Utah Press, c1994.)

Between 1890 and 1920 Utah's population more than doubled, from 210,779 to 449,396. Most of that growth was in the urban areas and nearby farming communities along the Wasatch Front. By the turn of the century, the steam railroads were straining to provide the local populace with transportation to local destinations. To fill this need for additional local passenger transportation, several local electric interurban railroads were organized between 1900 and 1910. This group of companies developed into what became one of the largest electric railroad systems in the nation.

Between 1910 and 1920 four separate railroads completed either the electrification of their lines or the actual construction of their lines as electric railroads. The Salt Lake and Utah Railroad was begun in 1914 as an electric line south from Salt Lake City to Provo, and was completed to Payson in 1916.

The Salt Lake, Garfield and Western began in 1891 as the Saltair Beach Railway, running from Salt Lake City west to the new Saltair Resort. Construction began in 1892, at which time the name of the line was changed to the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railway to show that the company had larger plans. In 1916 the company was reorganized as the Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway and made the announcement that the line would be electrified, a process completed in 1919.

The Utah Idaho Central railroad began as the Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railroad. The earlier road had taken over the streetcar lines of both the Ogden Rapid Transit and the Logan Rapid Transit and completed a connection between the two by way of Brigham City in 1915. The Logan Rapid Transit had completed their line north to Preston, Idaho, in 1912. Preston remained as the northern end of a network of electric interurban railroads that spread along the Wasatch Front from Cache Valley south to Payson, at the southern end of Utah Valley. In 1910 the Salt Lake and Ogden Railroad electrified its line between those two cities. The railroad was built by Simon Bamberger and had been completed to Ogden in 1905. In 1917 the company became the Bamberger Electric Railroad.

Simon Bamberger was elected governor in 1917, as the Progressive candidate. And ironically it was the improved road and highway system that he promoted while he was in office which led to the eventual demise of the interurban railroad system in Utah. As people were better able to get around in their own cars, they were less inclined to take the electric powered trains into and between Utah's major cities. The improved road system also allowed trucking companies to become more competitive, and they gradually took the lucrative package express business away from the interurban lines. The interurban railroad companies were able to gain back some of the lost traffic by offering their own trucking services between the cities that they also served with electrified railroad service.

Two of Utah's interurban companies the Utah Idaho Central in the north and the Salt Lake and Utah in the south were able to hold on only until the late 1940s. The Bamberger ceased passenger train service in 1952, using diesel locomotives to remain in the freight business until 1958. Utah's last interurban line, the Salt Lake, Garfield and Western, is still in business today, having converted to using diesel locomotives in 1951. The line stopped running passenger trains during the early 1960s, however.

The Emigration Canyon Railroad was built in 1907 to move sandstone from quarries located in Emigration Canyon down to Salt Lake City for use as building stone. Unfortunately, the company's timing coincided with the availability of cement within the state. Since concrete is a much better building material, the market for building stone (the railroad's traffic base) virtually disappeared within a three year period between 1909 and 1912.

Streetcar lines were built in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, and Logan. The line in Provo consisted of only a single line and was abandoned after being in operation for only six years from 1913 to 1919. There were six lines in Ogden, with a total length of about twenty four miles. In Logan there were three lines, totaling just over eight miles, with the longest being from the Oregon Short Line depot to the Utah State Agricultural College.

After the 1915 merger of the Ogden and Logan lines, the new Ogden, Logan and Idaho Company continued streetcar service until the respective cities began paving their streets. At that time many of its lines were removed because the company couldn't pay its share of the paving costs. The Ogden lines were sold to a separate company in 1920, and by the mid 1930s the streetcars in Ogden had been replaced by buses.

The streetcar lines in Salt Lake City were by far the most extensive in the state, beginning with those of the Salt Lake City Railroad in 1872 and the Salt Lake Rapid Transit Company in 1890. These two companies built a large network of streetcar lines throughout the city and outlying area. Other companies also were organized in the 1890s and built lines into other parts of the city. All of the lines were merged in 1901 as the Utah Light and Railway Company and again in 1914 as the Utah Light and Traction Company.

The streetcar system in Salt Lake City reached its peak in 1918 with over 146 miles of tracks, including a line south of Holladay and another line north to Centerville. Beginning in the late 1920s buses began to replace the streetcars, and slowly over the next twenty years the individual lines were abandoned. The last streetcar ran in Salt Lake City in 1946.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The images in this collection depict passenger cars, engines, and other machinery that was used by a number of Utah Interurban railroads during the early part of the 20th century. These include the Bamberger Electric Railroad; the Emigration Canyon Railroad; the Salt Lake and Garfield Western Railroad; the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad; and the Utah and Idaho Central Railroad. These were assembled from various sources by a photograph dealer, from whom they were purchased by the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Department in January 2000. Information which appears with the individual photograph listing was derived from captions and other written information found on the backs of the photographs, and varies from a detailed history of the car and its use to virtually nothing about the train. Other than editing for continuity of dates and names, nothing has been added or deleted from the information inscribed on the backs of the photographs.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Collection is arranged alphabetically by railroad.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from a dealer in 2000.

Processing Note

Processed by Roy Webb in 2001.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1 Bamberger Electric Railroad
  • 1: Bamberger Electric number 354, Salt Lake City March 9, 1938. 750 Volt Line.
  • 2: Bamberger Electric RR, Salt Lake City March 10, 1938. About two miles south of Ogden, Utah.
  • 3: Bamberger Railroad number 129. Salt Lake, April 19, 1939. Ex-Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville. 600 volt car on 750 volt trolley.
  • 4: Bamberger Railroad number 527. Salt Lake, April 19, 1939.
  • 5: B.E. Ry number ?. Near Ogden, Utah, April 21, 1939.
  • 6: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 128. Ogden, April 19, 1939. 4-50 hp motors.
  • 7: B. E. number 303 - U.I.C. number 513 - B.E. number 128. Ogden, Utah April 21, 1939.
  • 8: Bamberger Elec. Ry. 2-car train near Ogden, Utah. April 21, 1939.
  • 9: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 126. Salt Lake City, Utah, April 1939.
  • 10: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 301. South of Kaysville, Utah, April 1939.
  • 11: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 128. Ogden, Utah. April 1939.
  • 12: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 128. Salt Lake City, April 1939. Ex-F[onda,] J[ohnstown] and G[loversville], same number
  • 13: Bamberger Elec. Ry. School train near Kaysville, Utah, April 1939.
  • 14: Bamberger Elec. Ry. Weber River Bridge, near Ogden, Utah. April 1939.
  • 15: Bamberger Elec. Ry number 527. Salt Lake City, April 1939.
  • 16: Bamberger Electric. Ry number 527. Type: Frt. Locomotive. Builder: McGuire-Cummings. Year: 1911. At: North Salt Lake, Utah, July 1946. Built as Salt Lake and Ogden Railway. "A" then became Bamberger number 27,527.
  • 17: Bamberger Electric Railroad. Number 125. Builder: J.G. Brill - 1932. Seats: 54 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah, June 1950. Series: 125-129, bought from Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville R.R. in 1939 (same nos.)
  • 18: Bamberger Electric Railroad. Number 352. Seats: 72 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah, July, 1952
  • 19: Bamberger Electric Railroad. Number 402. Seats: 56 assengers. At: North Salt Lake, Utah, July 1952.
  • 20: Bamberger Electric Railroad. Number 64. Builder:Yellow Coach Company. Seats: 44 passengers. At: North Salt Lake City, Utah, July 1952. Bus runs out to city limits, unloads passengers into Interurban car. Drive doubles as motorman and takes car on regular run.
  • 21: Bamberger 352 at Ogden [Utah]
  • 22: Bamberger 400 class trailers at North Salt Lake
  • 23: Bamberger 853
  • 24: Bamberger 570 at North Salt Lake
  • 25: Bamberger 405
  • 26: Bamberger 401
1938-1952
1 2 Emigration Canyon Railroad
  • 27: Emigration Canyon Railroad. Number : "Red Butte." Builder: Danville Car Co. - May 27, 1909. Seats: 52 passengers. Road connects Salt Lake City, Utah, and Emigration Canyon.
  • 28: Emigration Canyon Railroad. Number : "Wasatch." Builder: Danville Car Co. - May 27, 1909. Seats: 48 passengers. Road connects Salt Lake City, Utah, and Emigration Canyon. Seats: 48 passengers.
  • 29: Emigration Canyon Railroad. Number : "Tintic." Builder: American Car Co., April 1911. Seats: 48 passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah.
1 3 Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railroad
  • 30: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Ry. number 504. Salt Lake City, April 1939. "Saltair Route"
  • 31: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Ry. number 503. Salt Lake City, April 1939. "Saltair Route"
  • 32: S.L., G. and W. number 502. Salt Lake City, Utah. April 2, 1940
  • 33: S.L., G. and W. number 500. Salt Lake City, Utah. April 2, 1940
  • 34: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western R.R. Number: 302. Seats: 100 Passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. May 1948. "George E. Votava"
  • 35: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western R.R. Number: 305. Seats: 80 Passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. May 1948. Interurban trailer.
  • 36: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western R.R. Number: 300?. Seats: 80 Passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. July 1952.
  • 37: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western number DS-2. Type: B-B. Builder: General Electric. Year: Dec. 1941. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. August 28, 1965. ALocomotive is N.Y. Ontario and Western number 101, cars are S.L.,G. and W. interurbans. Revival of commuter and tourist train.
  • 38: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western 106
  • 39: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western DS-2
  • 40: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western MC-3 (ex-Aberdeen and Rockfish R.R.) "Stuart A. Liebman, 509 28th Ave. San Mateo, Calif."
  • 41: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western 100
  • 42: Salt Lake, Garfield and Western 505
1939-1965
1 4 Salt Lake and Utah Railroad
  • 43: Salt Lake and Utah Ry. number 601 and number 702. Salt Lake City, Utah, 1928.
  • 44: S.L. and U. number 603. Provo, Utah, April 19, 1939. "Niles"
  • 45: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 106, Salt Lake, April 23, 1939.
  • 46: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 607. April 23, 1939. 27 miles south of Salt Lake, crossing Jordan River.
  • 47: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 608, Salt Lake City, April 1939.
  • 48: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 607. North-bound, near Jordan Narrows, April 1939.
  • 49: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number ? Salt Lake City, April 1939.
  • 50: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 609, Provo, Utah, April 1, 1940.
  • 51: Salt Lake and Utah R.R. number 609. April 1940. Provo, Utah. New color scheme - silver and red. Looks like h___.
  • 52: Salt Lake and Utah Railroad. Number : 607. Builder: Niles Car Co. - 1916. Seats: 66 passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. June 1, 1944. Series: 606-609
  • 53: Pass[enger?] 611 near SLC
  • 54: Land 105
  • 55: Salt Lake and Utah Valley [sic] R.R. Co. Number : 1 Builder: American Car Co. Seats: 24 passengers. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. Road abandoned by 1911.
  • 56: Salt Lake and Utah number 611, train 23 at S.L. City Term[inal?]. "C.W. Jernstrom Rwy Fotos, 114 Fremont St. Elkhart, Ind."
  • 57: Salt Lake and Utah 601
  • 58: Salt Lake and Utah 701 trailer
  • 59: Salt Lake and Utah 801
  • 60: Salt Lake and Utah 751
1928-1944
1 5 Utah-Idaho Central Railroad
  • 61: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. number 513-600. April 21, 1939. 1500 volt line. At Wellsville, Utah.
  • 62: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. number 513. April 22, 1939. Near Logan, Utah.
  • 63: U.-I.C. RR. number 504. Preston, Idaho, April 1939.
  • 64: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. number 513-? April 1939. Smithfield, Utah.
  • 65: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. number 513-600. April 1939. Near Wellsville, Utah.
  • 66: Utah-Idaho Central Railroad. Number : 500. Builder: American Car Co. - 1915. Seats: 62 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah, June 1, 1944. Series: 500-51y
  • 67: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. Train number 5 at Logan, Utah.
  • 68: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. Number : 65. Builder: American Car Co. - 1919. Seats: 30 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah. Series: 60-75. Bought for city service in Ogden.
  • 69: Utah-Idaho Central R.R. Number : 60. Builder: American Car Co. - 1919. Seats: 30 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah. Series: 60-75. Bought for city service in Ogden.
  • 70: Utah-Idaho Central 710
  • 71: Utah-Idaho Central 512
  • 72: [no identification on back of photograph]
1939-1944
1 6 Miscellaneous and Unidentified
  • 73: Salt Lake City - Interurban terminal, April 19, 1939.
  • 74: Ogden Rapid Transit Co. Number : 206. Builder: American Car Co. - 1912. Seats: 48 passengers. At: Ogden, Utah.
  • 75: S.L.P.S. number 732. S.L. Mo[?] September 1943. Color: Salmon.
  • 76: [no identification on back of photograph]
  • 77: [no identification on back of photograph]
  • 78: Kennecott Copper Co. number 3. Type: B-B. Builder: General Electric Co. Year: April 1958. At: Salt Lake City, Utah. April 1964.
  • 79: Denver and Rio Grande Western number 1220. Type: 2-8-2. Class: K-63. Builder: Lima Locomotive Works. Year: 1915? At: Helper, Utah. May 30, 1952. Formerly Denver and Salt Lake Railway number 400, acquired in January 1949.
1939-1964
1 7 Utah Railway
  • 80-82: Trains labeled "Utah Railway" on tracks, black and white photos.
1 8 Utah railyards and train cars
  • 83:Fairfield, Utah rail yard, 1864-1919, albumen print
  • 84: Denver and Rio Grande rail yards
  • 85-86: Utah Copper rail cars
1 9 General
  • 87:Train number 71 on the tracks, black and white
  • 88: Train number 19 on the tracks at Depot, with men next to it, black and white
  • 89: Train number 3977 on the tracks, Milford, 1943. Blurry. Either the train is in motion or the photo was not in focus
  • 90: Denver and Rio Grande water tank at Scofield Utah, hand-tinted postcard.
2, Oversize 1 General
  • 1-4: Trains on tracks, black and white
  • 5: Castlegate, Utah Depot. People on the platform, circa 1890s
  • 6: Denver and Rio Grande water tank at Scofield Utah covered in ice. Train number 559 in the background, black and white
2, Oversize 2 Union Pacific
  • 1: World's largest locomotive "The Big Boy" built by the American Locomotive Company for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Type 4-8-8-4 Simple articulated. Drivers-68 inches in diameter. Overall Length-140 feet (coupler to coupler). Weight on Drivers-540,000 pounds. Total Weight Engine and Tender- 1,104,200 pounds. Traction force- 133,375 pounds. Union Pacific Employees (left to right): Heinz Reinhold, Locomotive Engineer; T.E. Acklin, Trainmaster, road foreman of engines, locomotive engineer; Frank H. Kottal, Locomotive engineer; Mel H. Stanley, Road foreman of engines, locomotive engineer; Frank W. Corey, locomotive engineer
  • 2-4: Union Pacific trains on the tracks, black and white
  • 5: Train number 27 on the tracks, passing a light, black and white
  • 6: Union Pacific trains 995 and X3947 passing each other in opposite directions, black and white
  • 7: Union Pacific train 73 coming out of a tunnel, black and white
2, Oversize 3 Utah Railway
  • 1-3: Trains labeled "Utah Railway" on tracks, black and white

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Electric railroads--Utah--Photographs
  • Railroad cars--Utah--Photographs
  • Street-railroads--Utah--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Bamberger Railroad Company--Photographs
  • Salt Lake and Utah Railroad Company--Photographs
  • Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway--Photographs
  • Utah Idaho Central Railroad Company--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographic prints