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Utah Railroad Museum Visit 5/4/2019

Elizabeth and I detrained from the Frontrunner train and started looking around Ogden Union Station.

On March 8, 1869, Union Pacific came to Ogden on its way to Promontory Summit to meet the Central Pacific, thus completing the transcontinental rail line. Four cities near this location, Corinne, Promontory, Uintah and Ogden, competed with each other for the opportunity to house the train station that would be the junction for railroad travel in the Intermountain West. Promontory and Uintah lacked the necessary resources to house the station. Corinne and Ogden competed for many years for the "Junction City" title, until Brigham Young donated several hundred acres of land to the two railroads on the condition that they build the yards and station in west Ogden.

The first station was built in 1869. It was a two-story wooden frame building built on a mud flat on the banks of the Weber River. The building soon became inadequate, being also the facility for the narrow gauge Utah Central Railroad (later Oregon Short Line) and the narrow gauge Rio Grande Western (later Denver & Rio Grande Western). Local newspapers complained about, among other things, the quarter mile of wood boardwalk required to traverse the swampy ground to reach the station. In response to these worries the Union Pacific and Central Pacific organized the jointly-owned Ogden Union Railway & Depot Company (OUR&D) to oversee the construction and management of a new Union Station. A new structure, considerably larger than the old and constructed of brick, was built in 1889 and served the community for several decades. It was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, with a large clock tower in the center. This building, in addition to serving the needs of the railroad, also contained 33 hotel rooms as well as a restaurant, barbershop and other conveniences for the enjoyment of the traveler.

In 1923, a hotel room in the depot caught fire, which quickly spread throughout the building. The blaze was unable to be controlled, and the inside of the depot was destroyed, leaving the walls and clock tower standing in a fragile state. No deaths or injuries were reported and work continued inside the first floor to some extent, but construction on a new building did not start until a stone from the clock tower fell and struck a railroad clerk, killing him instantly. Originally, the OUR&D planned on rebuilding the station in its original design, but the accident reversed this decision and a new design was proposed by John and Donald Parkinson, architects of the Caliente Depot in Nevada and the Kelso Depot in California.

The construction of the current building was completed in 1924 in the Spanish Colonial Revival (also known as Early Christian/Byzantine) style and is built on the foundation of the earlier building. It was dedicated on November 22 of that year, with a series of publicity shots being taken. One of these shots, showing thirteen young women pulling the first train to arrive at the station by ribbons, made its way into the La Domenica del Corriere, an Italian newspaper, with the headline "Curious American Custom". The ceiling of the Grand Lobby, taking up the center portion of the building, has a height of 56 feet and extends to the roof. The trusses were originally painted in bright colors with geometric designs, but have since been painted over with a faux wood grain. Murals of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad were painted on the north and south end of the lobby. The second floors of the north and south wing were occupied by Southern Pacific, Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co., and Union Pacific Telegraph Department offices.

Of special note are the two drinking fountains on either end of the Grand Lobby. These fountains, surrounded by colored mosaics, were the favorite resting spot of Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. Superintendent Hubert Lloyd Bell. At Bell's passing in 1927 the OUR&D placed a bronze plaque, bearing his likeness, over the fountain on the north end. The plaque reads "In Memory of Hubert Lloyd Bell SUPT. O.U.RY. AND D. Co., 1918-1927, A Just Man, A Friend Who Will Be Remembered".

Plans to turn the station into a museum were first brought forward during the centennial celebration of the driving of the golden spike in 1969. It was not until 1971 when Amtrak formally took over passenger operations through Ogden that these plans were taken seriously. The station building was turned over to Ogden City on a 50-year lease in 1977 and renovations were begun to house the planned museums. At the dedication ceremony in 1978, Union Pacific ran their famous UP 8444 (now number 844) at the head of a special passenger train from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the new museum. They also donated a steam derrick (built by Industrial Works) and a steam rotary snow plow (built by ALCO in 1912), which were the last pieces of steam-powered equipment in use on the Union Pacific System. In 1988 the State of Utah designated the Union Station as the Utah State Railroad Museum to handle the railroad artifacts. This spurred a series of donations by the Union Pacific through the years, including UP 6916, a DD40AX "Centennial" (one of the largest locomotives ever built), and D&RGW 5371, the only SD40-T2 "Tunnel Motor" in its original Denver & Rio Grande Western paint scheme. Railroad equipment was brought in from other places, like UP 833, an FEF-2 class steam locomotive and the largest to be moved by truck, which was moved from Salt Lake City's Pioneer Park.

The station building now houses the Utah State Railroad Museum, John M. Browning Firearms Museum, The Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum, the Western Heritage and Utah Cowboy Museum, and a library and archives. It plays host to various conventions and events, including the annual Hostlers Model Railroad Festival, weddings, Ogden Marathon Expo, craft and bridal fairs.

This building was constructed in 1929 to serve the needs of the United States Postal Department. It is located directly north of the Union Station building. In 1950 a flat-roofed addition was constructed on the east and was used to sort mail. The Railway Post office closed in the 1970s. Following the conversion of the station complex to a museum, an addition was constructed in between the station and the annex, connecting the two buildings and allowing year-round indoor access to the facilities in the annex. Currently the Mail Terminal Annex houses the Browning Theatre and the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum.

The Trainmen's Building is the northernmost structure on the Union Station grounds. It was constructed of red brick some time between 1903 and 1923 and predates the current station building. It served as the Railway Post Office (used for sorting mail) until 1929 when the Mail Terminal Annex was constructed to the south, then was used as a crew locker room for the Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co., owner of the Union Station and in turn jointly owned by Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. Space in the building was taken up with lockers, a changing room and a lunch room.

In 2006, Ogden City installed fluorescent lighting and an alarm system to the building, which up to that time had been vacant. The building is now used as a shop for the restoration of D&RGW 223, a narrow gauge steam locomotive. Restoration is being done by the Golden Spike Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society.

The passenger shelter along tracks 1 and 2 is the only remaining canopy of a series of five. The other four canopies were demolished in April 1969. It was built in 1928 to Southern Pacific plans and is similar to canopies at the Sacramento station in California, and is 23 feet wide. During the peak of passenger train travel in 1927, a tunnel was built under the eleven tracks with stairways to the surface at each platform. Called the passenger subway, this tunnel allowed pedestrians to access all eleven tracks from the Grand Lobby, bypassing those tracks that were occupied by trains. When passenger service ended the tunnel was filled in for safety purposes, although when the platform was repaved in 2008 a portion of the tunnel was uncovered. Plans are to place a glass over the uncovered portion for visitors to see.

The Butterfly Canopy and platforms are host to Union Pacific's Steam Team during their east-west trips over the Transcontinental Railroad route and the former Rio Grande Soldier Summit route. The operating water column at the north end, which is connected to the Ogden City water line, allows the steam locomotives to be serviced conveniently.

The laundry operations at Union Station date to 1906, when they were carried out in the commissary building (now demolished, on the site of the current Spencer S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Rail Center). Soiled linens and cloth from sleeper and diner cars were removed from the trains and washed during their stop in Ogden. In 1951, Union Pacific constructed a 100 by 180 foot brick building for the express purpose of washing laundry; prior to this time excess laundry that was not able to be handled in the commissary building was sent out to commercial facilities.

The building was constructed to centralize the Union Pacific's laundry operations and to cut costs by an estimated fifty percent. It was the only laundry facility constructed by the Union Pacific and was expected to pay for itself within three years. Laundry was sent to Ogden from all ends of the Union Pacific Lines, and even took in laundry from Sun Valley, Idaho; West Yellowstone Lodge; Bryce Canyon National Park; Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park, as well as other resorts and hotels.

The use of the latest equipment, such as nine Troy Electromatic washers; 42 individual pressers; and seven diesel powered Vapor-Clarkson steam generators, as well as 105 employees, gave the building a capacity to process 110,000 individual pieces of laundry during an eight-hour shift, or about 13,333 individual pieces per hour.

The laundry facility was closed in 1970 and donated to the City of Ogden in 1986. It is currently vacant.

The Spencer S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Rail Center (also known as the Spencer S. Eccles Rail Center) is a collection of prototype equipment from various railroads in the west, most notably Union Pacific. It occupies the spot where the Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (OUR&D) Commissary Building once stood. It houses several locomotives, as well as passenger cars, freight cars, cabooses, and railroad maintenance equipment.

Cargill 6715 is a General Motors' (GM) Electro-Motive Corporation (later part of GM's Electro-Motive Division (EMD)) SW1 diesel-electric switcher locomotive assembled in 1940 with construction number 1111, was one of the first SW1s that Electro-Motive built. After acquisition, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) initially numbered the locomotive as No. 213, but subsequently changed the number to 8413. Leased by the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (W&OD) in 1968, it was one of the last locomotives to operate on the W&OD before the railroad closed during the same year. After several transfers of ownership, the locomotive was acquired by Cargill, becoming Cargill No. 6751. Cargill moved the locomotive to Ogden in 1993 for use in the company's Globe Mill. Following Cargill's donation of the locomotive in 2010, the Utah Central Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad delivered it to the Utah State Railroad Museum on May 21, 2011.

Denver & Rio Grande Western 223 is Consolidation type steam locomotive built in 1881 by the Grant Locomotive Works. It is one of only two remaining Grant-built locomotives in the world and is currently undergoing restoration.

Denver & Rio Grande Western 5371 is the last GM Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2 "Tunnel Motor" to be in its original Rio Grande paint colors. It was retired in 2009 and moved into the Rail Center in 2010.

Southern Pacific 3769 is a GM Electro-Motive Division GP9 diesel-electric switcher locomotive.

Southern Pacific 7457 is the first GM Electro-Motive Division SD45 diesel-electric switcher locomotive to be built for that railroad in 1966. It last saw service on Donner Pass. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 2002.

Utah Central Railway 1237 is a 44-ton General Electric diesel-electric switcher, originally built for the U.S. Air Force with the same number in 1953. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum, and subsequently leased to the Utah Central Railway where it got its current paint scheme. It has since been returned to the Museum.

Union Pacific 833 is an FEF-2 class steam locomotive, built by ALCO in 1939. It was originally donated to Salt Lake City in 1972, and when transferred to Ogden in 1999 it obtained the distinction of being the largest locomotive in the United States to be moved by truck.

Union Pacific 4436 is an 0-6-0 steam switcher built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1918. It was last used in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was donated to the City of Ogden in 1958, and moved to the Utah State Railroad Museum upon its establishment.

Union Pacific 6916 is a DD40AX "Centennial" diesel-electric locomotive that GM's Electro-Motive Division built in 1969. Retired in 1985 and donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1986.

Union Pacific X-26 is one of the Union Pacific gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs) that General Electric built in 1961. It was advertised as the "most powerful locomotive in the world". Popularly known as "Big Blows", it is one of only two that survived.

USAX 1216 is a 44-ton Davenport Locomotive Works switcher that was originally used at the Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah.

We started to at the north end of the property.

Union Pacific 120-ton Derrick built as Oregon Short Line 903037 by Industrial Works in 1910.

Union Pacific Oregon, Washington and Navigation Company rotary snow plow 900061 built by Alco in 1913. Based in Pocatello, Idaho, 61 spent its entire working life in the Pacific Northwest. It was heavily rebuilt over the years.

Rio Grande caboose 01457 built by Denver & Rio Grande Western in 1947.

Union Pacific caboose 25176 built by Pullman Company in 1944.

The Utah Merci Car, a gift from France. The car arrived on 22nd February 1949 and was paraded through downtown Salt Lake City. It went on display in front of the Union Pacific depot for a short time before moving to Memory Grove.

Union Pacific 0-6-0 4436 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1918. It worked at various locations in Nebraska until World War II when it was moved to the Portland, Oregon area. At that time, it was converted to an oil burner and its original slope back tender was replaced by a Vanderbilt tender. It was last used in Cheyenne and was donated to the City of Ogden in 1958, moving to the Utah State Railroad Museum upon its establishment.

Denver and Rio Grande Western SD40T-2 5371 and Southern Pacific SD45R 7457 built by EMD in 1966 (originally Southern Pacific 8800).

Union Pacific 4-8-4 833 and DDA40X Union Pacific 6916 built by EMD in 1969. It went into storage in 1980 due to a decrease in traffic, but was returned to service soon after. It was retired in May 1985 and internally gutted as a parts source for SD40 and SD40-2 diesels and was then donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum.

DDA40X Union Pacific 6916 and Denver and Rio Grande Western SD40T-2 5371 built by EMD in 1975.

Union Pacific 5819 United States Railway Mail post office car built by St. Louis Car in 1960.

Union Pacific 4-8-4 833 built by the American Locomotive Company in 1939. Initially assigned to passenger trains, including the Overland Limited, Portland Rose and Pacific Limited, as diesels took over, the 4-8-4s were reassigned to freight service. It was originally donated to Salt Lake City in 1972, and when transferred to Ogden in 1999, it obtained the distinction of being the largest locomotive in the United States to be moved by truck.

WMRY maintenance-of-way motor car 186.

Golden Spike Centennial Expo Car built by Pullman-Standard in 1942, originally Union Pacific 5338.

Southern Pacific bay window caboose 1555, built by Pacific Coast and Foundry in 1961.

Union Pacific 250-ton Derrick UPX-250 built for the Missouri Pacific Railroad by Industrial Brownhoist.

United States Army Medical Department Car built by American Car and Foundry.

United States Army 44 tonner 1216 built by Davenport in 1953. This engine worked at the US Army's Twin Cities Arsenal in New Brighton, Minnesota then at Hill Air Force Base near Ogden, as well as at the Tooele Army Base in Tooele, Utah. It was donated to the Utah Railroad Museum by the US Army.

Salt Lake & Utah Railroad Niles Car Box Trailer 851. "The Orem Line" ran 67 miles from Salt Lake City to Payson with abandonment corning in 1946. One of their pieces of rolling stock, express trailer Number 851 has surprisingly survived and is now the property of the Utah State Railroad Museum. The forty-foot long express trailer number 851 was built by Niles in 1914 specifically for hauling milk, but in its long lifetime it has hauled almost everything possible. As built, it was steel sheathed up to the belt line and wood sheathed above with the frame a combination of steel and wood. It had four windows as originally built but they were plated over during the 1922 rebuilding when the car received full-height steel sheathing. The car was used as a storage shed in Granger, Utah. Until just recently when the property changed hands, the new owner, understanding the significance of the car, donated it to the museum. Almost all the paint is gone, but there are a few pieces of the original red paint still visible. Surprisingly, all the lettering from 1922 is still visible. However recent vandalism by vagrants has resulted in a fire in the north end that destroyed some of the flooring, wall and roof.

Pullman 8-1-2 Sleeper "John M. Forbes" built by Pullman in 1929 and later sold to the United States Air Force where it was rebuilt into Simulator Car DAFX 31.

Utah Central Railway 44 ton switcher 1237, originally built for the United States Air Force by General Electric with the same number in 1953. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum, and subsequently leased to the Utah Central Railway where it acquired its current paint scheme.

United States Air Force Alco S-1 7277 built by Alco in 1941 for the United States Army. It was later transferred to the Air Force and worked most of its life at the Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Cargill SW-1 6751 built by EMD in 1940, originally Baltimore and Ohio 213. It was sold to Arco Petroleum at Carson, Californa, where it was renumbered 6971. It next went to the locomotive leasing company General American Transportation Corporation at Colton, California. After the lease expired, the unit was stored at the GATX facility until it was sold through the dealer, Western Railway Supply, to Cargill. It moved to the Horizon Milling Company in Ogden in mid August 1993 and was repainted, lettered and renumbered 6751. It was replaced by a trackmobile in 2010.

Union Pacific GE GTE 8500 26/26Bb built by General Electric in 1961. The 26 was the twenty-sixth of thirty 8,500 hp third generation GTELs (gas turbine electric locomotives) built between 1958 to 1961. The last gas turbine run was on 26th December 1969 and all the 8500s were out of service by 1970. 26 ran over one million miles during its nine-year service life, hauling heavy freight between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Ogden. Retired in 1970, 26 was sold for scrap to Continental Leasing Group in 1971. Later shipped to Intercontinental Engineering Co., in Riverside, Missouri, it was gutted of electrical components, the turbine, traction motors and diesel engine for re-use. Donated to the Utah Railroad Museum in 1986, it was moved from Kansas City via Burlington Northern trackage and arrived at Ogden in July 1987.

Union Pacific GE GTE 8500 26/26B and Southern Pacific SD45R 7457.

Denver and Rio Grande Western SD40T-2 5371 and Southern Pacific SD45R 7457.

Union Pacific DDA40X 6916 and Denver and Rio Grande Western SD40T-2 5371.

Union Pacific 4-8-4 833 and Union Pacific DDA40X 6916 built by EMD in 1969.

Setting up for the Nose-to-Nose Ceremony for tomorrow. We then went inside Ogden Union Station.

The murals looked as good as ever.

Back outside, the Ogden Union Station water tower. Elizabeth and I boarded the Frontrunner train for Salt Lake Central.

Utah Central bay window caboose 25880, originally Union Pacific 25880, built by International Car in 1979.

Utah Central 44 ton switcher 1237 built by General Electric in 1953. Utah Central Railway is a shortline railroad that still serves Ogden and surrounding areas. It began operations in 1992 as a private switching railroad over lines owned by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Utah. The UCRY became a common carrier in 1995 on trackage acquired from the City of Ogden, and expanded in 2001 and 2004 by acquiring additional former Union Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande Western trackage.

Union Pacific 40 foot box car 910261.

Southern Pacific GP9 3769 built by EMD in 1957, originally 5733.

Southern Pacific caboose 4666 built by Pacific Coast and Foundry in 1979.

Denver and Rio Grande caboose 01504 built by International Car in 1954.

Cargill SW-1 6751 built by EMD in 1940.

UP 4-8-8-4 4014 at Ogden. Elizabeth and I rode the Frontrunner train back to Salt Lake Central station.

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