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Carbon County Railway History

This page was last updated on May 14, 2019.

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Overview

The Carbon County Railway that we know today was actually the second railroad company to carry that name. The subject railroad of this history was built in 1922-1923 by Columbia Steel Corp., a West Coast steel company.

Carbon County Railway (of 1899)

The first Carbon County Railway was incorporated on November 20, 1899. Its proposed route was from the mainline of Rio Grande Western at or near Scofield Station, south to Clear Creek (ex Mud Creek), to the coal mines of the Pleasant Valley Coal Co., a distance of about seven miles. A second route was from the mainline of Rio Grande Western at or near Mounds Station, north for five miles, then east up Grassy Trail Creek for 12 miles to Sunnyside in Whitmore Canyon, a total distance of about 26 miles. The road's incorporators were William G. Sharp, William F. Colton, and Robert Harkness -- in other words, Rio Grande Western Railway.

The first Carbon County Railway was organized by the RGW in 1899 to build branches to the Winter Quarters mines of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company (also an RGW subsidiary) and the new Clear Creek mines of Utah Fuel, along with the new Utah Fuel mines at Sunnyside. Rail service to Sunnyside began on November 19, 1899. On December 15, 1900, RGW operated its largest coal train to date when it moved 1,000 tons in 36 cars from the Sunnyside mine, that's 27 tons per car, a far cry from today's 110-ton monster coal cars. Initially, all coal from Sunnyside was made into coke at Castle Gate, to support the smelters in Salt Lake City, which at the time, was the smelting capital of the west. Additional coke ovens were soon built at Sunnyside, and the mine became the number-one supplier of coke in the west (in 1907, they were shipping 350 tons of coke per day to the Anaconda smelter alone).

June 19, 1899
Sunnyside station of Rio Grande Western mainline changed to Mounds. "Change Station Names -- Mud Creek Becomes Clear Creek and Latter is Tucker -- Several changes will soon be made in the names of stations on the Rio Grande Western. Clear Creek will bear the name Tucker and Mud Creek will be changed to Clear Creek. The Sunnyside station on the main line will be abolished and Mounds will be the main station in the neighborhood. The name Sunnyside will be given to the terminus of the new line in Whitmore canyon." (Salt Lake Tribune, June 19, 1899)

July 29, 1899
Sunnyside branch has 10 miles of line graded , and 3-1/2 miles laid with rail. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 29, 1899)

September 2, 1899
The RGW branch, Mounds to Sunnyside, was to be finished in a few days. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 29, 1899)

October 1, 1899
RGW has completed the extension from Scofield to Clear Creek, ""which point was reached yesterday." (Salt Lake Tribune, October 1, 1899)

The first Carbon County Railway went away with the reorganization of the Gould properties into a new Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in July 1908, and the two branches became the Rio Grande's Clear Creek Branch and Sunnyside Branch.

Carbon County Railway (of 1922)

Carbon County Railway was built by Columbia Steel Corporation to serve its coal mine at Columbia, and transport coal from the mine to its iron mill at Ironton, south of Provo. Work on the railroad started in September 1922 and operations began in July 1923. To serve wartime needs during World War II, an extension was completed to the newly developed Geneva coal mine, six miles to the south, work starting

The stated purpose for the construction of the Carbon County Railway was to furnish coking coal for the by-product ovens that were built by the Columbia Steel Company's iron mill at Ironton, Utah. (76 ICC 486)

The 4.79 mile long railroad was completed between a junction on the D&RGW Sunnyside Branch, to the coal mine and mining properties of the Columbia Steel Corporation at Columbia. (124 ICC 351)

July 28, 1922
The second Carbon County Railway was organized on July 28, 1922 as a subsidiary of Utah Coal & Coke Company, which itself was a subsidiary of Columbia Steel Corporation. Its intended purpose was to construct, own, operate and maintain a railroad between a junction with the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad at mile post 13 on D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch, and the mines and mining properties lying in a general southeasterly direction from that junction point, a distance of about 4.79 miles. The connection to the D&RGW was named Columbia Junction, and was four miles from the end of the Sunnyside Branch. (Utah corporation, index number 15468)

August 24, 1922
The construction of the Carbon County Railway was approved on August 24, 1922, following a public hearing on August 15, 1922, and grading work starting on September 5, 1922. Upon receiving federal ICC approval on January 20, 1923 to build its road, the railroad said that it expected work to be complete by May 1, 1923. Formal operation commenced on July 5, 1923.

A public hearing was held before the Public Utilities Commission of Utah in Salt Lake City on August 15, 1922. The construction of the railroad was approved on August 24th. The railway's stock was owned by the same individuals who also controlled the Utah Coal & Coke Company. (Utah corporation, index number 571)

September 5, 1922
The construction contract for the 4.7-mile line was let to Reynolds-Ely Construction Company, and the Wasatch Grading Company, with grading work starting on September 5, 1922. (43 Val Rep 65)

Reynolds-Ely Construction Company was also awarded the grading and construction of the mine tipple loading yards and tram line connecting the mine with the tipple. Gibbons & Reid had been awarded the contract to drive the tunnel and open up the coal deposits of the mine itself. A connection had already been completed with D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch to allow delivery of construction materials. (Ogden Standard Examiner, September 15, 1922)

The contractor for the grading of the line was Reynolds & Creer, and their sub-contractor, Woods & McMahoon. The rate paid for the grading work was $30.00 per month for the teams and 35 cents per day for the dump carts. Waterman Brothers furnished the equipment, and were forced to file a lien in Carbon County to obtain a $120.00 bill owed them by the Woods & McMahoon contractor. (Carbon County Miscellaneous Records Book 3-H, p. 332)

January 20, 1923
The Carbon County Railway received Interstate Commerce Commission approval for the construction of its proposed 4.79 mile long railroad. The application was made on August 7, 1922, just a week after the company was incorporated in the State of Utah. (76 ICC 485)

The construction of the Carbon County Railway was expected to be complete by May 1, 1923. (76 ICC 486)

July 5, 1923
Operation commenced on July 5, 1923. (124 ICC 352)

July 13, 1923
The Columbia mine began make trial shipments of coal in late July 1923. (Coal Index: The Sun, July 13, 1923, p. 1, "about to begin")

September 14, 1923
First coal was shipped from the Columbia Mine in mid September 1923. There were 200 miners working. (Coal Index: The Sun, September 14, 1923)

May 1924
On May 1st, the first 20 tons of pig iron was drawn off the blast furnace of Columbia Steel's new plant at Ironton, at 6:30 p.m. By May 4th, 100 tons had been shipped to the company's fabricating works in Pittsburg, California, for the manufacture of wire, nails, sheet steel, and reinforcing bars. (Ogden Standard Examiner, May 2, 1924; May 4, 1924)

Carbon County Railway Operations, 1923-1943

From the time of first operation, in July 1923, to September 1926, more than 99.6 percent of the traffic transported by the railroad consisted of coal destined for the iron plant at Ironton. During 1925, the coal tonnage moved was 327,574 tons (about 7,490 carloads, or about 20 cars per day), with only an additional 805 tons going out of state. The company had originally planned to own and operate a single locomotive with 50,000 pounds tractive effort, but that locomotive was never purchased. Instead, the railroad apparently rented either a single locomotive, or several locomotives, one at a time, possibly from D&RGW.

December 1926
Originally the railway requested ICC permission to become a carrier in interstate commerce, including coal destined for out of state destinations. In December 1926, the railroad applied to abandon their interstate operations. From the time of first operation, in July 1923, to September 1926, more than 99.6 percent of the traffic transported by the railroad consisted of coal destined for the iron plant at Ironton. During 1925, the coal tonnage moved was 327,574 tons (about 7,490 carloads, or about 20 cars per day), with only an additional 805 tons going out of state. In the 1926 hearings, the company tried to show a deficit from interstate operations, but the deficit was found by the ICC to equal the rental paid by the company for locomotives and "roads", the 1.3 miles of the tipple yard tracks at the Columbia mine. In its denial for abandonment of interstate operations, the ICC took the railroad to task for renting from parties which also had an interest in the operation of the railroad, namely the steel company. The company's equipment was planned to be a single locomotive with 50,000 pounds tractive effort, but that locomotive was never purchased. Instead, the railroad apparently rented either a single locomotive, or several locomotives, one at a time, possibly from D&RGW. (76 ICC 485; 124 ICC 351)

June 1931
The Denver & Rio Grande petitioned the Public Service Commission of Utah in June 1931 to close the agency station at Sunnyside. In his testimony in support of the application at the subsequent public hearing, a D&RG official gave the then-current method of operation of the Carbon County Railway by D&RG. The Carbon County Railway branched off of the D&RG's Sunnyside Branch at Columbia Junction, 12.1 miles from the branch's initial point at Mounds on D&RG's mainline, and was 4.1 miles long. Train service was furnished to Price, Sunnyside, and the Columbia mine all by the same D&RG local freight. That local train generally left Helper yard at about 8 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with empties and merchandise loads for the Sunnyside and Columbia mines. The local proceeded direct to Sunnyside, did the necessary work and stayed there over night. Leaving on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning they proceeded to the Columbia mine and traded empties for loads of coal and returned to Helper at about 7 to 9 p.m., performing what ever switching was needed along the mainline via Price. Occasionally the local would deliver empties to the Columbia mine on the "up" trip if the mine needed the cars. Also, D&RG occasionally provided dedicated service to the Columbia mine if the mine's business showed a need. (Public Service Commission of Utah, case 1213)

Until at least March 1933, the Carbon County Railway did not own any equipment. At that time the railroad was being operated under an operating agreement with D&RGW, which used its own locomotives and crews to do the switching and hauling of rail cars to and from the coal mines of the Columbia Steel Corporation at Columbia, Utah. The majority of the railroad's capital stock was owned by the Columbia Steel Corporation. The large Columbia mine was the principle industry served by the railroad. In 1933 the railroad consisted of a single track, standard gauge, steam railroad located in Carbon County, Utah. (43 Val Rep 65)

In 1933 the railroad consisted of a single track, standard gauge, steam railroad located in Carbon County, Utah. Its mainline extended southeasterly from Columbia Junction (on D&RGW's Sunnyside Branch) to Columbia, Utah, a distance of 4.721 miles. Its total length was 5.216 miles, which included 0.495 mile of yard tracks and sidings at its shop and yard area. The railroad leased for its exclusive use, from Columbia Steel Corporation, 1.387 miles of yard tracks and sidings at Columbia, Utah. (43 Val Rep 65)

The road was operated by D&RGW, or with leased Rio Grande equipment, until the Carbon County Railway was expanded in 1943 to serve the new Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon. This new rail extension and new mine was entirely funded by the Defense Plant Corporation, which also funded the construction of the Geneva steel mill. The expanded operation brought with it in November 1943, two new locomotives, Baldwin VO-1000s also funded by DPC.

Geneva Coal Mine

"The Defense Plant Corporation was established on August 22, 1940, to finance and supervise construction and equipping of industrial facilities operated, for the most part, by private concerns sponsored by federal agencies administering defense and war programs. Dissolved, July 1, 1945. Functions, assets, and liabilities were merged with the RFC. The RFC Office of Defense Plants was established to liquidate DPC assets." (National Archives, Records of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation)

(Read more about Defense Plant Corporation)

In 1942-1943, with the advent of World War Two, the Defense Plant Corporation built the Geneva Steel Mill and in order to provide coking coal for the new mill the Defense Plant Corporation also developed the Geneva Coal Mine in eastern Utah. This mine was given railroad service by extending the Columbia Steel-owned Carbon County Railway another six miles from the Columbia Mine in Horse Canyon south to the new Geneva Mine.

During 1942 the Defense Plant Corporation constructed a six mile spur from the Columbia Mine, at the end of the Carbon County Railway, to new Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon. The new mine was developed to furnish coking coal for the new Geneva Steel Mill, near Orem. (Malaby, p. 260)

Included in the 1942 and 1943 improvements funded by the Defense Plant Corporation were new hopper cars and two 1,000 horsepower, model VO-1000 locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, arriving on the railroad in November 1943. The two locomotives were the sole motive power of the Carbon County Railway until May 1958 when they were replaced by two General Motors, Electro Motive Division model SW9 1200 horsepower locomotives.

December 8, 1942
The federal Interstate Commerce Commission approved the application by United States Steel Corporation to control by acquisition of stock ownership, a total of 11 railroads, including Carbon County Railway. The commission found that the acquisition was within the scope of its jurisdiction and "that the terms and conditions proposed are just and reasonable, and that the transaction will be consistent with the public interest." (ICC Finance Docket 14014; Submitted November 27, 1942; Approved December 8, 1942; not printed in full in the permanent series of the Interstate Commerce Commission Reports; reported in 254 ICC 840, "Cases Disposed Of Without Printed Report")

"The Carbon County owns and operates a single-track steam railroad extending from Columbia Junction to Columbia, Utah, 4.721 miles. Its only interchange is with the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad at Columbia. Junction. The Columbia Steel Company owns the proprietary interest in this corporation, which transports coal from mines on its railroad to the junction. The Columbia Steel Company is the principal shipper at present, but its shipments soon will be surpassed by tonnage from a new mine being opened by an agency of the Government."

December 15, 1943
Carbon County Railway took over the operation of the Defense Plant Corporation's railroad serving the Horse Canyon coal mine. (Allen & Garcia, Consulting and Constructing Engineers, letter dated December 15, 1943, "To Whom It May Concern") (Allen & Garcia was the contractor for the construction of the surface facilities at the Horse Canyon mine.)

January 1944
The rail car loader at the Geneva mine was completed in January 1944. (Coal Index: Sun Advocate, January 27, 1944, p. 2)

December 31, 1946
The Carbon County Railway bought the six-mile rail line to the Geneva mine. (Malaby, p. 260)

January 7, 1947
"F. D. No. 15536, Carbon County Railway Company Acquisition And Operation. Decided January 7, 1947. Certificate issued authorizing acquisition and operation by the Carbon County Railway Company of a line of railroad extending from a connection at Columbia to the Geneva Coal Mine located in Horse Canyon, approximately 5.824 miles of main line, 0.308 mile of siding, and 3.124 miles of yard tracks, all in the State of Utah. C. C. Parsons, Nathan L. Miller, and T. F. Lynch for applicant." (ICC Financial Docket 15536, in 267 ICC 809, "Cases Disposed Of Without Printed Report")

1957
Improvements to the Geneva mine during 1957 included a new 8,700 foot rock tunnel driven to intersect the coal seam at a point 5,000 feet down the pitch from the surface coal outcrop. The tunnel was nine feet high and thirteen feet wide. The tunnel was driven by W. W. Clyde of Springville, Utah, and was half completed by mid November 1957. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 10, 1957)

March 1958
United States Steel Corporation completed its Wellington coal preparation plant in March 1958. The plant was located along the D&RGW mainline one and a half miles south of Wellington. The plant blended the coal from U. S. Steel's Sunnyside, Utah, and Somerset, Colorado mines to produce a better quality of coal for coking at the Geneva steel plant, by washing the coal to reduce its ash and sulfur content. The plant was built on a 1,500 acre site and processed all the coal mined in Utah and Colorado by the coal properties of Columbia-Geneva Steel Division, United States Steel Corporation.

(Read more about the Wellington Coal Wash Plant)

1957-1958
Along with improvements at the Geneva Mine in 1957, and the completion of the Wellington preparation plant in 1958, in May 1958 Carbon County Railway received two new (or nearly new) locomotives. The road, by this time a full subsidiary of U. S. Steel, sent the Baldwins to the parent company's Geneva steel mill and bought some used SW9s from EMD. These two units were built in 1953 as Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 11 and 14 and had been traded to EMD on DM&IR's new SD9s. Carbon County Railway operated the two units as their 1201 and 1202, along with a new bay window caboose.

May 31, 1967
The coal mine at Columbia, the original mine served by the railroad since 1923, was closed on May 31, 1967, leaving the Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon (completed in 1943) as the sole source of traffic for the Carbon County Railway. An earlier source of traffic, other than the Columbia mine was the Bookcliff mine, which was later closed. (Duning, p. 70)

Operations in the late 1970s included a 9:00 am departure for the mine with thirty-eight to forty-five empty, 70-ton capacity coal cars in tow. The train proceeded for the six miles up to the Horse Canyon mine and spent about two hours loading. After the cars were all loaded, the two locomotives pulled the train to the interchange with D&RGW at Columbia Junction, after a short delay setting up air brake retainers at the yard about three miles east of the junction, the entire operation being completed by late afternoon. ("From Mine To Mill," Denis Dunning, Railway Quarterly, Volume 4, Number 3, Fall 1980, pages 66-74)

The yard and shops of the Carbon County Railway were located at East Carbon City, formerly called Columbia. (Sun Advocate & Helper Journal, January 2, 1975, p. 8)

Shutdown

1982
The Geneva Mine continued to produce and ship coal via the Carbon County Railway until 1982, when the mine was closed and the railroad abandoned. Replacement coal for the Geneva Works came from increased production at U. S. Steel's Somerset Mine in Colorado and from Mid-Continent Resources' mines above Redstone, Colorado. The Mid-Continent operation shut down in 1991. U. S. Steel shut down the Geneva Works in 1986 and sold the plant to Geneva Steel in 1987.

October 14, 1982
Carbon County Railway was shut down on October 14, 1982, and coal hopper cars were sold. The two locomotives were sent to U. S. Steel's Geneva steel plant near Provo, Utah. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 80, published in May 1984, p. 30)

October 15, 1982
U.S. Steel temporarily suspended mining operations at the Horse Canyon (Geneva) Mine. (Documents on file at Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining)

January 1984
U. S. Steel informed the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining that it would permanently close the Geneva coal mine. (Documents on file at Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining)

January 8, 1984
By this date, Carbon County railway only had two employees: Larry Stella, superintendent; and Harold C. Reynolds, general shop foreman. All other employees had been laid off on October 13, 1982 with U. S. Steel's announcement that the Horse Canyon mine would be closed. The Geneva coal mine in Horse Canyon was only three coal mines that shipped over the Carbon County Railway: the Columbia mine (1922 to 1967); the Book Cliffs mine (1950 to 1960); and the Geneva mine (1942-1982). Without the mine to ship coal, there was no other business for the railroad. (Salt Lake Tribune, January 8, 1984)

April 4, 1984
The federal Interstate Commerce Commission approved the abandonment of Carbon County Railway. (ICC Decision AB-190 (Sub no. 1), dated April 4, 1984)

The following comes from Robert Katsnelson, via email dated July 12, 2012:

From CTC Board, December 1990, page 50:

From Pacific News, Issue 250, June 1984, page 4:

The rails and ties at Columbia Junction, where CCRy connected with D&RGW, were removed during the first week of August 2008. (James Belmont email dated August 8, 2008)

Thanks to Mark Hemphill and Bruce Collins for their help in compiling this history.

Locomotives

Included in the 1942 and 1943 improvements funded by the Defense Plant Corporation were new hopper cars and two 1,000 horsepower, model VO-1000 locomotives from the Baldwin Locomotive Works, arriving on the railroad in November 1943. The two locomotives were the sole motive power of the Carbon County Railway until May 1958 when they were replaced by two General Motors, Electro Motive Division model SW9 1200 horsepower locomotives. The two EMD units came to Carbon County second-hand from the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range by way of General Motors which had accepted them as trade-ins from DM&IR when that road had purchased newer 1750 horsepower, SD9 road locomotives. These two General Motors locomotives were used by the Carbon County until the shut down of operations in 1983.

Carbon County Railway Locomotives -- Information about Carbon County's locomotives.

Hopper Cars and Cabooses

Carbon County Railway Hopper Cars -- Information about Carbon County Railway's unique hopper cars.

Map

Carbon County Railway Map -- A Google Map of the Carbon County Railway that served coal mines in eastern Utah.

Photos

Carbon County Railway Photo Album -- A photo album of Carbon County Railway, including rare views of their Baldwin diesel locomotives.

Geneva Coal Mine Photo Album -- A collection of black & white photos of Geneva coal mine in Carbon County, Utah.

More Information

Columbia Mine -- History of the original mine served by Carbon County Railway

Geneva Mine -- History of the Geneva Mine in Horse Canyon, served by Carbon County Railway

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