Western Pacific in Utah
Everything WP, East of Wendover.
This page was last updated on August 16, 2008.
Additional Sources:
WP IN UTAH, STATION SUMMARY (West to East)
Utah/Nevada state line (MP 805.5)
Wendover (MP 806.3)
- Siding, 6,215 feet long, double ended
- Five-track yard
- Wye
- Depot building
Longest straight and level track in the U.S.
Between Wendover (mile post 806.3) and mile post 850, about midway between Knolls and Clive, lies the longest straight and level railroad track in the U. S.
Blair (MP 808.6)
- Industrial spurs
Silsbee (MP 811.6)
- Retired after 1937
Salduro (MP 815.4)
- Siding, 6,140 feet long, double ended
- Agency closed, December 1929
Arinosa (MP 825.16)
- Siding, 6,140 feet long, double ended
Barro (MP 834.9)
- Siding, 6,160 feet long, double ended
Knolls (MP 845.16)
- Siding, 6,150 feet long, double ended
- Depot building
Clive (MP 854.20)
- Siding, 6,160 feet long, double ended
Argonite (MP 861.5)
- Siding, 440 feet long, connected to mainline at east end
Low (MP 866.1)
- Siding, 6,145 feet long, double ended
- Agency closed, May 1919
- Depot building
Low Hill
Marblehead (MP 870.8)
- Siding, 1,735 feet long, double ended
- Connection with Marblehead Branch, 4.7 miles long
Marblehead Branch
- The Operating Department considered it a branch, with a full listing in the employee timetables, while the Engineering Department apparently considered it nothing more than a 4.87 mile long spur. (information from Thom Anderson)
- An article in the WP Mileposts magazine stated that the dolomite (lime rock) traffic from the plant began in June 1958, replacing lime rock that had been shipped to U. S. Steel's Geneva plant from Illinois. The name Marblehead comes from the company in Illinois, which located a deposit in Utah, and created a subsidiary company for its new operations. The reason may have been either to reduce the transportation distance and/or charges, or if there was a problem with the deposit in Illinois, such as depletion or degredation of the deposit there. The branch is apparently unused at this point in early 2006, since Geneva Steel has closed. The branch has been used by UP on several occasions for storage of excess intermodal flat cars. The article in WP Mileposts mentioned a rather large deposit at the Marblehead location, and other uses, including railroad ballast. (part from Thom Anderson)
- The 1985 branchline summary does show a Marblehead Branch, but only on the profile for the main line. It leaves the main at Marblehead, but no length or date of construction is shown.
- Google Map
Delle (MP 878.57)
- Siding, 8,080 feet long, double ended
- Wye at east end
- Connection with Rowley Branch
- Depot building
- First known as Hog Back Pass, renamed to Delle in (?)
Delle/Rowley Branch
- Originally known as Delle Branch; changed to Rowley Branch in about 1972 (shown as Delle Branch in Salt Lake Division employee timetable, dated 1970; shown as Rowley Branch in WP System Employee Timetable No. 1, dated June 11, 1972)
- Rowley is named for Edward R. Rowley, one-time CEO of National Lead (NL) from 1968 to 1974. Rowley died in 1982.
- WP's engineering department continued to refer to it as the Delle Branch in the profile books until the sale of WP to UP in 1983.
- Located at the north end of the Rowley Branch is the Rowley plant of Magnesium Corporation of America (MagCorp), known as U. S. Magnesium Corp., after a 2002 reorganization. This plant was completed in 1972, and was notorious during 2001 as being the largest single point to generate air pollution in the nation. MagCorp was the oldest primary magnesium producer in the United States, and the third largest in the world. The Rowley plant was built by National Industries for its National Lead subsidiary, and was sold to Amax Magnesium in 1980. Amax sold the plant to MagCorp in 1989.
- Constructed in about 1965 (no listing in one of the 1965 employee timetables; shown as Delle Branch in Salt Lake Division employee timetable, dated 1970)
- The 1985 UP branchline summary shows the branch from Delle as the Rowley Branch, without a year of construction.
- Google Map
Timpie (Quarry) (MP 885.77)
- Siding, 3,600 feet long, double ended
Ellerbeck (MP 892.9)
- Connection with Ellerbeck/Dolomite Branch
Ellerbeck/Dolomite Branch
- WP completed the Ellerbeck/Dolomite branches in 1918 to serve limestone quarries at Dolomite and Flux. (LeMassena, p. 269)
- The 1985 UP branchline summary shows the Ellerbeck Branch as connecting with the main line at Ellerbeck, and terminating at Flux, and built in 1917.
- A spur leaves the Ellerbeck Branch at Dollomite Junction and terminates at Dollomite. This spur is shown as the 'K' Line, and was built in 1917-1918.
- In May 2007, the Chemical Lime plant at Flux received the former USS 1217 as an in-plant switcher, joining former U. S. Army RS4TC 4023, which arrived there before August 2006.
- Stations:
- Ellerbeck (MP 0.0)
- Wye (MP 2.7)
- Flux (MP 3.7) siding, 8 cars capacity
- Dolomite (MP 4.7) spur, 3 cars capacity
- Google Map
Solar (MP 893.3)
- Connection with Solar Salt Spur
Spray (old location; MP 896.7)
- Renamed to Burmester before 1937
Burmester (MP 896.7)
- Siding, 6,165 feet long, double ended
- Three-track yard
- Wye at east end
- Connection with Warner Branch
- Moved to MP 897.1 in 1983
- Small wooden depot removed circa 1974 (Trainorders.com, March 22, 2003)
- Site of abandoned salt works (Trainorders.com, March 22, 2003)
Burmester was to focal point for WP's operation of locals to the Delle/Rowley, Marblehead, Ellerbeck/Dolomite/Flux, and Warner/Tooele branches. By late 2003, UP's Marblehead Local worked the Ellerbeck Branch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Theh same local worked the Rowley Branch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Very rarely did the Marblehead Local go up the Marblehead Branch unless it was to store cars on the branches tracks.
Warner/Tooele Branch
- Warner Branch was shown in UP's Timetable No. 7 (the first post merger timetable), dated July 17, 1983, but not in Timetable No. 8, dated November 20, 1983.
- Warner Branch was shown in the 1985 UP branchline summary, leaving the main from Burmester, but by 1985 UP had reclassified this as a side track.
- Tracks from Marshall to Tooele/Warner were removed circa June 2003. (Trainorders.com, June 21, 2003)
- The last car WP interchanged with Tooele Valley Railway at Warner was in late 1979. The consist was a GP40-2, a BN box and then the caboose. The boxcar was newsprint for the Transcript newspaper in Tooele; this was also TV's last revenue car. (Bradley Ogden, posted to Trainorders.com, March 22, 2003) This interchange move would have required the train to cross over the UP mainline by way of WP's overcrossing.
- Stations:
- Burmester (MP 0.0) sidings, 125 cars capacity
- Marshall (MP 7.0) siding, 22 cars capacity
- Tooele Ordnance Depot Connection (MP 13.5)
- Warner (MP 15.5) sidings, 77 cars capacity
- Google Map of Tooele-Warner area
Grants (MP 896.9)
- Depot building
Spray (new location; MP 902.4)
- Siding, 40 car capacity
Garfield Pavilion (MP 909.55)
- Retired in (?)
Lakepoint (MP 906.3)
- Connection with Leslie Salt Spur
Lago (MP 907.7)
- Retired
Garfield Pit (MP 911.73)
- Two yard tracks
- Loadout of slag from Kennecott Copper smelter
- Connection with Union Pacific
- Connection with Bingham & Garfield
- Connection to Linde Air Products Spur
- Known as Smelter on Union Pacific
B&G Crossing (MP 912.1)
- Siding, 25 car capacity
Garfield (MP 913.15)
- Siding, 6,050 feet long, double ended
- Connection with spur to phosphate plant north of tracks
- Connection with Union Pacific at east end
LA&SL Connection (MP 913.6)
- Siding, 14 cars capacity
Saltus (MP 915)
- Siding, 3 cars capacity
Fox (MP 920.8)
Terminal (MP 922.07)
- Connection with spur to Utah Power & Light
- 5600 West in Salt Lake City
- Spur, access from west, 20 cars capacity
Buena Vista (MP 924.3)
- Connection to Buena Vista Spur, north of mainline, spur crossed by Salt Lake Garfield & Western
LA&SL Crossing (MP 926.3)
- A direct main line to main line crossing, without any interchange connection.
- Replaced in May 1967 by joint two-track operation between WP-UP Junction and Smelter.
- Research from Jeff Asay shows that this location may have had fixed indication distant signals, with special instructions telling the train crews to go to a box at the crossing if the home signal failed to clear. "Since this was just a straight main line to main line crossing, there would be no need for a manned tower."
Jordan River (MP 926.4) (not a formal station)
- West of river, north track owned by WP, south track owned by UP (LA&SL)
- East of river, south track owned by WP, north track owned by UP (OSL)
- Tracks parallel between MP 925.2 and MP 926.7
- The Jordan River bridge was also the location of the formal junction between LA&SL and OSL, stemming from the 1903 agreement between Harriman and Clark. The WP track was added on 1906.
OSL Crossing (MP 926.7)
- Likely an industrial spur that accessed a shipper on the south side of the south (WP) track at this location
WP-UP Junction (MP 926.7)
- not shown on track profile
- Added in May 1967
- Two connector tracks between north (UP) track and south (WP) track to allow two-way traffic on shared trackage between Salt Lake City and Smelter. The tracks were spaced too far apart (about 100 feet) to have the junction be a double crossover.
- Located at 11th West.
Pollard Junction (MP 927.2) (later shown as 8th West)
- WP freight line turned south to connect with D&RGW line to/from Ogden
D&RGW Crossing (MP 927.3)
- Site of a D&RGW 17-lever manual interlocking to protect D&RGW crossing at 700 West of OSL at South Temple, and WP's crossing of D&RGW at 100 South.
- Replaced in 1948 by Grant Tower
End of WP track (MP 928.0) (west curb line of 4th West)
- Connection with D&RGW passenger line to Union Station
- WP passenger line turned south to run along 4th West
- Until completion of Grant Tower in 1948, this trackage was part of the Salt Lake Union Station joint trackage. D&RGW passenger trains used this joint trackage from Union Station to its line to Ogden, running north-south in 7th West. The 1948 construction of Grant Tower moved D&RGW's line east to parallel UP's line, with the connecting and crossing trackage being the purpose of Grant Tower. D&RGW Ogden-bound trains then stayed in 4th West, moving past the tower building itself, which was in the middle of a wye. A new track ownership agreement did away with the joint WP/D&RGW trackage that was long the south leg of the wye, designating the west curb line of 4th West as the separation point.
- Train movements controlled by D&RGW's Grant Tower
- (click here for a separate page about the "Grant Tower Interlocking", located just west of UP's Salt Lake City passenger depot.)
Sources:
WP track profiles, furnished by John Ryczkowski
UP track profiles, dated January 1985, showing former WP trackage, with WP mile posts
WP Eastern Division Employee Timetable 26, dated December 13, 1936
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