Tintic Range Railway (1891-1908)

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This page was last updated on May 4, 2020.

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Overview

Rio Grande Western, through its Tintic Range Railway subsidiary, completed its tracks to Eureka in early December 1891, then to Silver City in mid May 1892. Then in early July through mid September 1892, there were news stories about a completed survey west from Silver City to the Deep Creek mining district.

The grade for the planned extension was completed as far south as the old Tintic mills near today's McIntyre on the UP, as well in a couple strategic spots to occupy them before UP could. It all came to an end with the Silver Crash of late 1893.

The consolidation of D&RG interests in 1908 brought the Tintic Range Railway under direct management of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad in Colorado, and the Tintic Range became D&RG's Tintic Branch, and the remainder later became Union Pacific's Tintic Industrial Lead.

Timeline

May 11, 1891
Tintic Range Railway was incorporated by RGW interests to build from Spanish Fork or Provo, or some point between, to the Tintic Mining District. (Utah corporation index 910, 4354; Salt Lake Daily Tribune, May 12, 1891)

May 12, 1891
Articles of incorporation for Tintic Range Railway filed yesterday. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, May 12, 1891)

August 7, 1891
RGW laying 58 pound steel rail on the Tintic branch. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, August 7, 1891)

September 10, 1891
Tintic Range Railway completed to Payson. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, September 11, 1891)

Being laid with 58-pound rail. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, August 7, 1891)

(Wilson, p. 97, says that the Tintic Range Railway was completed from Springville to Eureka in 1891.)

(LeMassena, p. 92, says Tintic Range Railway built from Springville to Eureka, as standard gauge, in 1891.)

September 11, 1891
Tintic Range Railway completed to Payson yesterday. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, September 11, 1891)

November 26, 1891
Item referring to the loop west of Goshen as being more scenic than Marshall Pass; also, proposed new timetable as of January 1, 1892 to show service to Tintic district and Eureka. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, November 26, 1891)

December 1891
Tintic Branch was four miles from Eureka, with the tunnel at Homanville not yet completed, and graders at work beyond Eureka, to Mammoth and Silver City. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, December 2, 1891)

December 2, 1891
Letter from Eureka says track is four miles from town; still at work on a tunnel in Homanville canyon; and grading beyond Eureka to Mammoth and Silver City is in progress. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, December 2, 1891)

December 5, 1891
"Trains will be running into Eureka regularly by December 5 and arrangements are being made to run a through train from Ogden to this place leaving Ogden in time to reach here by evening staying overnight and departing in the morning to reach Salt Lake City by 9 a.m. and Ogden by 10 a.m." (Salt Lake Herald, December 1, 1891)

December 7, 1891
"Chair car 300 of the RGW is being placed on standard gauge trucks for service on the Tintic Branch." (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, December 7, 1891)

December 19, 1891
"The Tintic Range railway is completed to this point and the cars are running into Eureka but no regular passenger service has been established yet." (Salt Lake Herald, December 19, 1891)

December 23, 1891
The old 'Spanish Fork' station, on the RGW, is now 'Vista'; the new 'Spanish Fork' station is on the Tintic Branch. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, December 23, 1891)

December 31, 1891
The depot at Eureka has been built, and side tracks now being put in. (Salt Lake Daily Tribune, December 31, 1891)

1892
RGW completed a new two mile line between Eureka and Mammoth Junction to serve the new Mammoth Mill. The new line included an additional mile of joint (with OSL) trackage to reach the mill itself. (LeMassena, p. 101)

January 1, 1892
Rio Grande Western's new timetable went into effect at 12:01 a.m. There were no changes to the mainline trains. "The Tintic line is opened regularly for the first time." "Superintendent Welby of the Rio Grande Western issues today a circular announcing that the Tintic Range branch operated by the company is opened for business from Springville to Eureka, a distance of [39.7] miles. The stations and sidings are as follows: Spanish Fork, Payson, Santaquin, Goshen, Hillside, Laguna, [Canyon] Siding, Homanville Siding, Summit, Eureka." (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1892)

March 10, 1892
"Railroad Rumbles." "Mr. J. H. Bennett is out over the line on a special, accompanied by Savage, the artist, who is photographing points of interest, specially making a photo of the double circle at Tintic, which is a great engineering feat, that eclipses the Georgetown loop of Colorado, thereby scoring another success for the Rio Grande Western." (Salt Lake Daily Herald, March 10, 1892)

April 29, 1892
The stockholders of Rio Grande Western voted to increase their stock by 25,000 shares to allow the purchase of all of the stocks and bonds of the Tintic Range Railway, recently completed to Silver City. This gave RGW complete control and ownership of the Tintic Range company. (Ogden Daily Standard, April 30, 1892)

May 21, 1892
Tintic Range Railway amended its articles of incorporation to add an additional route to Nevada, and to increase its number of shares to fund its expansion westward from its then-current western terminus at Mammoth Hollow. Two routes were proposed. First, a direct line to Deep Creek, or second, an easier route by way of Fish Springs, then to Deep Creek. (Salt Lake Herald, May 21, 1892)

"From Mammoth Hollow the road will run in a general westerly and northerly direction in the counties of Juab and Tooele to or near to Dugway pass in Tooele county. Thence northwesterly to or near Deep Creek in the Dutch Mountain mining district, either by a general northwesterly course or by running southwesterly to or near to Fish Springs mining district, and thence northwesterly to Deep Creek. Thence from Deep Creek southwesterly to the line of the state of Nevada, at a point within fifteen miles north of the intersection of the line between Juab and Tooele counties with said state line. In case the main line does not go by way of Fish Springs, the branch line will be built to the camp from or near Dugway pass. The total length of the main line from Springville to the Nevada line by way of Fish Springs is 225 miles and by the more direct route between Dugway pass and Deep Creek 212 miles."

May 22, 1892
"Trains will be running through to Silver City over the Rio Grande Western on Sunday." This was an extension of the Tintic Range Railway, completed to Eureka in early December 1891. (Salt Lake Times, May 20, 1892, "Sunday" was May 22, 1892)

LeMassena, in his book "Rio Grande To The Pacific," on page 101, says that RGW completed its line from Eureka to Mammoth Junction (2 miles) in 1892. Then in 1893 completed its line from Mammoth Junction to Silver City (2 miles), along with seven miles of yard trackage at Silver City, all to serve the new Tintic Standard Mill at Silver City.

(Timetables show that it was 2.3 miles from Eureka to Mammoth Junction [LA&SL Crossing], and 1.7 miles from Mammoth Junction to Silver City.)

August 28, 1892
"The Rio Grande Western grade has reached the Tintic mill, and the rails will soon be laid." (Salt Lake Herald, August 28, 1892)

July 31, 1908
August 1, 1908
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (Consolidated) was organized and incorporated. Rio Grande Western Railway was merged with Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, along with Carbon County Railway, Castle Valley Railway, Copper Belt Railroad, San Pete Valley Railway, Sevier Railway, Tintic Range Railway, Utah Central Railroad, and Utah Eastern Railway. (LeMassena, pp. 115, 117)

According to LeMassena, page 67, the mechanism used by both D&RG and by RGW to build branchlines was to encourage a group of individuals, or a particular shipper, to organize a new company to build a spur or branch, contracting the actual construction to the railroads' construction crews. The railroads would then refund all costs of construction to the organizing company or individuals in the form of haulage credits until the full cost was fully recovered. Formal ownership, deed and title would then pass to the railroads.

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