George Long Presentation 2

Presentation about the Uintah Railway to the Uintah County Historical Society. Topics inlcude: The old Uintah Railway being established as a result of gilsonite mining; How the Denver, Rio Grande, and Union Pacific railways were not interested in continuing their lines to the Uintah Basin; The differences between narrow gauge and standard guage railroad lines; Stockpiles of ore at the Dragon mine waiting for the Railroad build; His wife's childhood in Rainbow; A sister and friends who are familiar with the Uintah Railway; Traveling the area for research; His childhood facination with trains; Use of the Uintah Railway to transport wool; Mine fires and subsequent deaths; Dragon's importance in the Uintah Basin; People hitching rides on the handcar; A flood washing out part of the tracks; Water and most goods being transported to Uintah basin via the railroad; A modern hotel in Dragon; An engine built from spare parts; Brush fires started from engine boilers; The steepest grade in the United States was Uintah Railway to get over Baxter Pass; Train wrecks and accidents; Uintah Railway never making it to Vernal because of the Green River; The importance of wool in the early basin years; The introduction of Mack Touring Cars; Hauling freight with an early caterpillar and returning to Horse and wagon; The building two large articulated engines to make sharp turns; Freight costs versus parcel post costs: Use of toll roads and bridges; Need for a steel bridge; Increased use of freight trucks; Abondonment of railway; Scrapping train cars and engines; Selling the two large articulated engines for a fraction of thier value; Loss of Uintah Railway evidence; What makes Uinitah Railway unique: steep 7% grade, narrow gauge line, sharp turns, largest engines ever built, hauled rarest cargo - gilsonite; Driving automobiles across the bridge built for a train; and a proposal for a monument or marker to recognize the Uintah Railway and the people who worked on it.