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Show under construction in Utah. These lines were constructed to service the Delta to Fillmore areas in Millard County, as well as Zions Canyon, built specifically to allow more people to visit the newly designated national monuments of Zion, Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon. Rail travel continued to increase in Utah particularly along the Salt Lake route throughout the following decades, and the railroad entered into a modernization program following World War II. "The Union Pacific ... succeeded in conquering time and distance in the postwar modernization of the old Salt Lake and Los Angeles ... it was now (the) Union Pacific's California Division - road of the streamliner. By 1949 trains were being handled more expeditiously over the California Division than perhaps any other segment of the Union Pacific System" (Signor 1998: 179). Later that year, on September 11, the rail divisions were divided into the California and Utah divisions. Early in the 1950s, Union Pacific "considered the benefits of piggyback (truck-trailer-on-flatcar) service as a way to meet competition from motor carriers" (Signor 1998:179-180). This mode of transport quickly became profitable and was extended throughout the Salt Lake system. Passenger travel continued to increase as well. Diesel locomotives quickly replaced all of Union Pacific's steam-powered locomotives, although a few engines were retained for special excursions. The period of the mid-1950s "were the final grand days for the long-distance passenger train on the United Pacific system. While passenger train abandonments were occurring in some parts of the country, service over the (Salt Lake route) actually improved" (Signor 1988:182), "the equal of any period in the route's history" (Signor 1988: 191). Passenger traffic was particularly heavy leading to and from the Las Vegas market, both from Salt Lake City and from Los Angeles, allowing Union Pacific to maintain its commitment to passenger rail service. However, the transport of freight, particularly of coal, stock, and motor carrier trailers, provided the bulk of Union Pacific's market. During the 1960s, following a national trend of decreasing passenger rail travel, passenger services were cut back along the Salt Lake route until May 1, 1971, when all passenger rail services were turned over to the newly created AMTRAK. "Since AMTRAK had no immediate plans to continue service on the old Salt Lake route, 60 years of near continuous passenger service over the route came to a close" (Signor 1988:201). Although passenger services out of Salt Lake City, and along the Salt Lake route were discontinued, freight transport during the 1970s ''witnessed the beginning of a(n) ... explosion unprecedented in peacetime history" (Signor 1988:207), and the railroad invested heavily in more powerful engines as well as markedly increasing the number of available freight cars along the line. In 1975, dispatch services for the route were centralized in Salt Lake City, and the line was controlled from "a specially designed building adjacent to the Union Pacific station" (Signor 1988:212) in Salt Lake. Following an increased interest in rail travel during the early 1980s, limited passenger service was restored along the Salt Lake route by Union Pacific. However, heavy freight, particularly coal and stock transport, as well as containerized cargo, remains as the majority market for Union Pacific's rail service along the Salt Lake to Los Angeles route. "With dealings in transportation, land, communications, and natural resources, Union Pacific's activities touch millions of lives in 19 western states. At the core of its operations, however, is the railroad and, as such, Union Pacific will continue to rely heavily on the Old Salt Lake Route as a rail transportation artery" (Signor 1988:223). National Register Assessment: Eligible Property Name: Brighton Canal 13 |
