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Show The Utah Southern Railroad operated approximately 102 miles of standard gauge track, with the main line running between Salt Lake City and Chicken Creek (Juab), Utah. The railway operated as a common carrier, transporting both passengers and mine freight. When completed, Utah Southern Railroad track connected Salt Lake to the communities of Cottonwood and Sandy (1871), Point of the Mountain and Lehi (1872), American Fork and Provo (1873), York (1875) and Chicken Creek (1879). The first run on the railroad was completed on September 6, 1871 (Robertson 1986). An extension to the Utah Southern Railroad line, running from Juab (Chicken Creek) to Frisco, was begun on June 15, 1879, and completed on June 23, 1880. This 137 mile extension provided both freight and passenger rail service to the to communities ofDeseret, Milford and Frisco. The first run along the Utah Southern extension took place on December 19, 1879. This line was also consolidated as part of the Utah Central Railway Company on July 1, 1881, which itself became part of the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad system in 1890 (Robertson 1986). "As the Utah Southern Railroad built southward from Salt Lake City, several other feeder lines were built off it. In 1872, ... a three-foot narrow gauge pike named the Wasatch and Jordan Valley Railroad" (Carr and Edwards 1989:84) was built in order to carry granite from the Little Cottonwood Canyon quarries down to the temple site in Salt Lake City. "Temple granite was transferred from the narrow gauge W&N to the standard gauge Utah Southern Railroad in Sandy. The Utah Southern then transported it to the Utah Central Railroad depot on South Temple. The already existing streetcar track up South Temple was relaid with much heavier rail, a switch was installed, and a spur was run onto the east side of the Temple Block paralleling Main Street, so that the stone could be delivered right to the construction site" (Carr and Edwards 1989:84). Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company, incorporated on August 16, 1916, followed the formation and consolidation of the companies known as the Los Angeles Terminal Railway Company (January 1 1891 to March 31 1901) which ran rail lines from Los Angeles into Pasadena and the other foothill communities, and the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company (March 20 1901 to August 25, 1916), a company formed in order to continue the interrupted construction of rail lines running directly between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, along a route closely following the old Mormon Trail (Poll et al. 1989). Senator William Andrews Clark, a strong supporter of the railway and already heavily invested in Los Angeles, was the prime mover in this venture. However, the renewal of the plan to build a rail line from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles was considered to run counter to the economic interests of both the Union and Southern Pacific railroads. The Union Pacific, particularly, through its Oregon Short Line subsidiary, considered the region to be within its "protected territory" (Signor 1988). E.H. Harriman, who had led the Union Pacific to "become one of the strongest railroads in the United States" (Signor 1988:26), warned Clark that should he attempt to build the railroad, "he would have a fight on his hands" (Signor 1988:26). Harriman offered to purchase Clark's interest in the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad for the sum of $5 million in cash, but the offer was refused. Both the Oregon Short Line (Union Pacific) and Clark's company then rushed to be the first to complete the new railway. On July 9, 1902, following several court battles which disrupted construction, both Clark and Harriman agreed to "merge and proceed jointly in the construction of the railroad between Salt Lake City and Southern California" (Signor 1988:34). Construction resumed on July 8, 1903 with the projection that the line would be completed early in 1905, and passenger service promptly provided (Signor 1988). The inaugural run of the Los Angeles Limited service took place on December 17, 1905. By the spring of 1909, thrice daily service to the Los Angeles communities was provided, while in Utah, six daily trains provided passenger service to the Salt Lake and Utah Valley communities (Signor 1988). As demand for passenger service 15 |
