Western Railroad Discussion > Casper, Wyoming Depot

In 1908, James Hill of the Northern Pacific, Great Northern and CB&Q purchased the Colorado and Southern Railroad and the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. This gave him a line from Texas though Denver to Cheyenne, Wyo., which he intended to connect with Seattle, Wash. in order to balance freight between the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf of Mexico. With this big picture in mind, he moved to complete the Burlington line between Kirby and the North Platte River.
The selected route would run south from Kirby through Wind River Canyon, and then turn east over a broad divide into the North Platte watershed. In 1909, construction took the line from Kirby to Thermopolis, Wyo. The blasting of tunnels through granite walls on the west side of Wind River Canyon slowed construction for several years. The line finally reached Casper on Oct. 20, 1913.

The CB&Q finally connected with the Colorado and Southern lines at Orin Junction, Wyo., on the North Platte River east of Casper in 1914, creating the shortest route from the Gulf to the Pacific via rail. However, the opening of the Panama Canal that same year caused most shipping to bypass this rail route.

Major construction on the CB&Q in Wyoming ceased on Dec. 15, 1915, when a new cutoff between Guernsey and nearby Wendover, Wyo. offered a better link with the Colorado and Southern lines.

August 5, 2013 sunset at Casper, WY.

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Nice bit of history.!!!

Gus

Neat shot. I lived in Casper twice in the 60's and 70's; nice town.

Dick
Roosevelt, Utah

Nice photography, nice description as well. Credit BNSF with keeping and maintaining a classic historical building.

Somehow surprising to see that older style building in Wyoming, maybe it's the color of the brick or the trim. Certainly that style of entry roofs. Something that would usual be on a May Company building back east perhaps. I also have a couple photos of the building during a less picturesque afternoon:
http://www.pbase.com/clivew/image/148105473



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/13 21:41 by TCnR.

That is a very beautiful photograph.

Thanks for sharing it.

Bob Helling
PRose

A solid A+ all the way around!

Lance

Chip - Terrific photo and narrative.

Paul Brennecke
Golden, CO

Good story and photos. I am somewhat curious, however,
as to how the construction could have met at Orin Junction,
since that point didn't exists, AFAIK, before 1975 when
the Orin line was built into the coal fields. Just curious,
you understand.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Methinks there's a mix-up with Orin and Wendover, same idea but different places. The following Wyoming history website had that nailed down pretty good.

http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/13 09:10 by TCnR.

ntharalson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good story and photos. I am somewhat curious,
> however,
> as to how the construction could have met at Orin
> Junction,
> since that point didn't exists, AFAIK, before 1975
> when
> the Orin line was built into the coal fields.
> Just curious,
> you understand.
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

Bridger Jct

I remember driving through there on the way to college in the 70s. I was shocked to find the highest has prices in WY were just outside the refinery gate. Even Glenrock was cheaper though I usually stopped in Douglas or Wheatland for fuel.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

from:
http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad

"...
The selected route would run south from Kirby through Wind River Canyon, and then turn east over a broad divide into the North Platte watershed. In 1909, construction took the line from Kirby to Thermopolis, Wyo. The blasting of tunnels through granite walls on the west side of Wind River Canyon slowed construction for several years. The line finally reached Casper on Oct. 20, 1913.

The CB&Q finally connected with the Colorado and Southern lines at Orin Junction, Wyo., on the North Platte River east of Casper in 1914, creating the shortest route from the Gulf to the Pacific via rail. However, the opening of the Panama Canal that same year caused most shipping to bypass this rail route.

Major construction on the CB&Q in Wyoming ceased on Dec. 15, 1915, when a new cutoff between Guernsey and nearby Wendover, Wyo. offered a better link with the Colorado and Southern lines."

- See more at: http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad#sthash.PecSyE6m.dpuf

So Orin Jct is correct. Wendover came later, I thought Bridger was from the PRB construction but I'll have to look for it.

The referenced material also states:

"The Burlington salvaged 30,000 tons of steel for the war effort by consolidating 87 miles of its line west of Casper with the Chicago and Northwestern."
- See more at: http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad#sthash.PecSyE6m.dpuf

Which would be something I haven't heard of.

But it's still a cool photo and thanks for posting.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/13 19:51 by TCnR.

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> from:
> http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-
> wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad
>
> "...
> The selected route would run south from Kirby
> through Wind River Canyon, and then turn east over
> a broad divide into the North Platte watershed. In
> 1909, construction took the line from Kirby to
> Thermopolis, Wyo. The blasting of tunnels through
> granite walls on the west side of Wind River
> Canyon slowed construction for several years. The
> line finally reached Casper on Oct. 20, 1913.
>
> The CB&Q finally connected with the Colorado and
> Southern lines at Orin Junction, Wyo., on the
> North Platte River east of Casper in 1914,
> creating the shortest route from the Gulf to the
> Pacific via rail. However, the opening of the
> Panama Canal that same year caused most shipping
> to bypass this rail route.
>
> Major construction on the CB&Q in Wyoming ceased
> on Dec. 15, 1915, when a new cutoff between
> Guernsey and nearby Wendover, Wyo. offered a
> better link with the Colorado and Southern
> lines."
>
> - See more at:
> http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-
> wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad#sthash.P
> ecSyE6m.dpuf
>
> So Orin Jct is correct. Wendover came later, I
> thought Bridger was from the PRB construction but
> I'll have to look for it.
>
> The referenced material also states:
>
> "The Burlington salvaged 30,000 tons of steel for
> the war effort by consolidating 87 miles of its
> line west of Casper with the Chicago and
> Northwestern."
> - See more at:
> http://www.wyohistory.org/essays/burlington-route-
> wyomings-second-transcontinental-railroad#sthash.P
> ecSyE6m.dpuf
>
> Which would be something I haven't heard of.
>
> But it's still a cool photo and thanks for
> posting.


Thanks for digging up this info I didn't know existed.
Fascinating what you can find out you didn't know about.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA