Western Railroad Discussion > Vacation planning part 1- Nevada & Utah

Howdy all- First off, thank you to all that have helped me in the past with all my other threads, your help has been tremendous and I thank you profusely!

For this vacation (4/15-4/25ish) I will be doing a large loop. It will be covering the states of CA,NV,UT,MT,WA,OR for this trip. I would like to split up the threads so I can keep "somewhat track" of replies. 

On this thread, I am looking for any suggestions, locations, "must do's" on the following route: Coming into NV on I-15,  I will take I-15 all the way to the Montana state line. (I am willing to hop off the frewway by a few miles if need be.) I have mapped a few locations along the way, but I know some locales would have a better idea! Feel free to either reply here or PM me! Thanks all again- Ross

Ross, what are your particular interests?

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ross, what are your particular interests?
>
> Out 

Class I railfanning primarily, but anything will do!

You could consider going through Milford and Delta on your way up instead of taking I-15.
Cedar City to Santaquin is 2 hrs 45 min on the freeway or 3 hrs 20 min through Milford, which isn't really that much longer and you'll be right next to the tracks for a lot of the way.
When you get to Lynndyl you can follow the Sharp Subdivision through Leamington and over to Nephi to get back on the freeway or stay on Hwy 6 and pass through Eureka, which has a lot of mining and railroad history.
One 'must see' when you get further north is the Ogden Union Station and the Utah State Railroad Museum inside.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/21 18:33 by Node.

Node Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You could consider going through Milford and Delta
> on your way up instead of taking I-15.
> Cedar City to Santaquin is 2 hrs 45 min on the
> freeway or 3 hrs 20 min through Milford, which
> isn't really that much longer and you'll be right
> next to the tracks for a lot of the way.
> When you get to Lynndyl you can follow the Sharp
> Subdivision through Leamington and over to Nephi
> to get back on the freeway or stay on Hwy 6 and
> pass through Eureka, which has a lot of mining and
> railroad history.
> One 'must see' when you get further north is the
> Ogden Union Station and the Utah State Railroad
> Museum inside.

All added- thanks!

15 is next to the UP all the way from Pocatello to Silver Bow MT, if you go that far a quick off to Dillon is sometimes worth the effort. UP runs
three days a week to Dillion, while the crew is at rest the second crew takes the train to Silver Bow and return. Train goes South on the rested
crew. Quite a bit to see in Butte and back toward Garrison. That being said in the Provo Salt Lake area, there's the New UP IM yard, the
Utah local and transfer power and much else. A little planning goes a long way.

Out 

As an add-on in the OgdenUT area, if ya never have been to the National Historic Site at Promontory, UT ... its
worth the effort ... they will probably be running steam in April ... check the online site for Promontory for details.
After all, Promontory sorta was the Granddaddy of the Western Class I railroads ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

If you have time, I would recommend a round-trip ride on the Front Runner. It operates from Ogden via Salt Lake City to Provo, paralleling the UP. Hours are limited but Ogden Union Station is open. The former waiting room is impressive and the Utah State Railroad Museum is worth a look.

You might take half a day or so to drive from Ogden to Evanston and return, the UP should provide some action.
Go one way on the local road where you can.
This is very historic ground, even before the UP, and very good scenery.
I've driven via Milford more often than I-15 and never regretted the decision.  When I am on the I-15 my mind is tormented by what I might have seen.
 

Evanston has the remodeled roundhouse and just added an 0-6-0. Plus some center cabs and some equipment parked outside as well. The canyon is worth the visit but get a map and look at it closely as exits are a little exasperating. One way only:)
Ogden has a shortline working the old DRGW yard and the Salt Lake Garfield & Western is nearing the airport area along with streetcars to the airport.

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 15 is next to the UP all the way from Pocatello to
> Silver Bow MT, if you go that far a quick off to
> Dillon is sometimes worth the effort. UP runs
> three days a week to Dillion, while the crew is at
> rest the second crew takes the train to Silver Bow
> and return. Train goes South on the rested
> crew. Quite a bit to see in Butte and back toward
> Garrison. T
> Out 

Echo What Callum_out said. Unless UP has changed the schedule (possible) you can catch the Pocatellp-Silver Bow Manifest on M-W-F leaving Dillion around day break heading North. They do their switching in SB and then head south in the early afternoon and Park the train in Dillion (late afternoon). Unless you check out the line during the longer days of late Spring/Early Summer you won't be able to shoot the run from Dillion south to Pokey (different crew). 

There is a local that runs T-Th-Sa based out of Dillion that runs to south Barrett's. I've heard it runs in the morning on those days.  Not sue of the times.

Very scenic near the MT/ID border