Model Railroading > Another Golden Spike in Utah

On May 25, 2019 the Utah Live Steamers club celebrated the completion of their 7.5" gauge track at Shay Park in Saratoga Springs, UT.  The track was actually finished last year, but the club decided to hold their celebration in May since it was the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike in Promontory.  Don't remember how we stumbled on the club, but I took the kids for a ride at the Fall Festival the other year when the first small loop of track was in operation.  We then went back and helped on a few different Saturdays as they installed track panels and hauled ballast to complete the big loop.  So the kids kind of consider it "our" railroad.  And my 13 year old asked if we could install one in the backyard.  My wife just shook her head.  But we had fun going for our first ride on the big loop and enjoying the cake, live music, and the mini-Golden Spike ceromony.  

Mike Hansen was the driving force working with the city of Saratoga Springs to get the park named "Shay Park" and have space for the train club.  The park is built around the old right of way for the Salt Lake & Western (which became part of the UP) branch that ran west from Lehi through what is now Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain on it's way to the Tintic mining district at Eureka, UT.  The play structure in the park is shaped like a steam locomotive and caboose, it's quite the structure.  At the ceremony, a number of people were recognized including councilwoman Baerstch who works with the parks department and helped organize the vision for Shay Park.  But my favorite part was an actual "golden" spike in a luarel wood tie.  Someone donated a "gold" railroad spike along with the tie and Mike had some of the families come up and hammer on the spike with a rubber mallet.  The best was one little boy who had is own golden hammer.

The weather was perfect, the ceremony was nice, and the train ride was great.  I think my kids and I will have fun helping out where we can and riding "our little train" as one of my kids called it.

1 - Nose to nose for the "driving" of the Golden Spike.  A local bank has sponsored the main engine used on the railroad along with a riding car
2 - My 2 year-old loves Thomas, so she had to wear her train shirt like daddy to the park for the train ride she was super excited about
3 - 5 of my 6 kids ready for the train ride

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Nice!!!

As it should be - families enjoying trains.

Thanks for sharing the day,

Rich

Finally found the picture of the 4 big kids helping me build the big track loop the other year.  Mike's diesel switcher was having a problem, so after we loaded the buckets with ballast, the kids decided to push the train cars by hand up to the end of the track to dump the ballast.  The other photo I should have taken was a few weeks earlier - the girls "snoozing" in my wheelbarrow because they were tired from all the hard work.  :)

Nathan

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A big "Thumbs Up" to you, your family, and the community for this!

 

It sure is pretty out there, why I miss the west having driven across Utah and Nevada quite a few times in my 20's, and spent 6 weeks in S. Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Great photos, you're a very lucky man!

Thanks Nathan-- great series of photos. I was in Saratoga Springs last month; just one day before the 150th at the Summit.
It's a beautiful city; would be a nice place to live. Visited my old pal Gil Bennett, the RR artist, who has his home and studio there.

 

Thanks for the kind words guys. And I’ve heard about Gil and his work, didn’t realize he lived out this way.

Nathan

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