People and Rails - Utah Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

History sign at kiosk at the start of the Bureau of Land Management’s Transcontinental Railroad National Back County Byway. The West Grade Auto Tour at Golden Spike National Historic Site also begins at the kiosk.
Text of Sign:
The Central Pacific Railroad began laying track east from Sacramento in 1863. After tacking the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and crossing the Great Basin, the railroad reached Utah in March 1869.
After the rails were joined on May 10, 1869, the new railroad had to be operated and maintained. Along the Promontory Branch, 28 sidings, stations, and associated towns were built to service up to ten trains a day.
Kelton, with a population of about 700, had a major stagecoach line and mail and fright route that supplied Idaho, Oregon, and the intermountain North.
Terrace, with nearly 1000 residents, was the largest community and served as the maintenance headquarters for the Salt Lake Division. The town included a roundhouse, a machine shop, and an eight-track switch yard, along with hotels, a saloon, a library, bath-house, and many other thriving businesses.
The Promontory Branch of the railroad was replaced in 1904 by the Lucid Cutoff, a shorter route built on pilings across the Great Salt Lake. The original grade saw only local use afterwards, and railroad facilities and dependent towns were soon abandoned. The rails were removed in 1942 for use in the war effort.
Today, cattle graze where once thousands labored to open the West to industry and commerce. Today’s byway follows the last 90 miles of grade laid by the Central Pacific before their rails met the Union Pacific at Promontory Summit. The Transcontinental Railroad Back Country Byway is interpreted at many sites along the route on your public lands.

Marker Name: People and Rails Marker Type: Roadside Addtional Information: County: Box Elder City: NA Group Responsible for Placement: Bureau of Land Management Date Dedicated: Unknown Marker Number: None Web link(s) for additional information: https://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/salt_lake/recreation/back_country_byways/transcontinental_railroad.html

Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark. If possible please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Utah history please include that in your log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/10/2023 HikingSeal visited it 09/26/2016 Volcanoguy visited it

View all visits/logs