It is interesting that while the original route across the water is often thought of as an incredibly long trestle, this only constituted about 12 miles of the distance. The author relates many aspects of the cutoff s difficult construction features, a narrative intertwined with an account of the southern pacifics fleet of boats, specifically the. If you happened to miss a key fact or two, youd be in good company, and the staff at golden spike national historic site has to contend with some longestablished traditions that dont quite hit the nail on the head. Notwithstanding the lack of fanfare, the lucin cutoff was an engineering marvel for its day. The line includes a nearly 12mile long railroad trestle that crosses the great salt lake. This drive runs right along the old railroad grade, the final stretch of the transcontinentals 800mile line from california. To shave off 40 miles of difficult long climbs through the mountains, a trestle was built through the great salt lake bypassing the promontory branch in 1904. The sps lucin cutoff was the railroads ambitious project to bypass its. Rails east to prodlontory bureau of land management. Besides the 48 fatalities, another 79 were reported injured in the crash. Historic lucin was renamed grouse and finally dismantled by the railroad in 1907. The new railway, completed in 1904, became known as the lucin cutoff.
Postcards, postal items, letters, documents, genealogy resources, books, calendars, etc. The lucin cutoff is a 102mile railroad line in utah that runs from ogden to its. This article examines the fascinating history of the great salt lakes lucin cutoff railroad trestle, from its construction at the beginning of the 1900s to some of the applications that its wood is being used in today. The completion of the lucin cutoff between lucin and ogden, in utah, diverted rail traffic from the original route. Tales of a mysterious monster lurking in the briny waters of the great salt lake have been around since 1877. Sourcesl tale of the lucin, by david peterson and, by don strack.
The lucin cutoff is a 102mile 164 km railroad line in utah which runs from ogden to its. Despite this, the route is a vital artery in ups system today between chicago and oakland, california. Spring 2017 utah communication history encyclopedia. The southern pacific transportation company was acquired in 1995 by the union pacific corporation and merged with their union pacific railroad. May 10, 2019 the railroad replaced the route after opening the lucin cutoff from ogden, utah, to lucin, utah, in 1904. The southern pacific railroad placed this extinguisher under the lucin cutoff in 1906, for use in such a fire. The wooden trestle was showing considerable age by this time after five decades of constant use.
In 1904, the lucin cutoff, a causeway and trestle across the great salt lake, rendered obsolete the portion of track passing through promontory. History lucin was founded in the late 19th century, about 1 mile 1. The 1910 census counted 4,062 greeks in utah, but the great number of greek businesses and the greek workers on industrial payrolls give reason to believe that the figures are incomplete. Lucin cutoff rail line, utah, united states britannica. This touched the tip of the promontory peninsula, with a station named promontory point close to the actual geographic promontory point. Route of the first transcontinental railroad chapter field. Photograph album of the lucin cutoff construction, 19021904 photograph album of yellowstone national park, approximately 1910 photograph from a tale of the yellowstone or in a wagon through western wyoming and wonderland, approximately 1898. The town was moved ten miles to the south in 1903 to act as a stop of the lucin cutoff. Lucin was founded in the late 19th century, about 1 mile 1.
In 1904, the transcontinental route relocated to lucin cutoff, a more direct route across northern utah via a trestle through the great salt lake. This work is an important contribution to the study of. Lucin, box elder, utah genealogy genealogy familysearch wiki. It consisted mainly of employees of the central and south pacific railroads.
The sps lucin cutoff was the railroads ambitious project to bypass its original promontory summit line. The directions were a bit confusing but after a while i think i got what was happening. Services continued to run over the old promontory division after the lucin cutoff was opened, although in diminishing numbers, until the rails were ripped up in 1942 the metal contributed to the nations war effort. By showing the contorted route of the original line, the map con. The lucin cutoff precedes the completion of the wp 1904 vs 1909 but i suspect that it was no doubt a factor in its construction. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Up sp lucin cutoff in trouble trains magazine trains. Railroad train lucin cut off great salt lake utah 1907c albertype postcard lake photos u. The lake is a remnant of the prehistoric lake bonneville, which covered much of north americas great basin region.
The promontory branch, as it was known by then, ran through the desert from corinne through promontory to lucin. The completion of the lucin cutoff between lucin and ogden, in utah, diverted rail traffic from the. The lucin cutoff is a 102mile railroad line in utah which runs from ogden to its namesake in lucin. The overland route is that part of the southern pacific system running from oakland pier, now west oakland, through sacramento to ogden, utah. Lucin meaning and origin of the name lucin nameaning. The lucin cutoff utah stories from the beehive archive. The new railway, completed in 1904, became known as the lucin.
In 1901 the central pacific steam engine jupiter was scrapped for iron. The founders could see corinne as the state capitol as it was the shipping center of the railroad. Lucin cutoff the lucin cutoff is a 102mile 164 km railroad line in utah which runs from ogden to its namesake in lucin. Utahs worst ever train wreck happened new years eve of 1944. A 100 year old trestle that crosses the great salt lake and the story of how cannon structures, later to be trestlewood, first became involved with the 12 mile lucin cutoff trestle. Dec 26, 2014 utahs worst ever train wreck happened new years eve of 1944 from the book, history of ogden, utah in old postcards, by d. Lucin cutoff opens considered one of the most ambitious and successful engineering feats of the era, the lucin cutoff replaced the original promontory summit line. Over the range without doubt, the building of the lucin cutoff was one of the most publicized events in railroad construction history. The railroad replaced the route after opening the lucin cutoff from ogden, utah, to lucin, utah, in 1904. This statement beautifully captures how promontory declined in the early decades of the twentieth century. This is an operation to extract pole of the lucin cutoff trestle from great salt lake. The town was originally located ten miles to the north and shifted to its current location in 1903. Rather, i found that the author simply told of their actions and through research tried to discover.
Continue south from lucin two and one half miles, then bear left, going east. Lucin cutoff, portion of a southern pacific rail line built across the great salt lake, utah, in 190204, replacing a much longer part of the original transcontinental railroad that traced around the northern end of the lake. The most prominent feature of the cutoff was a 12mile long railroad trestle crossing the great salt lake, in use from 1904 until the late 1950s, and since replaced by a rock and dirt causeway. Afterwards we furnish a history and description of the railroad structures. The utah state railroad museum in ogden features a great model railroad in ho scale that includes a model of the southern pacifics lucin cutoff. The new line, built by the southern pacific, was 40 miles shorter and eliminated the difficult grades of the promontory branch fig. The route over donner pass was originally the vision of theodore d. The rails were salvaged during world war ii, following an unspiking ceremony. Today, the great salt lake causeway has replaced it. Central pacific railroad photographic history museum.
The lucin cufoff across the great salt lake trains. Proceed on route 30 to the lucin cutoff 42 miles from oasis, 83 miles from snowville. Continue south from lucin two and one half miles, and then bear left, going east. With dead news reports at the time provided varying numbers of victims and gave inconsistent details regarding the details of the crash. You may find vintage paper supply items to use in your next craft project, such as book pages, illustrations, punched book pages, etc. Under the direction of chief engineer william hood, an estimated 3,000 sp workers labored seven days a week to create the bypass across the great salt lake. With completion of the lucin cutoff in 1904, most transcontinental traffic began crossing the great salt lake by trestle and merged with the promontory branch at lucin.
One of the supporting ties had been used as a roof beam in a barn that edgar stone, the fireman on the jupiter, had built in north ogden. The name comes from a local fossil bivalve, lucina subanta. It includes the purchase of the southern pacific, building the lucin cutoff, response to san francisco earthquake, the salton sea in california, antitrust suit and resolution, wwi and the usra, streamliners, sunvalley, wwii, and the modernization efforts of the 50s and 60s. This town was an 1800s railroad stop for steam engines. The cutoff bypassed steep grades, including those near promontory. Utahs worst ever train wreck happened new years eve of 1944 from the book, history of ogden, utah in old postcards, by d. Twelve hundred greeks, for example, were working in the utah copper mine in bingham when the western federation of miners called a strike in 1912. When finished in 1904, the lucin cutoff replaced the original line running north of the lake, although the promontory line continued to be used occasionally when bad weather threatened the cutoff. The lucin cutoff is a 102mile railroad line in utah that runs from ogden to its namesake in lucin.
A stunning series of photographs in the california state railroad museum in sacramento documents the construction, as does david petersons book tale of the. The promontory mountains of 35 mi 56 km were bypassed by the first transcontinental railroad north and the replacement 1904 lucin cutoff trestle through promontory point south, which was replaced by a 1959 causeway. Trains magazine offers railroad news, railroad industry insight, commentary on todays freight railroads, passenger service amtrak, locomotive technology, railroad preservation and history, railfan opportunities tourist railroads, fan trips, and great railroad photography. A groundlevel view of the original left and current right lucin cutoffs taken in august. The machinereadable finding aid for this collection was created by the collections management staff, utah state historical society, with financial assistance from an lsta grant provided by the utah state library division. The last tie of laurel was destroyed in the 1906 san francisco earthquake. Portions of this article were adapted with permission from.
Those seeking local fare will find certified angus steaks, all handcut and fired hot on a wood smoke grill. Tellingly, the route over promontory summit was now shown as a thin line while the lucin cutoff appears in the bold, thick style. The old steel rails were removed in 1942 and used in the war effort. Promontory summit blazed to life in 1869, but the town didnt persist on the arid plateau. Rails at promontory summit were removed and recycled for the world war ii effort during an undriving of the last spike ceremony. The cutoff was originally built by the southern pacific railroad as a means of shortening the first transcontinental railroad. Up sp lucin cutoff in trouble posted by blue streak 1 on saturday, september 29, 2012 2. By 190203 greeks were working on the lucin cutoff, as strikebreakers in carbon county. Above is the cover from an earlytwentiethcentwy pamphlet depicting the overland limited, a cross country train jointly operated by the southern pacific and union pacific railways, as it traversed the lucin cutoff across the great salt lake. Today a railroad station and a small community still carries the name. In 1904 the name lucin was transferred and applied to nearby facilities on the newly completed lucin cutoff. It was an active commercial and residential hub with thriving businesses and a relatively active artistic community centered on the athenium.
He clearly and persuasively demonstrates that harriman was a major figure in the development of american railroading at the beginning of the twentieth century. The lucin cutoff photograph collection, 19031904 a register of the collection at the utah state historical society. Today the cutoff is owned and operated by the union pacific railroad as a sign. I could tell what was happening and when and where. Its history is unique from other pioneer communities because it was settled by people of different religions and even those who professed no religious affiliation rather than by members of the l. It had not been profitable for southern pacific since the lucin cutoff across the great salt lake was completed in 1904, but was kept intact as a secondary route. In 1904 the lucin cutoff, still in use, was completed south of here, crossing the lake by trestle. You should be able to see the sun tunnels pretty soon. Lucin cutoff national register of historic places location, bridge, listed site, location, project focus, structure. Lastly they note that the railroad finally did reach promontory point in 1904, when the southern pacific built the lucin cutoff on trestlework across the northern part of the great salt lake. Aug 21, 20 the lucin cutoff history clearly illustrates how man has failed to tame the great salt lake completely, even in the 21st century. When the railroad came through in 1869, the two rival companies, the union pacific and the central pacific, built their tracks around the north end of great salt lake, because the lake was in a high cycle, and technology was not up to the task of bridging the lake.
In order to save time and to avoid some 40 miles of difficult and long climbs through the mountains, the promontory branch was eliminated and a new route was build across the great salt lake by trestle and built up grade. Finally, in 1942, the company tore up the rails between lucin and corinne and contributed the scrap iron to the war effort. With the completion of the lucin cutoff and the subsequent decline in rail traffic, terrace began to languish and by 1910 it ceased to exist as a coherent community. Harriman aptly reflects maury kleins mastery as our current leading historian of american railroads. The transcontinental railroads impact on world war ii. Driving the last pile in the original permanent trestle, october 12, 1903. The lucin cutoff look what we found at the hostlers. Sep 29, 2012 up sp lucin cutoff in trouble posted by blue streak 1 on saturday, september 29, 2012 2. Because of this, one might think that the author is trying to justify the actions of the associated people in this history. This book is an attempt to show the history of the union pacific.
These extinguishers were placed every few ties for emergency use. The bar area in pompeys grill is built from reclaimed timber salvaged from the lucin cutoff railroad trestle which once spanned the great salt lake. Zaqistan lies on the edge of an expansive mudflat that slopes down to the great salt lake. Judah, an accomplished engineer who surveyed a manageable grade through the sierranevada range running 115 miles from sacrament to the nevada state line. Lucin, box elder, utah genealogy familysearch wiki. The lucin cutoff photograph collection, 19031904 utah. Water was piped from a nearby mountain to replenish the railroads steam locomotives. Media related to the lucin cutoff, a 102mile 164 km railroad line in utah which runs from ogden to its namesake in lucin.
As for the lucin cutoff, its final chapters are being written following world war ii. After nearly 10 years of failed attempts the railroad was finally able to abandon much of the line after june, 1942 which consisted of about 55 miles of track. The lucin cutoff is a 102mile 164 km railroad line in utah which runs from ogden to its namesake in lucin. Lucin is a class 2 railroad ghost town in box elder county. The union pacific railroad reporting marks up, upp, upy, legally union pacific railroad company and simply union pacific, is a freighthauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles 51,800 km routes in 23 u. Listing of overland route stations and mileage central pacific railroad southern pacific railroad, 18661996. Lucin was a small railroad community located on the west side of the great salt lake. It has no outlet other than evaporation, which results in its unusually high salinity. The lucin cutoff begins about fiftyfive miles on from here.
Welcome to datedpaper, where you will find exactly that. Tracking down history national parks conservation association. The last incarnation of the southern pacific, the southern pacific transportation company, was founded in 1969 and assumed control of the southern pacific system. The most prominent feature of the cutoff was a 12mile 19 km long railroad trestle crossing the great salt lake, in use from 1904 until the late 1950s, and since replaced by a rock and dirt causeway. Lucin cutoff railroad trestle the trestlewood story. By 1902 as many as ten trains per day five each direction travelled through northern utah daily train schedule, box elder news, 1902.
The 190304 construction of the lucin cutoff siphoned most of the traffic from promontorys old line. I honestly love the authors writing style because it was very clear and easy to understand the arguments. Wooden trestles were apt to catch fire in early days, as the sparks from the engine fire box blew out the stack. Go another two miles, bear right, and go one and one half mile to sun tunnels. The photo on the left is often used to illustrate a genuine big event in american history. Get to route 30 from either interstate 84 from snowville, ut or route 223 from oasis, nevada. After the lucin cutoff diverted almost all of the railroad traffic away from the original line over the summit, telegrapher earl harmon recalled that, there wasnt much said about promontory in them days. This book is an attempt to show the history of the union pacific without an attempt at moralizing. An excerpt from the above wikipedia website on the transcontinental railroad, the transcontinental. In the ensuing years, they worked for the utah copper company in bingham, in the murray and garfield smelters and the magna mill, and on numerous railroad gangs throughout. Lucin cutoff still needed as a railroad shortcut railroads love straight tracks. You may wonder why there is no longer a rail line here today nor is there a town of lucin, for that matter.
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