Electric Rails of Utah DVD video

Trains and more Trains

Before the Jupiter and Saturn met and before the “Golden Spike was driven”.  Brigham Young was building a railroad to Salt Lake City. 

Back the early 1900’s the D&RG Western did not have passenger service, they went none-stop right through the towns.   

Simon Bamberger realized that people needed transportation between cities so he built his “Bamberger” train.  W. C. Orem joined with him to build the Utah Valley portion.  They called it the Orem Line and the town “Orem”. 

Barbecue looks like the real thing

When Simon Bamberger died in 1958 his railroad died with him. 

These were the good “Old Days”, trains took you everywhere we had the Hot Pots in Salt Lake, the Great Salt Lake beach and Salt Air.  Geneva on the Beach with horse racing, boating and dancing.

During the summer months the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad ran excursion trains to Castilla. One of the most popular runs was the "moonlight excursion" from the Tintic Mining District in Juab County to Castilla. The train stopped at stations along the way to pick up passengers for an evening of dining and dancing.

22 May 1914

Salt Lake and Utah Railroad---VS--- Rubin Gardner

The Salt Lake Railroad became the “Bamberger”,

The Utah Railroad became the “Old Orem”.

Grandma Halverson often caught the train in Springville to go to Salt Lake.  Now I catch the Front Runner to Salt Lake and beyond.

Big Hook with diesel engine and new cab I built

I posted the DVD to show off all the little electric street cars on the video reminded me of my Grandpa, Peter Bole and his new fancy automobile.  He went to Provo one day and met a street-car who rudely began honking at Grandpa.  Well Grandpa just ignored the tooting and just sat there, after all he was there first.  He did not think it was fair hauled off the see the Judge.

Automobiles replaced the trains and resorts.  Now the trains are supposed to replace the cars, and probably could if the UTA could understand what the people needed.  

We still had a few Steam Engines when I was a Boilermaker, it was my job to keep the steamers running.  The jitneys were eventually junked but I gave the Big Hook a diesel engine and a new cab.