Electric Trains - Back Again

History of streetcars and interurban travel in the 1900s....

Who would have thought that there would be a great interurban revival toward the end of the 20th century?

 

Simon Bamberger built the Bamberger Interurban Railroad before becoming our fourth governor in 1917; the slogan adopted for the Railroad was “Every hour, on the hour, in an hour.” It was the fastest interurban transportation of any in the industry. His trains were unique in that they traveled at an average of over twenty miles an hour �" the Flyers averaged 36.75 mph and arrived in one hour between SLC and Ogden!

 

Being an entrepreneur, he thought that such a railroad would show a profit if locally owned and managed, connecting Salt Lake City to other cities, shipping freight, and coal from his mines, plus carrying passengers to and from Ogden. Lagoon became one of the roads’ most important sources of income.

 

One of the competitors for the same markets was Union Pacific, controlled by E. H. Harriman, but they didn’t stop frequently between Ogden and SLC, making it a lucrative market for his trains. Bamberger’s riders included commuters and shoppers, plus area residents traveling to Lagoon.

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The first train transported locals to Beck’s Hot Springs, a popular bathing site, and continued north. Upon reaching Farmington, the name was changed to Salt Lake and Ogden Railway; Bamberger used coal from his mining interests and constructed a power plant near Farmington.

 

The railroad experienced financial setbacks, and he decided to set up a destination for travelers to increase ridership. In 1896, Bamberger purchased a swampy area just north of Farmington and built the Lagoon Resort. Six years later, building the Railroad continued, completing 40 miles of track between Ogden and Salt Lake City. Transportation needs were expanding with copper, coal, agricultural products, expanding populations…

 

The SL and O RR ran with steam power, up until 1910, but as the interurban craze was fully underway, the railroad was electrified; reducing costs, and became the Bamberger Electric Railroad. Trips from Farmington to SLC took 26 minutes, and there was heavy summer traffic to Lagoon from its inception.

 

Ridership was lively, and continued in the 1920s until family cars became popular, buses were replacing trolleys, and was hit hard, during the Great Depression. When trains were usurped by cars, most of the streetcars/trolleys were discontinued in 1945-1946, after World War II.

 

When Bamberger was Governor, he and the Legislators worked to improve the roads. He had purchased right of ways for his railroads, so as not to have them moved for the highways; roads and automobiles started the decline of the trains, nevertheless. Interurbans at first were able to compete with automobiles, even though they had lower fuel costs and subsidized for highways by offering superb service.

 

The Bamberger railroad experienced a bankruptcy in 1933 until 1939, and was still privately owned.  They bought their first diesel locomotive in 1943 to serve the military bases.

BRR filed for abandonment of passenger service, using buses to continue service in 1952. Soon after, they sold off the bus lines to focus on their freight business, and with a decline in hauling freight, BRR filed for abandonment of the line, six years later.

 

Bamberger Railroad remained privately and family owned until the early 1950s when it was sold to Texas interests.

 

Located at the Farmington Front Runner Station is a Bamberger Railroad Marker �" “From the spot you are standing, passengers boarded the BR southbound trains.” Today, trains began traveling a nearly identical path as the Bamberger, just a few blocks west..

 

In 2008, UTA introduced the first commuter rail system, Front Runner, powered by push/pull diesel locomotives at up to 80 mph, versus, the 1900s “fastest interurban transportation” at 36 mph… August, 2013 �" the Draper Trax line was opened, completing Front Lines 2015 Project and doubling the miles of tracks for Trax and Front Runner, close to 140 miles, the same amount of trolley lines, a hundred years ago.

Author's Note

I was having trouble maintaining the format, and read if you save as, plain text, it "cleans" out any extra formatting. After trying that, I changed to Rich Text formatting.... I will see what happens.