Friday, June 17, 2016

the Heber Valley Railroad, Utah

a painting of the Heber Station inside the station
a scene inside the station

An EMD 1952-built MSR-1; these were intended for army use in the Soviet Union if America ever invaded there and had axles that could expand from standard gauge to the Soviet 5 ft (1524 mm) broad gauge.
at Vivian Park the loco runs around the train and takes it back to Heber.
engine 4028 is also ex-Army, an RS4TC built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1954 
skirting around Deer Creek Resevoir
Located in Heber City, this operation today comprises 16 miles (26 km) of the 28 mile (45 km) D & RGW branch to Heber from Provo.  The line was abandoned by Rio Grande in 1967 and was saved for tourist purposes in 1970.  For reasons that haven't been satisfactorily explained, however, the first 12 miles (20 km) to Vivian Park from Provo were later torn up and turned into a rail trail.  This includes some of the scenic Provo Canyon. We were told it was because of politicians.

It has two 1907 Baldwin 2-8-0-type steam locomotives: former Union Pacific No. 618 and ex-Great Western No. 75, although they are both out of service at present receiving major maintenance work, so train runs are operated by two vintage diesels, as above.

More info on the Heber Valley RR's preserved equipment here

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