Union Station (Ogden, Utah)

Train station in Ogden, Utah, United States

Union Station, also known as Ogden Union Station, is a train station in Ogden, Utah, United States, at the west end of Historic 25th Street, just south of the Ogden Central Station (previously known as the Ogden Intermodal Transit Center). Formerly the junction of the Union Pacific(UP) and Central Pacific (CP) railroads, its name reflects the common appellation of train stations whose tracks and facilities are shared by railway companies. No longer a railway hub, the building remains a cultural hub: it houses the Utah State Railroad Museum, the Spencer S. Eccles Rail Center, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the Browning Kimball Classic Car Museum, and an art gallery for local and regional artists every month. The Myra Powell Gallery features traveling exhibits and the Station's permanent art collection. Union Station Research Library has an extensive collection of historic Ogden photographs and documents available to the public. The last long distance passenger train to use Union Station was Amtrak's Pioneer in May 1997. The adjacent Ogden Central Station serves the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) FrontRunner commuter rail line and Ogden Express bus rapid transit line. In December 2022, Ogden City entered into a purchase agreement with UP to buy the land under and around the station for $5.5 million (equivalent to $5.5 in 2020 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ). They plan to pursue development of the area around the station into a downtown business and tourist hub, as well as potentially bring rail service back to the station itself.

On March 8, 1869, the UP laid tracks through Ogden on its way to Promontory Summit, where it would meet the CP and complete the First transcontinental railroad across the United States. Despite the famous Golden spike ceremony that marked the completion of the rail line, both railroad companies knew that Promontory was too remote of a location to house the important junction point between their respective operations, and the decision was made to build the depot farther east down the line towards the larger populated cities of north central Utah. Three cities near this location Corinne, Uintah, and Ogden competed with each other for the opportunity to house the facilities that they knew would serve as a major transit hub for cross country travelers, who would have to transfer trains between the two different railroads. Corinne emerged as an early frontrunner for the junction, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints whose members made up much of Utah's settler population at this time did not want their territory to be represented by what was then a Hell on Wheels railroad town full of bars and brothels. In 1874 Brigham Young, the President of the Church, encouraged members to donate or sell parcels of land to him, which he then donated to the railroads on the condition that they build their facilities in west Ogden. This strategy worked, and Ogden became the official junction point between the two halves of the transcontinental railroad. While the need for a junction point was clear, the need for a common or "union" station shared by both railroads did not emerge until several years later, meaning that each railroad maintained separate station buildings for a time. The first permanent station building in Ogden had been previously completed in November 1869 by the UP. It was a two story wooden frame building on a mud flat on the banks of the Weber River. After the deal to make Ogden the junction city was struck in 1874, this building was selected for use as a common terminal between the two railroads. In addition to the UP and CP, this station also became the terminal for the Utah Central Railroad that connected with the territorial capital of Salt Lake City to the south, the Utah and Northern Railway which ran into the northern regions of the territory (present day Idaho), and the Rio Grande Western (RGW) railroad which ran farther to the south before connecting across the mountains to Colorado. This quickly established Ogden as the major transit hub for all of the intermountain west, as travelers coming from the east or west coast could now transfer to trains that would take them to most other populated areas throughout the region. Ogden and Utah in general would eventually earn the nickname "Crossroads of the West" for this very reason.

This original depot location proved not to be very well suited for a passenger rail hub. Local newspapers complained about, among other things, the need to walk a quarter mile of wood boardwalk over swampy ground to reach the station. So the UP and CP launched a jointly owned terminal railroad company, the Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (OUR&D), to oversee the construction and operation of a new Union Station. The construction of the current building was completed in 1924 in the Spanish Colonial Revival (also known as Early Christian/Byzantine) style and is built on the foundation of the earlier building. It was dedicated on November 22 of that year, with a series of publicity shots being taken. One of these shots, showing 13 young women pulling the first train to arrive at the station by ribbons, made its way into the La Domenica del Corriere, an Italian newspaper, with the headline "Curious American Custom". The ceiling of the Grand Lobby, taking up the center portion of the building, has a height of 56 feet (17 m) and extends to the roof. The trusses were originally painted in bright colors with geometric designs, but have since been painted over with a faux wood grain. Murals of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad were painted on the north and south end of the lobby. The second floors of the north and south wing were occupied by Southern Pacific (SP), OUR&D, and UP Telegraph Department offices. (The SP had purchased the CP in 1885.) This memorial is still on display inside the Union Station to this day. The absolute peak of rail traffic in Ogden came during both World War I (WWI)and World War II (WWII). The city and depot became an important stopover point for soldiers and materials being moved across the country for the war effort, and many new businesses popped up on nearby [[25th Street to entertain and support the huge influx of travelers.

Rail traffic began to decline sharply after WWII ended in 1945, owing mainly to the newfound popularity of both the airline industry and increasing accessibility of automobiles for the average traveler and commuter. By 1950, the number of daily passenger trains was down to 20. The construction of the Interstate Highway System continued to pull traffic from both freight and passenger trains into the 1960s.

In 1995, UP and SP received permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to merge their companies, and the OUR&D was finally dissolved sometime shortly after this date. This left UP as the sole operator of the remaining rail facilities that served the station, and owner of the land around the station building. On May 11, 1997, the final Amtrak Pioneer train departed eastbound from Union Station at 7:38 AM. The route was discontinued after this date, and along with it ended all passenger rail service at Ogden's Union Station. While it has been visited by the occasional excursion train, no revenue passenger service has used the station building or platforms since this date.

This building was constructed in 1929 to serve the needs of the USPS, which once ran an extensive Railway Post Office (RPO) service. It is located directly north of the Union Station building. In 1950 a flat roofed addition was constructed on the east and was used to sort mail. RPO service and mail trains were discontinued in the 1960s, but the USPS continued to use the annex for regular mail service and sorting until the mid 1970's when UP donated the station building to Ogden City. Following the conversion of the station complex to a museum, an addition was constructed in between the station and the annex, connecting the two buildings and allowing year round indoor access to the facilities in the annex. However, in 2019 disputes about the locomotive's ownership and restoration practices arose between the volunteers, the State of Utah, and the Ogden City Council, who proceeded to lock out the RLHS from the facility and informed them that they were no longer welcome to continue working at the Union Station. Ogden officials cited safety concerns about the handling of materials as their reason for locking out the volunteers, and also sent a request to the State asking that ownership of the locomotive be transferred to them. The State government has not yet responded to this request, saying instead that they intend to move the locomotive to a new museum in Salt Lake City where the restoration work could be completed. The locomotive is currently disassembled, with most of the pieces still locked inside the trainmen's building, except for the boiler which sits outside near the passenger platform.

The passenger shelter along tracks 1 and 2 is the only remaining canopy of a series of five. The other four canopies were demolished in April 1969. It was built in 1928 to SP plans and is similar to canopies at the Sacramento Station in California, and is 23 feet (7 m) wide. During the peak of passenger train travel in 1927, a tunnel was built under the eleven tracks with stairways to the surface at each platform. Called the passenger subway, this tunnel allowed pedestrians to access all eleven tracks from the Grand Lobby, bypassing those tracks that were occupied by trains. When passenger service ended the entries to the tunnel were filled in for safety purposes, Soiled linens and cloth from sleeper and diner cars were removed from the trains and washed during their stop in Ogden. In 1951, UP constructed a brick building for the express purpose of washing laundry; prior to this time excess laundry that was not able to be handled in the commissary building was sent out to commercial facilities. The building was constructed to centralize the UP's laundry operations and to cut costs by an estimated fifty percent. It was the only laundry facility constructed by the UP and was expected to pay for itself within three years. Laundry was sent to Ogden from all ends of the UP Lines, and even took in laundry from Sun Valley, Idaho; West Yellowstone Lodge; Bryce Canyon National Park; Zion National Park; and Grand Canyon National Park, as well as other resorts and hotels. The use of the latest equipment, such as nine Troy Electromatic washers; 42 individual pressers; and seven diesel powered Vapor Clarkson steam generators, as well as 105 employees, gave the building a capacity to process 110,000 individual pieces of laundry during an eight hour shift, or about 13,333 individual pieces per hour. The laundry facility was closed in 1970 and donated to the City of Ogden in 1986. It is currently vacant.

Cargill 6751 is a General Motors (GM) Electro Motive Corporation SW1 diesel electric switcher locomotive built in 1940 with construction number 1111, was one of the first SW1s that Electro Motive built. After acquisition, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) initially numbered the locomotive as 213, but subsequently changed the number to 8413. After several transfers of ownership, the locomotive was acquired by Cargill, becoming Cargill No. 6751. Cargill moved the locomotive to Ogden in 1993 for use in the company's Globe Mill. Restoration on hold due to dispute between Ogden City, the State of Utah, and the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Golden Spike Chapter regarding building usage and ownership of the locomotive.

Denver & Rio Grande Western 5371 is the last GM Electro Motive Division SD40T 2 "Tunnel Motor" to be in its original Rio Grande paint colors. It was retired in 2009 and moved into the Rail Center in 2010.

Southern Pacific 3769 is a GM Electro Motive Division GP 9 diesel electric switcher locomotive, built in February 1957 as 5733. In the mid 1970's it was rebuilt as a GP9R, and renumbered to 3769.

Southern Pacific 7457 is the first GM Electro Motive Division SD45 diesel electric switcher locomotive to be built for the Southern Pacific railroad in August 1966, originally numbered 8800. It was rebuilt as an SD45R in September 1982, and renumbered to 7457. It last saw service on Donner Pass. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 2002.

Utah Central Railway 1237 is a 44 ton General Electric diesel electric switcher, originally built for the U. S. Air Force with the same number in 1953. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum, and subsequently leased to the Utah Central Railway where it got its current paint scheme. It has since been returned to the Museum.

Union Pacific 833 is an FEF 2 class steam locomotive, built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1939. It was originally donated to Salt Lake City in 1972, and when transferred to Ogden in 1999 it obtained the distinction of being the largest locomotive in the United States to be moved by truck.

Union Pacific 4436 is an 0 6 0 steam switcher built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1918. It was last used in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was donated to the City of Ogden in 1958 and moved to the Utah State Railroad Museum upon its establishment.

Union Pacific 6916 is a DDA40X "Centennial" diesel electric locomotive that GM's Electro Motive Division (EMD) built in 1969, one of only 47 built. Retired in 1985 and donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1986.

Steam Powered Rotary snowplow, originally built for the Oregon, Washington Railroad & Navigation Company.

Union Pacific X 26 is one of the Union Pacific gas turbine electric locomotives (GTELs) that General Electric built in 1961. It was advertised as the "most powerful locomotive in the world". Popularly known as "Big Blows", it is one of only two that survived. The other one being displayed at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

USAX 1216 is a 44 ton Davenport Locomotive Works switcher that was originally used at the Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah.

ALCO RSD 5 original to the Utah Railway. Owned previously by Doyle McCormack and kept at the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation where it was painted as a Nickel Plate Road locomotive. Repatriated to Utah in September 2022 with plans to restore it to its Utah Railway colors.

A former ATSF ALCO RSD 15 built in 1959, it served on the Santa Fe railway until being sold to the Utah Railway in 1977, it was retired and donated to the museum in 1989.

This specially designed flatcar was used by UP to transport the Olympic flame as part of the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay is displayed at the museum. UP donated the car to the museum after the conclusion of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

This was one of at least 100 special passenger coaches that were retrofitted by the US Army for use as a hospital car to transport wounded soldiers during WWII. The car was acquired by the museum in 2001 and was restored to its original condition. In 2003, the restored interior of the car was opened to the public and is now open for tours and visitors.

This is a former passenger coach that was specially painted by the UP for use as a display car in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in May 1969. The car currently sits on static display with badly faded paint.

Amtrak has been involved in feasibility studies regarding the restoration of some previously discontinued routes, including the Pioneer through Ogden. However, Ogden and the Pioneer were not included in Amtrak's "Connects US" plan, which details how the corporation wishes to expand their rail service between 2020 and 2035. On December 8, 2022, Ogden City entered into a purchase agreement with Union Pacific Railroad to buy the land under and around the station building for $5.5 million (equivalent to $5.5 in 2020 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years million in ). They did this to avoid potentially losing the station if UP decided to sell the land privately after the end of their initial lease agreement. As part of the purchase, Ogden City presented extensive plans to redevelop the area around the station into a downtown business and tourist hub. This would include moving the museums out of the station and into a new museum building right next door, which would include the current Eccles Rail Center. They also want to work with the UTA to potentially move the station platforms for their FrontRunner commuter rail service to the station itself, which would bring rail service back to the station and allow rail commuters to use the station's Grand Lobby. There is now a 180 day feasibility study underway to make sure Ogden City is willing to undertake the cost and labor of environmental cleanup in the station area before they could begin developing it.