Uintah Railway The Gilsonite Route by Henry E. Bender Jr. w/ dust jacket

Description: RailroadTreasures offers the following item: Uintah Railway The Gilsonite Route by Henry E. Bender Jr. w/ dust jacket Uintah Railway The Gilsonite Route by Henry E. Bender Jr. Hard Cover with Dust Jacket Copyright 1970 240 Pages Indexed 290 photographs Maps, appendix, notes, rosters, Index Narrow gauge fever! Starting with General William Jackson Palmer's Denver & Rio Grande in 1871, the baby railroads spread like wildfire into and over the Rocky Mountains. Within just fifteen years there were more than 1,600 miles of three-foot gauge trackage in the new state of Colorado alone. The advantages of the slim gauge were obvious - with its narrower roadbed and sharper curves the railway could follow the contours and snake its way up the tortuous canyons and over the high passes. Construction costs in the mountains were generally less than half what they would have been for a standard-gauge line. Indeed, in some of the places where the little trains ran, a standard-gauge railroad would have been out of the question! But the three-foot gauge had its disadvantages, too - chiefly the expense of transferring freight at points of interchange with the nation's system of standard-gauge roads. As quickly as it had come the narrow gauge fever passed. By 1890 the Rio Grande's main line between Denver and Ogden had been widened to four feet eight and a half inches, and the remaining slim gauge lines were reduced to the status of feeders. After that date only a handful of new three-foot lines were built and practically all of these were strictly local lines, usually through rugged and uncompromising terrain. This book is the story of one of the last to be built, The Uintah Railway. Besides being one of the last, the Uintah Railway was out of the ordinary for at least three other reasons. First was the unusual mineral it was built to carry, a glossy black asphalt-like substance called gilsonite. Then there was the railway's wholly-owned subsidiary, The Uintah Toll Road Company, operating its wagons and stages over one of the last toll roads in the West. And last, but certainly not least, there was the fantastic grade climbing Baxter Pass - that five long miles of unremitting 7.5 per cent with its many sharp curves which came to be the best known feature of the Gilsonite Route. Though perhaps the Uintah was better known for its two Articulateds, the only narrow-gauge ones in the country, which were built to conquer Baxter Pass. My work on this book started over five years ago when I was enrolled at the University of Denver. One of the requirements for my M.A. in Librarianship was that I write a research paper or thesis. I had become fascinated with the narrow gauge railroads more than fifteen years earlier when I was not yet in high school. Since no comprehensive study of the line had previously been published, my choice was the Uintah Railway, and the professor, William Stokes, gave his encouragement and approval of the choice. Being from Michigan, as was Ephraim Shay, Professor Stokes was already familiar with Mr. Shay's unique locomotive. Probably the most pleasant thing for me, as I started digging out the history of the Uintah Railway, was the chance to meet quite a number of the men who made that history. In more ways than one, this book owes its existence to them. I hope they will find it does justice to the story of The Uintah Railway Company. 1. Gilsonite - The Reason for a Railroad.11 2. The Coming of the Railway ..21 3. Stage Road Operations and Storms on the Pass53 4. High Freight Rates and First Complaints.73 5. Extension to Watson and Rainbow93 6. Bricks by Parcel Post113 7. Postwar Boom and Bust .131 8. The Articulateds Arrive153 9. The End of the Line179 10. Gilsonite Up To Date199 Notes205 Roster of Equipment213 Index235 All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us. Shipping charges US Shipments: When you add multiple items to your cart, the reduced shipping charges will automatically be calculated. . For direct postage rates to other countries, send me an email. Shipping varies by weight. Terms and conditions All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us before making a return. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding or buying. Thanks for looking at our items.

Price: 100 USD

Location: Talbott, Tennessee

End Time: 2024-12-15T15:59:00.000Z

Shipping Cost: 13 USD