Soldier Summit, Utah facts for kids

Soldier Summit
One of several rows of foundations left at Soldier Summit
Elevation	7,477 ft (2,279 m)
Traversed by	US-6 Central Corridor
Location	Wasatch County, Utah United States
Range	Wasatch Mountains
Coordinates	39°55′43″N 111°04′59″W / 39.92861°N 111.08306°W / 39.92861; -111.08306
Soldier Summit Location in Utah

Soldier Summit is a special place in Utah, United States. It's both a mountain pass in the Wasatch Mountains and a small, unofficial community. This community is almost a ghost town today, meaning most people have moved away.

For a long time, Soldier Summit has been a key route for travel. It connects the Wasatch Front area with Price. Both U.S. Route 6 and a major train line, the Central Corridor, pass through here.

Even though it's mostly empty now, Soldier Summit used to be a busy place. Both the state highway department and the railroad had operations there. Today, only a gas station is sometimes open. It's a popular spot for railfans (people who love trains) to stop and take pictures. They especially like to photograph the Gilluly loops, which are horseshoe curves (train tracks that loop around like a horseshoe) on the way up to the summit. The California Zephyr Amtrak passenger train still uses this route.

History of Soldier Summit

Early Discoveries and Naming

Spanish explorers and priests, Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, are believed to have found this pass in 1776. However, Native Americans likely used it long before that.

The summit got its name from a group of soldiers in July 1861. They were caught in a sudden snowstorm. These soldiers were from the South, heading to join the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Some of them died in the storm and were buried there.

Town Growth and Decline

In 1919, a man named H.C. Mears started selling land lots at Soldier Summit. The town officially became a community in 1921. It quickly grew, with stores, hotels, restaurants, churches, and a school.

The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) helped the town grow. They moved some of their train repair shops to Soldier Summit from Helper. These shops were used to fix "helper engines," which were extra engines added to trains to push them up steep hills.

The population of Soldier Summit reached its highest point, around 2,500 people, in the 1920s. However, the town started to shrink. The railroad decided to move its operations back to Helper because of the harsh winters and high costs at the summit.

Changes in Railroad Technology

Newer, more powerful diesel locomotives also meant trains didn't need as many helper engines. Plus, the train tracks were changed through Tucker and Gilluly, making the climb less steep. This meant even fewer helper engines were needed at Soldier Summit. The railroad even moved many employees' homes to Helper, leaving only their foundations behind.

The Town Shrinks Away

Over the next few decades, the town slowly became smaller. In 1948, 47 students attended the Soldier Summit school. The next year, only 11 students were left, but the school stayed open until 1973. After that, the few remaining students went to schools in Carbon County.

By 1979, only about a dozen adults lived there. The town still had part-time police officers who enforced a speed limit on the highway. When drivers complained about unfair speeding tickets, officials investigated. They found that the police department mainly existed to collect money from tickets. So, the police department was closed down.

The town was officially dissolved in 1984. Today, besides the gas station and a couple of occupied houses, Soldier Summit is mostly empty. An old two-room jail, a few empty houses, and many old foundations are all that remain of the once-busy town.

Railroad Operations at Soldier Summit

Depiction of a Denver and Rio Grande Western train climbing the summit, circa 1915. There are 5 locomotives used—four at the front and one at the back.

The town of Helper, Utah, got its name because of Soldier Summit. In the past, during the steam train era, the railroad kept "helper engines" at Helper. These extra engines were attached to freight trains to help them climb the steep hills up to Soldier Summit.

Soldier Summit is a very high point for a train line. It is the fifth-highest summit or pass on a main train line that crosses the United States. Only Tennessee Pass, Moffat Tunnel, Sherman Hill Summit, and Raton Pass are higher.

Images for kids

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  One of several rows of foundations left at Soldier Summit

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  Depiction of a Denver and Rio Grande Western train climbing the summit, circa 1915. There are 5 locomotives used—four at the front and one at the back.