Union Station (Ogden, Utah) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ogden Union Station
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| Former Union Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and Amtrak station | ||
Station building, reconstructed in 1924 after the fire, June 2008
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| Location | 2501 South Wall Avenue Ogden, Utah United States |
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| Coordinates | 41°13′15″N 111°58′47″W / 41.22083°N 111.97972°W | |
| Owned by | City of Ogden | |
| Operated by | Amtrak (former) Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (former) | |
| Line(s) | Multiple | |
| Platforms | 1 island and 1 side platform | |
| Tracks | Utah State Railroad Museum | |
| Construction | ||
| Parking | Yes | |
| Other information | ||
| Status | Railway Museum and Community Center | |
| Station code | OGD | |
| History | ||
| Opened | 1869 | |
| Closed | May 1997 | |
| Rebuilt | 1889 and 1924 | |
| Former services | ||
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Ogden Union Depot
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| Built | 1924 | |
| Architect | John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson | |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial Revival | |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000867 05000363 (boundary increase) |
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| Added to NRHP | April 11, 1971 | |
| Location | ||
 Ogden Union Station
Location in Utah
Ogden Union Station
Location in the United States
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Union Station, also known as Ogden Union Station, is a historic train station in Ogden, Utah. It's located near Historic 25th Street and the modern Ogden Central Station. This station was once a major meeting point for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and Central Pacific Railroad. Its name, "Union Station," means that different railway companies shared its tracks and buildings.
Today, Union Station is no longer a busy train hub. Instead, it's a cultural center. It houses the Utah State Railroad Museum, the Spencer S. Eccles Rail Center, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, the Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum. There's also an art gallery that shows local and regional artists' work. The Myra Powell Gallery features special traveling exhibits and the station's own art collection. The Union Station Research Library has many old photos and documents about Ogden.
The last long-distance passenger train to use Union Station was Amtrak's Pioneer in May 1997. The nearby Ogden Central Station now serves the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) FrontRunner commuter rail line and the Ogden Express bus rapid transit line.
In 2022, Ogden City agreed to buy the land around the station from Union Pacific for $5.5 million. The city plans to develop the area into a downtown business and tourist spot. They also hope to bring train service back to the station itself in the future.
Contents
History of Ogden Union Station
Why Ogden Became a "Junction City"
On March 8, 1869, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) laid tracks through Ogden. They were heading to Promontory Summit, Utah, to meet the Central Pacific Railroad (CP). This meeting completed the First transcontinental railroad across the United States. Even after the famous Golden spike ceremony, both railroad companies knew Promontory was too far away for their main meeting point. They decided to build the important junction closer to bigger cities in north-central Utah.
Three cities, Corinne, Uintah, and Ogden, wanted to host this major transit hub. Travelers would have to switch trains between the two railroads there. Corinne seemed like the top choice at first. However, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members made up most of Utah's settlers, didn't want their area linked to a rough railroad town like Corinne. In 1874, Brigham Young, the Church President, asked members to give or sell him land. He then gave this land to the railroads. His condition was that they build their facilities in west Ogden. This plan worked, and Ogden officially became the junction for the transcontinental railroad.
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At first, each railroad had its own station building. The UP finished Ogden's first permanent station in November 1869. It was a two-story wooden building on a muddy area near the Weber River. After Ogden became the junction city in 1874, this building became a shared terminal. Besides the UP and CP, the Utah Central Railroad (connecting to Salt Lake City) and the Utah and Northern Railway (going north to present-day Idaho) also used it. The Rio Grande Western (RGW) railroad, which went south to Colorado, also connected here.
This quickly made Ogden the main travel center for the Intermountain West. Travelers from the east or west coast could switch trains to reach most other populated areas in the region. Because of this, Ogden, and Utah in general, became known as the "Crossroads of the West."
The Ogden Union Railway & Depot Company
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The first station wasn't ideal for passengers. Local newspapers complained about having to walk a long wooden path over swampy ground to reach it. So, the UP and CP created a shared company called the Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (OUR&D). This company would build and run a new Union Station.
The new station, finished in 1889, was built in the Romanesque Revival style. It had a large clock tower in the middle. This brick building was much bigger than the first one. It included 33 hotel rooms, a restaurant, a barbershop, and other services for travelers.
In 1923, a fire started in a hotel room and destroyed the station's inside. The walls and clock tower were left weak. No one was hurt or died. Work continued on the first floor, but building a new station didn't start until a stone fell from the clock tower, killing a railroad clerk. The OUR&D first planned to rebuild the station exactly as it was. However, after the accident, they decided on a new design. John and Donald Parkinson, who designed other stations like the Caliente station in Nevada, created the new plans.
The current building was finished in 1924 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It was built on the old building's foundation. It opened on November 22, 1924. A famous photo from that day showed 13 young women pulling the first train into the station with ribbons. This photo even appeared in an Italian newspaper, La Domenica del Corriere, with the headline "Curious American Custom."
The Grand Lobby in the center of the building has a very high ceiling, reaching 56 feet (17 meters) to the roof. The original ceiling beams were brightly painted with geometric designs. Now, they are painted to look like wood. Murals showing the building of the Transcontinental Railroad were painted on the north and south ends of the lobby. The second floors of the north and south wings held offices for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP), OUR&D, and UP Telegraph Department. (The SP had bought the CP in 1885.)
Ogden: The "Crossroads of the West"
By the 1920s, Ogden's Union Station served the UP, SP, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW). It also served many smaller regional railroads. At its busiest, it had 13 passenger tracks with platforms. It had a commissary that supplied food for long-distance trains and a laundry building that washed linens for most of UP's trains. A large United States Postal Service (USPS) building handled mail trains. More than 60 passenger trains used the station every day.
Around this time, the name "Crossroads of the West" became popular to describe Ogden's importance to national transportation. The Ogden City Council even commissioned a memorial plaque. It showed Ogden in the center with railroad tracks going out in all directions, each named after a railroad company. It said, "You can't get anywhere without coming to OGDEN," which was also the city's slogan for a while. This memorial is still inside Union Station today.
Rail traffic in Ogden was at its highest during World War I and World War II. The city and station became a vital stop for soldiers and supplies moving across the country for the war. Many new businesses opened on nearby 25th Street to serve the large number of travelers.
Decline and Preservation Efforts
After World War II ended in 1945, train traffic began to drop sharply. This was mainly because of the new popularity of airline travel and more people owning cars. By 1950, only 20 passenger trains used the station daily. The building of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s continued to reduce both freight and passenger train traffic.
By the late 1960s, only two passenger trains arrived and departed from Ogden each day. The USPS stopped its Railway post office service, ending mail trains by 1967. The OUR&D removed passenger tracks 6-13, leaving only 5 tracks and three platforms. The UP and SP began to reduce OUR&D's operations, taking back many of its facilities and employees. The commissary building was torn down in 1969. This marked the end of Ogden as a service point for long-distance passenger trains. The station building was mostly empty, except for a few OUR&D employees. The last agreement for a private passenger train service to use the station was signed in 1971.
On May 1, 1971, the government-funded National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) took over most passenger train operations in the United States. This left Ogden with only one passenger train in each direction daily. After Amtrak took over, it became clear that UP and SP were no longer interested in the station. They might sell or tear it down, as they were doing with other old stations.
The City of Ogden wanted to save the building. It had been the center of the city's economy for a long time. Ogden had depended heavily on the railroad industry, and the decline in traffic was hurting local businesses. Plans to turn the station into a museum first came up during the 1969 celebration of the golden spike. On December 7, 1971, the Ogden City Council formally asked the UP to donate the station building. They wanted to turn it into a museum and convention center. Over the next few years, the city held events like art shows inside the building to show its new planned use.
Ogden City took ownership of the station building in 1977. They also got a 50-year lease on the land around it. Renovations began to create the planned museums. Amtrak continued to have a ticket office inside and used the station for its Pioneer trains. For a short time, Amtrak also tried running its California Zephyr and Desert Wind trains through Ogden. However, they didn't have enough passengers and stopped serving Ogden in 1983.
At the dedication ceremony in 1978, UP ran its famous UP 844 steam locomotive (then numbered 8444). It pulled a special passenger train from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the new museum. UP also donated a steam derrick (a type of crane) and a steam rotary snow plow. These were the last steam-powered machines used by Union Pacific. In 1988, Utah made Union Station the official Utah State Railroad Museum. This led to many donations from UP over the years, creating a large collection of locomotives and rail cars displayed at the station.
The End of Regular Train Service
In 1995, UP and SP were allowed to merge their companies. The OUR&D company was officially closed shortly after. This left UP as the only operator of the remaining rail facilities and owner of the land around the station.
On May 11, 1997, the last Amtrak Pioneer train left Union Station heading east. The route was stopped after this date, ending all regular passenger train service at Ogden's Union Station. While special excursion trains have visited, no regular passenger service has used the station building or platforms since then.
When the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) built its FrontRunner commuter rail service in 2008, plans to bring train service back to Union Station didn't work out. So, a new commuter rail station was built just north of Union Station, now called the Ogden Central Station. There is currently no direct way for passengers to get between the FrontRunner station and Union Station.
The 50-year lease on the land around the station building will end in 2027. To prepare for this, UP offered to sell the land to Ogden. In December 2022, the city agreed to buy the land for $5.5 million. If the sale is completed, Ogden City will fully own both the station and the land. They plan to develop the area.
The station building now houses several museums: the Utah State Railroad Museum, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum, and the Western Heritage and Utah Cowboy Museum. It also has a library and archives. The station hosts many events, including the annual Hostlers Model Railroad Festival, weddings, and craft fairs.
Station Features
OUR&D Tribute Fountains
Two special drinking fountains are located at each end of the Grand Lobby. These fountains, surrounded by colorful mosaics, were a favorite resting spot for Hubert Lloyd Bell, the OUR&D Superintendent. When Bell passed away in 1927, the OUR&D placed a bronze plaque with his image above the north fountain. The plaque reads, "In Memory of Hubert Lloyd Bell SUPT. O.U.RY. AND D. Co., 1918–1927, A Just Man, A Friend Who Will Be Remembered."
Mail Terminal Annex
This building was built in 1929 for the United States Postal Service (USPS). The USPS used to have a large Railway Post Office (RPO) service. The building is just north of Union Station. In 1950, a flat-roofed addition was built on the east side for sorting mail. RPO service and mail trains stopped in the 1960s. However, the USPS continued to use the annex for regular mail until the mid-1970s.
After the station became a museum, a new section was built between the station and the annex. This connected the two buildings, allowing indoor access year-round. Today, the Mail Terminal Annex houses the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum and the Browning Theatre. The theatre is often rented for events like craft fairs and weddings.
Trainmen's Building
The Trainmen's Building is the northernmost building on the Union Station grounds. It was built of red brick between 1903 and 1923, before the current station building. It was first used for sorting mail until the Mail Terminal Annex was built in 1929. Then, it became a locker room for OUR&D train crews. It had lockers, a changing room, and a lunchroom.
In 2006, Ogden City added lights and an alarm system to the building, which had been empty. For a time, it was used to restore the D&RGW 223, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive owned by Utah. Volunteers from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society (RLHS) worked on it. However, in 2019, disagreements arose about the locomotive's ownership and restoration. Ogden City locked out the RLHS volunteers, citing safety concerns. The city also asked Utah to transfer ownership of the locomotive to them. Utah plans to move the locomotive to a new museum in Salt Lake City to finish the restoration. Most of the locomotive's parts are still inside the Trainmen's Building, except for the boiler, which is outside.
Butterfly Canopy and Passenger Platforms
The passenger shelter along tracks 1 and 2 is the only one left of five canopies. The other four were torn down in April 1969. This canopy was built in 1928 and is 23 feet (7 meters) wide. At the peak of passenger train travel in 1927, a tunnel was built under the eleven tracks. It had stairways to each platform. This "passenger subway" allowed people to reach all eleven tracks from the Grand Lobby, avoiding trains on the tracks.
When passenger service ended, the tunnel entrances were filled in for safety. However, when the platform was repaved in 2008, part of the tunnel was uncovered. There are plans to cover this uncovered section with glass so visitors can see it. Similar canopies are used at the nearby Ogden Central Station as a nod to Ogden's railroad history.
The Butterfly Canopy and platforms host UP's Steam Team during their trips. The water column at the north end, connected to Ogden City's water line, allows steam locomotives to be refilled easily.
Laundry Building
Laundry operations at Union Station began in 1906 in the commissary building (now gone). Dirty linens from sleeper and diner cars were removed from trains and washed during their stop in Ogden. In 1951, UP built a 100 by 180-foot (30 by 55-meter) brick building just for washing laundry. Before this, extra laundry was sent to other commercial facilities.
This building was built to centralize UP's laundry operations and save money. It was the only laundry facility built by the UP. It was expected to pay for itself within three years. Laundry came to Ogden from all over the UP Lines. It even handled laundry from resorts and hotels like Sun Valley, West Yellowstone Lodge, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park.
Using the latest equipment, like nine large washers and 42 individual pressers, along with 105 employees, the building could process 110,000 pieces of laundry in an eight-hour shift. That's about 13,333 pieces per hour! The laundry facility closed in 1970 and was donated to Ogden City in 1986. It is currently empty.
Railroad Museum
Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center
The Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center is a collection of real train equipment from various western railroads, especially the UP. It is located where the OUR&D Commissary Building once stood. It houses several locomotives, as well as passenger cars, freight cars, cabooses, and railroad maintenance equipment.
Locomotives on Display
CRGX 6751
Cargill 6751 is a General Motors (GM) Electro-Motive Corporation SW1 diesel-electric switcher locomotive. It was built in 1940 and was one of the first SW1s ever made. After being used by several companies, Cargill acquired it and moved it to Ogden in 1993. Cargill donated the locomotive in 2010, and it arrived at the museum on May 21, 2011.
D&RGW 223
Denver & Rio Grande Western 223 is a C-16 Consolidation type steam locomotive. It was built in 1881 by the Grant Locomotive Works. Its restoration is currently on hold due to a dispute between Ogden City, Utah, and the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society.
D&RGW 5371
Denver & Rio Grande Western 5371 is the last GM Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2 "Tunnel Motor" to still have its original Rio Grande paint. It was retired in 2009 and moved into the Rail Center in 2010.
SP 3769
Southern Pacific 3769 is a GM Electro-Motive Division GP-9 diesel-electric switcher locomotive. It was built in February 1957. In the mid-1970s, it was rebuilt and renumbered to 3769.
SP 7457
Southern Pacific 7457 is the first GM Electro-Motive Division SD45 diesel-electric switcher locomotive built for the Southern Pacific railroad in August 1966. It was rebuilt in September 1982 and renumbered to 7457. It last worked on Donner Pass. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 2002.
UCRY 1237
Utah Central Railway 1237 is a 44-ton General Electric diesel-electric switcher. It was originally built for the United States Air Force in 1953. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum and then leased to the Utah Central Railway, where it got its current paint. It has since returned to the museum.
UP 833
Union Pacific 833 is an FEF-2 class steam locomotive. It was built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1939. It was first donated to Salt Lake City in 1972. When it moved to Ogden in 1999, it became the largest locomotive in the United States to be moved by truck.
UP 4436
Union Pacific 4436 is an 0-6-0 steam switcher. It was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1918. It was last used in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was donated to Ogden City in 1958 and moved to the Utah State Railroad Museum when it was created.
UP 6916
Union Pacific 6916 is a DDA40X "Centennial" diesel-electric locomotive. GM's Electro-Motive Division (EMD) built it in 1969. It is one of only 47 ever made. It was retired in 1985 and donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1986.
Union Pacific Rotary Snowplow 900061
This is a steam-powered Rotary snowplow. It was originally built for the Oregon, Washington Railroad & Navigation Company.
UP X-26
Union Pacific X-26 is one of the Union Pacific gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs). General Electric built it in 1961. It was advertised as the "most powerful locomotive in the world." These locomotives were known as "Big Blows." This is one of only two that still exist. The other is at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
U.S. Army 1216
USAX 1216 is a 44-ton Davenport Locomotive Works switcher. It was originally used at the Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah.
Utah Railway #306
This is an ALCO RSD-5 that originally belonged to the Utah Railway. It was recently brought back to Utah in September 2022. There are plans to restore it to its original Utah Railway colors.
Utah Railway #401
This is a former ATSF ALCO RSD-15. It was built in 1959 and served on the Santa Fe railway until 1977, when it was sold to the Utah Railway. It was retired and donated to the museum in 1989.
Rolling Stock on Display
2002 Winter Olympics Cauldron Car
This special flatcar was used by UP to carry the Olympic flame as part of the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay. It is now displayed at the museum. UP donated the car to the museum after the 2002 Winter Olympics.
U.S. Army Hospital Car
This car was one of at least 100 special passenger coaches. The United States Army changed them into hospital cars to transport wounded soldiers during WWII. The museum acquired the car in 2001 and restored it to its original look. In 2003, the restored inside of the car opened to the public for tours.
Union Pacific Golden Spike Centennial Expo Railcar
This is a former passenger coach that UP specially painted. It was used as a display car to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in May 1969. The car is currently on display, but its paint is very faded.
Images for kids
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Southern Pacific #3769, an EMD GP7R
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SP #7457 ''City of Los Angeles'' an EMD SD45
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UP #833, an FEF-2 steamer, sister locomotive to the Union Pacific 844
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UP #900061, a steam powered Rotary snowplow
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UP #26, one of two surviving GE "Big Blow" 8500 Gas turbine locomotives
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UTAH #401, an ALCO RSD-15 still in original ATSF livery
Future of Ogden Union Station
Amtrak has studied bringing back some old train routes, including the Pioneer through Ogden. However, Ogden and the Pioneer were not part of Amtrak's "Connects US" plan for expanding rail service between 2020 and 2035.
On December 8, 2022, Ogden City agreed to buy the land around the station from Union Pacific Railroad for $5.5 million. They did this to avoid possibly losing the station if UP sold the land privately after their lease ended. As part of the purchase, Ogden City shared big plans to redevelop the area. They want to turn it into a downtown business and tourist center. This would include moving the museums out of the station building into a new museum building next door, which would also include the current Eccles Rail Center.
Ogden City also wants to work with the UTA to possibly move the FrontRunner commuter rail platforms to the station itself. This would bring regular train service back to Union Station and allow commuters to use the station's Grand Lobby. A 180-day study is now underway to make sure Ogden City is ready for the cost and work of cleaning up the station area before development can begin.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places in Weber County, Utah
- List of Amtrak stations
- List of museums in Utah
