The Deep Creek Railroad

The Deep Creek Railroad ran 45 miles between Wendover and Gold Hill in far Western Utah. The line also briefly crossed into Nevada, as a good chunk of the right of way ran due north-south immediately east of the Utah/Nevada State Line.

In The History and Economics of Utah's Railroads, David Johnson wrote of the railroad, ""The Deep Creek Railroad was a mining road which was abandoned from causes other than the depletion of the mines. In this case, however, the causes were similar. The main traffic over the Deep Creek road was copper ores from the area around Gold Hill. As development of the mines progressed, the arsenical content of the ore became so high that it could no longer be smelted. Since the ore in this form was not acceptable it was no longer shipped, and the most important source of revenue of the railroad was eliminated. This line showed an operating profit for only three or four of the years of its existence, and the petition for abandonment was granted.""

Constructing the Deep Creek Railroad, 1917 - Video Available in link. (Utah Education Network)

Constructed quickly and cheaply in 1917, the company used two steam locomotives formerly used by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, although its primary owner was the Western Pacific Railroad, with whom it interchanged with at Wendover.

The mining operations would only be profitable for a few years, and the line's traffic quickly dried up, running only once a week after 1925.

Fully abandoned in 1939, much of the right-of-way is quite easily visible, well preserved in the arid climate through which it ran.

Route in 1931 on a Missouri Pacific Railway map. By this time, the operations were infrequent at best along the line.

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