Utah

Denver & Rio Grande Western [Southern Pacific]
Thistle, Utah (Spanish Fork Canyon)
September 3, 1995




Here one can see the radical restructuring of Spanish Fork Canyon by the massive 1983 landslide (sometimes referred to as a "mudslide"). The new mainline and tunnel is at center; the old grade is somewhere below the now-solidified mud. The new tunnel, 140 feet above the old grade, is 3015 feet in ledngth. A special tunnel had to be constructed for the Spanish Fork River. A second railroad tunnel , 2921 feet long, was also built further up the grade. In all, six new miles of track were laid.




This page posted 5/1/2019; revised 5/1/2019. Text and photo ©2019 Lamont Downs.