This is my current layout...sort of.
Myton & Uintah Mtn Railroad
The Myton and Uintah Mountain railroad, commonly called the M&UM RR, is a FICTITIOUS railway located in North-Eastern Utah Circa early to mid 1900's.DISCLAIMER...DISCLAIMER...DISCLAIMER...
This means that I have the liberty of rethinking, ammending and deleting it at whim...
If you are a rivet-counter, or think model trains is all about the operations, then this layout is not for you. Where my wishes conflict with reality, my wishes ultimatly prevail. I have also altered history to accomodate my Myton & Uintah Mtn RR, so please don't point that out to me. The layout is still in the design stages, but ultimatly I intend to have point-to-point operation between Myton and Provo, UT, and a Santa Fe run to the mythical depot at Amber, NM. Hopefully I can also find a way to accomodate a continuous loop for the lazy days when all I want to see is the great steamers pounding the iron on the mains, or the little 2-6-0 struggling its way up through forbidding mountain passes. Now on with the history...It began its existance as a privately owned line ambiguosly named the "Myton Railway Consortium & Navigation Company". It was headquartered in Myton, Utah at the foot of the Uintah mountains, and constructed primarily to transport timber to the wealthy land and cattle barons in the arid basins of Central and Southern Utah. Some of the finer timber was milled at the Highland Mills and exported along the lines of the Denver and Rio Grande Western. Original trackage included the Myton yard, the upper logging lines, the interchange with D&RG, and a route to Provo UT to the West. Not long after the creation of the Myton Railway Consortium & Navigation Company a very successfull coal and mineral mine was opened in nearby Deep Well. Coal provided the Myton Railway Consortium & Navigation Company with a secondary export, as did silver and other fine minerals. The nearby quarry at Northwall supplied granite and gravel, and additional deposits of lime and other building materials.
With the lumber mills and mines growing rapidly passenger runs were becoming more and more common. Families moved to Highland Mills to be closer to their breadwinners and quite a settlement was established. High-alitude farming was not profitable, but the majority found success with sheep, cattle and horse ranches.
At this time the Myton Railway Constortium & Navigation Company had one interchange with the D&RG, and also an interchange in nearby Provo with the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroad (soon to be the Union Pacific). An additional line was drawn up and privatly funded to intercept the trackage of the Santa Fe and the interchange in Amber, NM. Now livestock would play a key role in the evolution of the railway.
Up until now the railroad was operating serveral small steam engines, most with only 4 drive wheels (4-4-0's and 0-4-0's). Rolling stock was a mingled affair of types and roadnames, and the quality was poor. The roster consisted of wooden gondolas for coal and oar, and flat cars with stakes and board sidings for quarry use, a few dozen boxcars for mixed freight and ice blocks, and several battered cabooses. Maintenance of way units were handbuilt using retired cars, and the coaches were old open-air models.
As time progressed so did the amount of materials in transit and the railway was having a difficult time maintaining tracks and facilites designed for lighter traffic. An additional problem was building in the mountains as overworked miners and lumberjacks struggled to supply enough to satisfy an ever increasing demand. The Myton Railway Consortium & Navigation Company was proving to be inferior to the stronger 2-8-0's and larger units of the Santa Fe and D&RG, as well as the 2-10-2's and Mallets of the local Utah Railway Company, and the other carrriers were electing to pay cash for the rights to run their own trains on Myton's tracks. The money was good, but ultimatly this added wear only aggrevated the issue and by 1930 the railroad was losing equipment and manpower at an alarming rate.
A new financial strategy was employed and the Myton Railway Consortium and Navigation Company became the Myton and Uintah Mtn. railroad. It entered a 17 year lease with the Santa Fe for several discounted 2-8-0 Consolidateds. The terms of the lease allowed Santa Fe to continue running their consists over M&UM's trackage. However the failure of the D&RG as the Utah Railway assimilated as much of the rails to the South as possible eliminated one carrier from the Northern lines, but ended up costing the M&UM as they were at financial odds with the expanding Utah Railway. The Utah Railway approached the M&UM several times with purchase offers, but was always dismissed. Ultimately the Myton & Uintah Mtn. railroad would regret this.
For some time the M&UM was able to increase its hold on the lucrative railways in Utah, and was further aided by the constant mudslides and flash floods that were reeking havoc on the Utah Railways trackage to the South. Several struggling lines were able to profit by interchanging with Provo, Myton and Ogden to the North, and opted to merger with the M&UM. The beautiful scenery through the rugged Uintah mountains was becoming a popular alternate for passenger consists on their way to the depot in Ogden, and the Union Pacific jumped at the chance to run its Overland Pacific consists through Myton to Amber, NM. The Utah Railway was facing an extreme disadvantage in Northern Utah, but the majority of coal and ore was still coming up from the South and the Utah Railway was maintaining its profit margins.
Then the recession hit and as the depression swept America the M&UM ground to a halt. Raw coal from the South was still running on Utah Railway, but the M&UM had little to offer a poor country not interested in precious metals or lumber, and no one was investing in expensive luxury travel. The upper logging lines and the Hillside Mills closed, but were reopened for a time near the end of the depression as the government fought to make work. What money the railroad had was gone, and the lease with the Santa Fe was never paid. With the onset of World War II the railroad tried to make a come back but debts were steep, and workers were few and not well-paid. The owners finally called it quit in 1966. Now faster and heavier loco's needed better track and no one wanted that at the aging Myton yard. The interchange had lost its usefullness. The introduction of diesel lumber trucks proved more financially stable for mountain logging, and more and more of Hillside Mills traffic was being carried by truck. The quarry's at Northwall were playing out, and the minerals and fossil fuels at Deepwell were becoming harder to mine. Ultimatly accidents and a final fire closed the mines for good in 1967. Hillside Mills closed its last lumber camp in 1971, unable to compete with the abundance of cheaper lumber coming into the state.
The rails weren't pulled up, but saw no traffic for the next 5 years. Then a wealthy hotel mogal purchased Hillside Mills and its ghost town in 1976 and renovated it, and parts of the Myton and Uintah railroad as well. Late in teh 1970's a fine resort was thriving were the old lumber colony had been. The Myton and Uintah railroad became a private project for the resort, and eventually it was running a fully restored steam excursion now dressed in new "Myton Railroad" livery.
Now more than 3 decades later the same train is escorting the rich and famous amid the rugged Uintah Moutains. Stops along the way include the "haunted" mines of Deepwell, and fine dining at the exclusive Myton Restaraunt were the steamer is fueled, maintained and turned in preparation for its climb back to Hillside Mills.
2-8-0 Coal-fueled Consolidated in "Sante Fe" Red & Black
The current work-horse of the M&UM.
0-4-0 Coal-fueled Switcher in plain "Union Pacific"
The yard switcher, and light service engine.
Misc Coal & wood-fueled engines in mixed livery
Small and rundown engines, used to service the upper lines,
they are also used in a switching capacity
and odd jobs.
Coal Run
A daily consist of coal moved from the Uintah Mountains to Provo City where
it is interchanged with coal consists from Southern Utah for empties.
The coal is then moved out by the Union Pacific.
The small switch engine is normally used to traverse the
steep grades and will move a normal consist of 10 fully loaded
ore cars at a time into the yard
and the waiting consolidateds which will make the run
to Provo.
Quarry Run
A run to the upper quarry also serviced by the switch
engine because of tight radius curves.
Steeper than typical grades mean only several cars can be loaded at a time with ore,
however the density of precious metals in the ore more than justifies
the slow and costly endeavor. The Quarry run
is done an average of 4 times a week, but
soon the UM&M will have enough motive power
to make this run at least once a day.
Lumber Export
Most of the switchers time is taken up bringing loads of
lumber into the yard where it is switched with several
local locomotives which will then export it along the UM&M's trackage.
The UM&M is also on contract to supply a specific amount per month
to retailers in Provo on contract.
This can occassionally be added to an outgoing coal consist.
Passenger Services
Several passenger services were run on the Myton &
Uintah Mtn. RR during its lifetime. The first
were small open-air coaches purchased to supply
the line in its early days.
The next were larger, nicer coaches that
matched the design of the era.
Most who road the lines in these coaches
were employees on the railroad or the upper mills
or mines. Or the families of the employees.
Occassionally a mixed freigh/passenger consist
would run to Provo, or South along the
Santa Fe trackage, but this was rare.
The last passenger service runs were aboard luxurious
Union Pacific Overland coaches. This service was
only available on the stronger and gentler rails
of the mainline.
