Railbanking
Through the process of railbanking, rail-trails can preserve former rail corridors for the potential restoration of rail service. One such “railbanked” line is Union Pacific’s former Park City Branch, which left the main line (part of the original transcontinental railroad) at Echo, Utah, and ran 30 miles to Park City. As mines closed and other traffic shifted to trucks, Union Pacific abandoned the branch in the late 1980s. It opened to the public in 1992 as the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail, preserving both the heritage and integrity of the route, should it ever be needed as a railroad again.
Railroad: Union Pacific Railroad
Location: Echo, Utah
Date: May 3, 1986
Credit: John Bjorklund, Center for Railroad Photography & Art, Bjorklund-90-18-03
Union Pacific’s “Park City Local” freight train curves away from the main line at Echo, Utah, crossing bridges over I-80 and Echo Dam Road and heading onto the 30-mile branch to Park City in May 1986.
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Trail: Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail
Trail length: 28 miles
Date: September 21, 2021
Credit: Wayne Kemp, courtesy of the photographer
The rail bridges over I-80 and Echo Dam Road remain in place at Echo, Utah, in 2021. Signage for the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail reads clearly on the latter.
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Land Ownership
Many railroads received federal land grants when they were being constructed in the nineteenth century. While legislation clearly stated the initial terms of these grants, there were no provisions for what would happen if the rail line was ever abandoned. This oversight left open a door for legal disputes over some trail conversions. One of them, concerning Wyoming’s Medicine Bow Trail on the former Colorado & Wyoming Railroad (built as the Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific), went all the way to the Supreme Court. The court ruled 8-1 in favor of the private landowners. The 21-mile trail still opened in 2007, but it diverts from the railroad grade around the community of Fox Park to avoid private property.
Railroad: Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific Railway Company
Location: Fox Park, Wyoming
Date: Unknown
Credit: Public Domain
A Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific Railway mixed passenger and freight train runs near Laramie.
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Trail: Medicine Bow Trail
Trail length: 21 miles
Date: November 30, 2021
Credit: Bryan Bechtold, courtesy of the photographer
A private property sign ensures trail users know where they can or cannot venture near Fox Park.
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Caption: Medicine Bow Trail, (detail), November 30, 2021. Photograph by Bryan Bechtold
