Soldier Summit, Utah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Soldier Summit
Elevation	7477 ft. (2279 m)
Location	Utah, United States
Range	Wasatch Mountains
Coordinates	39.9296° N 111.0700° W
Traversed by	U.S. Highway 6 Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Soldier Summit is the name of both a mountain pass in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and a ghost town located at the summit. Francisco Atanasio Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante are credited with discovering the pass, but it was certainly used by Native Americans before them. The summit takes its name from soldiers who died in an unexpected snow storm in July 1861.

Soldier Summit has always been an important transportation route between the Wasatch Front and Price, Utah since the area was settled by the Mormon pioneers. Today it is on the route of both U.S. Highway 6 and the main line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. At one time both the state highway department and the railroad had operations at the summit. With the exception of a gas station that is sometimes open, the town site is abandoned. Today, Soldier Summit is a popular rest stop and photo spot for railfans. Many railfans also take pictures of the Gilluly loops, a series of switchbacks on the western approach to the summit. The California Zephyr passenger train uses this route.

[edit] Railroad

Helper, Utah derives its name from Soldier Summit. During the steam locomotive era the railroad stored helper engines at Helper. They placed the helpers on freight trains to climb the grades to the summit. Once the train had cleared the mountains the helpers would be removed and placed on a train traveling back towards the summit. Soldier Summit is the fifth-highest summit or pass on a U.S. transcontinental railroad main line after Tennessee Pass, Moffat Tunnel, Sherman Hill Summit and Raton Pass.