The first lengths of 52-pound rail (surplus from the old D&RGWR main line) were spiked down a little more than one month later on April 24th. Track gangs went to work grading the line up Provo Canyon on Maas soon as the winter snows had melted to a point that they could clear-cut the right-of-way. As a result, a railroad would soon link Heber to the world.
Several court trials followed, but the case was eventually won by Rio Grande Western. Undaunted, the citizens of Heber city pushed to have a railroad built into their community, and in the spring of 1896 the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway (reorganized in 1899 as the Rio Grand Western) began surveying a route through Provo Canyon over the objections of the Telluride Power Transmission Company, which had plans to build an 85-foot high dam and reservoir within the canyon to feed its new power plant. Also, the Utah Midland Railroad, which was to have been a subsidiary of the mighty Colorado Midland, had included Heber in its expansion plans, but like many early railroad schemes this one was never built. The thought of building a railroad into the valley was put forth as early as the 1850s, when Provo Canyon was surveyed as a possible route for the Transcontinental Railroad (an alternate path through Weber Canyon was eventually chosen). Primitive by today’s standards, the road required a three day journey to traverse in good weather, and the trip could take longer in winter when snow slides often blocked the route. Likewise, it was the only way citizens in the community could travel to Provo and Salt Lake City to shop, purchase goods, or attend cultural, social, and religious activities. The History of the Railroad in the Heber Valleyįor those living and working in the Heber Valley during the late 1800’s, the Provo Canyon Toll Road was the only way to ship to market the hay, sheep, cattle, and dairy products produced by area ranchers.
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