The Destroyed Marysvale Branch on the Denver and Rio Grande

We follow the ghost of the Marysvale Branch through Central Utah from Thistle to Marysvale. After the floods of 1983 in Utah, the line was cut off from the main line in Spanish Fork and could not be saved, so it was scrapped. Yet, still a beautiful and historic line!
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From Karyn: Oh, yes! I "grew up" in that area! If I wanted to go back far enough... My family settled parts of that area, with the Mormon Pioneers. I have many childhood memories... It was one of those places where we didn't lock our doors at night... and we knew everybody in town! I had both of my grandparents living close by.. and grew up listening to their stories! My maternal grandmother was from So Cal.. But came to the area as a young bride. She, too, worked at the Moroni Turkey Processing Plant until the age of 70!

At one time.. 1984, to be precise... My grandma, my mom (her daughter) and myself, were all working together.. side by side.. on the same job at the Plant! That was cause to have an article written about it, in the local paper!

I worked at the Turkey Processing Plant... (even before I graduated high school..) a total of 8 years! It was seen as "Mature" to work on the clean-up crew (swing shift) to help pay our way through school... (We had to buy our own books back then). I left the area, after graduation.. but returned, and again, worked at the Plant for 7 more years!!

Really..... This is the story of what built America! The factory jobs.. Agriculture.. Hard working people, making a living.. having a home, and putting their kids through college... Teenagers, who worked... rather than asking their parents for $$$$$.
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The Marysvale Branch, built in 1891 and abandoned in 1984, was 132 miles long. It was built as a standard gauge line, yet the rais were laid in 3 foot gauge and it ran that way for several years before the rail was kicked out to standard gauge. It interchanged with the narrow gauge Sanpete Valley Railway, but the reason for the 3 foot gauge was D and RG had a lot of surplus 3 foot gauge equipment in the 1890's and it could be used on this line. By the 1950's it was moving wallboard sugar beets, coal, lumber, and Sanpete's famous Norbest Turkeys from Moroni. Also sheep and cattle and the odd bit of Uranium.
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When Thistle was destroyed in 1983 a new main line was built high above the flooded area, not only was part of the branch lost to the flood, there was no way to reconnect to the main without a total redesign of the grades in the Thistle area. So the line was abandoned.

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See more at

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http://utahrails.net/drgw/rg-utah-branches.php

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Please watch: "The Trains of Santa Cruz California"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv0S8Sa18mY
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