Union Pacific Railroad Complex (Evanston, Wyoming)

The Union Pacific Railroad Complex in Evanston, Wyoming, was built to serve the Union Pacific Railroad main line running through Evanston. The complex's brick buildings were built in 1912–13, with frame buildings spanning the period from 1871 to the 1920s. The complex features a roundhouse with 27 stalls built during the 1912 improvement phase, replacing an earlier roundhouse built in 1871. The complex was the chief service point on the UP main line between Ogden, Utah, and Green River, Wyoming.[2]

Union Pacific Railroad Complex
Part of the roundhouse
Union Pacific Railroad Complex (Evanston, Wyoming) is located in Wyoming
Union Pacific Railroad Complex (Evanston, Wyoming)
Union Pacific Railroad Complex (Evanston, Wyoming) is located in the United States
Union Pacific Railroad Complex (Evanston, Wyoming)
LocationMain and 15th Sts., Evanston, Wyoming
Coordinates41°16′16″N 110°58′9″W / 41.27111°N 110.96917°W / 41.27111; -110.96917
Area15 acres (6.1 ha)
Built1885
ArchitectUnion Pacific
NRHP reference No.85000685[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 26, 1985

Five brick structures remain: the roundhouse, machine shop, gas building, storehouse and the mineral building. Five frame buildings include an office, a woodworking shop and a company store.[3]

The maintenance depot was closed and transferred to Green River in 1927. The Evanston complex became the Union Pacific Reclamation Plant, where rolling stock received heavy overhaul. It was the largest employer in Evanston, employing more than 300. The Union Pacific deeded the complex to Evanston in 1974. An overhaul facility for railcars reopened the same year.[2] Starting as the Wyoming Railcar Company, the operation was absorbed by the Lithcote Company, which was in turn acquired by the Union Tank Car Company. The Union Tank Car Company moved out of the complex in 1998. The roundhouse complex is being restored by the Evanston Renewal Agency.[4]

Near the complex is a disused Union Pacific train station, built in 1900 and donated to the city of Evanston in the late 1980s.[5] The depot last saw service in 1983, when the San Francisco Zephyr was discontinued[6] and again from 1991 to 1997 with the Pioneer.

The Union Pacific Railroad Complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[1]

Preceding station Union Pacific Railroad Following station
Wahsatch
toward Ogden
Overland Route Knight

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "Union Pacific Railroad Complex". Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  3. ^ Gorman, Michael; Starr, Eileen; Bollinger, Sharon (1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Union Pacific Railroad Complex". National Park Service. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  4. ^ Buller, Erin (October 28, 2008). "Union Tank Car celebrates 10 years at new facility". Uinta County Herald. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  5. ^ "Evanston Union Pacific Depot". Historic Wyoming. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "Last passenger trains rolling across Wyoming". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
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