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Railroad History: A Guide to Historic Railroad Sites in Evanston brochure
Railroad History: A Guide to Historic Railroad Sites in Evanston
The Tour
The tour covers six historic railroad sites in Evanston. It starts at Depot Square at Front Street and 10th Street. On the 300 days a year when the sun is shining in Evanston, this is a great 3.5 mile walk that takes about two hours to complete. It is also a nice drive.
1. Depot Square
The Union Pacific Passenger Depot was constructed in 1900, replacing a wooden structure just to the northwest. The building is architecturally unique among depots on the UP line in Wyoming. On the inside were separate waiting rooms for men and women. The Depot served passengers until Amtrak service was discontinued in Wyoming. This public building is now used for community events and private parties.
2. Roundhouse and Railyards
Union Pacific built this 28-stall brick roundhouse in 1912 to service steam locomotives running between Green River, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah. It replaced a smaller stone roundhouse. Other buildings in the railyards include the recently restored machine shop and the powerhouse where steam heat was generated for the complex. This is the last remaining complete roundhouse on the old Union Pacific line between Omaha and Sacramento. Restoration is underway.
3. Railroad Worker Housing
Many of the houses along Main Street facing the Roundhouse and Railyards were built between 1895 and 1910. The modest homes were owned by railroad workers, in contrast to the larger homes higher up the hill in the historic residential district where engineers and company officials lived.
4. Ice Ponds
In the late 1890s, Pacific Fruit Express teamed with Union Pacific to create a series of icing stations along the UP line so produce from the West Coast could be kept chilled. Evanston was one of those stations. The Bear River was diverted into two ponds where ice was harvested in the winter and stored in several long narrow “ice houses.” The icing operations were abandoned in the early 1920s when electric refrigeration cars came into use. The ponds were restored in the late 1980s to serve as a recreation area.
5. Old Steam Engine and Railroad Park
A 1915 steam engine is the main attraction in Railroad Park, located near the corners of Elm and Oak streets in north Evanston. There also are two box cars, one of which has been converted into a picnic area. The engine eventually may be moved indoors at the roundhouse but for now you can climb aboard and imagine you are an engineer.
6. Chinatown Archaeological Site
There is nothing left of Evanston’s Chinatown, which was located just across the tracks from the Union Pacific Depot. But an archaeological dig is under way in an open field across the street from the recycling center, at the intersection of County Road and China Mary Road. A small plaque marks the spot. Some of the artifacts discovered here can be seen in the Joss House Museum at Depot Square. The Joss House is a reproduction of the Chinese temple that once stood near this spot.
Evanston is a Railroad Town
The first tent was pitched here in November of 1868 as crews building the Union Pacific Railroad approached from the east. Named after UP Surveyor James A. Evans, the town quickly became a major stop on the railroad. Coal mines opened in nearby Almy to fuel the steam engines and Chinese laborers arrived to both work on the tracks and mine the coal. Locomotives were repaired at the Evanston roundhouse until 1925. From 1926 until 1971 items for the entire Union Pacific system were repaired or manufactured at the railyards here. But modern diesel engines eventually made most of the railroad facilities obsolete and passenger service was discontinued in 1994. This is a guide to some of the reminders of Evanston’s proud railroad past.
Stay & Play in Evanston
In Evanston You Can
- Enjoy the wildlife and nature trails of Bear River State Park and the Evanston River Walk
- Shop and eat in downtown Evanston, a National Historic District.
- Golf at the Purple Sage Golf Course, boat at Sulfur Creek Reservoir and hike in the Uinta Mountains during the summer.
- Drive the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. In the winter it is a paradise for snow machines and cross-country skiing.
- Visit nearby Fort Bridger, established in 1843 by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez.
- Take home a piece of railroad history Limited edition HO scale model railroad cars can be purchased at the Evanston City Hall. Proceeds help fund restoration of the Roundhouse and Railyards.
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Visitor Information
Evanston Chamber of Commerce, 1020 Front Street, Evanston, WY 82930
800-328-9708 * 307-783-0370
