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Union Pacific's
Yellowstone Special Part 1 Teton Valley Branch |
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![]() Union Pacific Eastern Idaho branches, 1916. |
In July, 1965, my family and my teenage self spent two weeks at the Taylor (dude) Ranch in Victor, Idaho (elev. 6205 ft), just west of Grand Teton National Park. The first thing that I noticed when we drove into the village was the short yellow Union Pacific train sitting behind the town's largest building, the depot. The train was UP's summer-only Yellowstone Special, and the town sat at the end of Union Pacific's Teton Valley Branch (completed in 1913) which ran down the drop-dead-gorgeous valley of the same name. At the time, the valley was lightly settled and declining in population like many farming areas - surrounding Teton County boasted 2639 souls in 1960, 2351 in 1970 (3921 in 1920). UP served Victor's population of something less than 300 people with a year-round mixed train, which carried passengers in the caboose. Freight cars mainly hauled agricultural products - farm machinery, seed, cattle and the like. As it turned out, 1965 was to be the last year of operation for the Yellowstone Special. Until 1960, the Special ran up the Yellowstone Branch to West Yellowstone, Montana, with a few cars being set-out at Ashton, Idaho for the run down to Victor. From 1961-65, the Special ran directly to Victor, with a bus connection at Ashton for West Yellowstone. |
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On this page you shall find various items related to the Teton Valley Branch, Idaho. On the following page, I've amassed a small collection timetables, maps and etc., followed by a short list of relevant online and printed matter, should you be as fascinated by these trains as I am. - E.O. |
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VICTOR DEPOT |
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When I discovered the depot in 1965, it was as tidy an ediface as a person could find, in immaculate white paint with a neat little garden on its south side. In September, 2012 I visited Victor for a second time to find the building refurbished and painted in its original yellow / brown colors; divided into apartments. The depot is now owned by the city, which has plans to make it the focus of a scenic byway interpretive center. Since my latest visit, Teton Vallet Magazine has presented a wonderful article about the Victor depot and its trains, written by Dan Buchan as a follow-up to his original Ties to the Past, which has been offered by Wx4 in PDF form for some time. Appearing in the same issue with Dan's latest effort is a nice piece, authored by Karen L. Reinhart, about the Teton Transportation Company bus service that once ferried railroad passengers over the hill to Jackson, Moran and Grand Teton National Park. Teton Valley Magazine Editor in Chief Mac McCoy has kindly assented to the placing of PDF copies of the aforementioned articles on Wx4. Thanks to all, especially Dan Buchan who facilitated this.
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Depot Photos Then: July 1965
Now: September 2012 |
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The Layout, July 1965: Victor sat at the end of the Teton Valley Branch, and equipment was turned on a wye. In steam days, a 50,000 wooden water tank stood just south of the garden. At left is the crude No-I'm-Not-Joe-Cartographer diagram that I drew at the time. Note Pierre's Playhouse, a slapstick melodrama theater that first opened a couple of years prior to my visit. It was a hoot! Of late it fell on hard times, but in the fall of 2021 it found a new owner, although it remains to be seen if the melodrama theme will be revived. (click image for enlarged version) |
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The Equipment, July 1965 the train that day consisted of: a GP-9; GP-9B; heavyweight baggage; two modernized heavyweight chair cars: modernize heavyweight club-lounge; lightweight sleeper. There was also a PFE reefer and a m/w box in the yard. |
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Yellowstone Special, July 1965
PFE company ice service 40' reefer |
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