I just learned the location of my Trucking School has been changed from Irving Texas to Salt Lake City. Anyone here know how good the Action is there?
Must be alright…guys marry multiple women out thataway…
Salt Lake City is a Mormon City. The center of the place is thier Cathedral down in the valley along the mountains. I have been up in Salt Lake many times due to either trucking routes loads through there or necessary stops at the company yard which was best kept to a minimum.
My Spouse and I never felt any hospitality in that city. We did what is necessary and moved on ensuring very little is done in that city. At the time they had humongous construction easily bypassed through the Devils Slide Area for points north and west or vice versa to Ft. Bridger and all points east and Dixie.
Our feelings was reinforced by dispatchers in that office working extremly slowly because we Team was just way too fast for him. We ended up having our super office out of Lancaster bypass Salt Lake for the work so we dont lose too much time waiting on them. Im deliberately leaving out the company name but it wont be too difficult to dig them up.
It is a beautiful land, but one which has alot of weather all the year. I can see it foggy and wet in the morning and snow by dinnertime in the late fall.
It is also rather high up at about 4200 feet MSL if im not mistaken, however you probably will already be at that altitude enough either by jet or crossing the mountains to get there from anywhere in the USA by bus.
The food is good in the truckstops and bring water with you.
Between October 15th to April 15th is most defiately Chain Season. And dont ferget to stop at the Wyoming scales POE to get your cargo logged in on entry and exit.
Good luck in your schooling. Little do you understand the adventures that lie ahead after the schooling is complete.
Speaking as one driver to another… the “Action” doesnt happen up there in Salt Lake. They kept all the fun down there in Texas.
If you do run the Devils Slide, keep an eye out for the Railroad right there near the road. At the west end, there is a jog in the freeway with a bitty powerplant and some parking for good rail sho
Salt Lake City area has lots of railfaning Jim. Right in SLC there is a busy junction that was just re worked to make improvements to the existing lines and add the transit tracks. Here is a google link:
From here the ex WP (being abandoned if not already) and old UP line to LA head west. The exDRGW and UP lines head north to Ogden and southeast to Soldier Summit. It ought to be busier then normal here for a while from the detoured traffic from the out of service Cascade line too.
There is also a big UP yard in town.
And the old DRGW Roper yard (although probably not as busy as it once was)
Then there is the new UP intermodial terminal just west of town on the exWP / UP lines to Oakland & Los Angles
Also there is a museum in the old passenger station with UP DDA40X, Turbine and SP SD9 on display.
If you will have a car there are other things to check out in the area like the UP yard in Ogden, Soldier Summit, the Salt Lake causway, the museum at Promatory Summit. There are also some very scenic spots along the UP between Ogden and Echo Canyon along the busy transcon.
Good luck with your new job,I hope you will have time to railfan…
Mabee Jim could talk the instructor into chaseing with the truck while earning credit [:D]
I will keep those in mind, thanks guys! I hope I can get a rental car while out there!
Have fun and good luck with the training Jim.
Soldier Summit has great places to watch and photograph trains. Problem is, the density of traffic isn’t what it was when the D&RGW was independent and there was a great demand for the coal served by the Utah RR (tracks on the summit are shared by Utah (may already be owned by UP) and the UP.) But I found the rail people there are friendly, far more than reported for CSX, and if you show the right respect and make a good case for yourself for keeping information confidential, you might get tips from railroad people on the times of the trains that do run. And then there is Amtrak’s California Zephyr, but not a great on-time performer these days (but not nearly as bad as the Sunset Limited).
There is an occasional BNSF train operating on the Summit by trackage rights.
The local TRAX light rail system has some interesting photo opportunities, with some of the line remeniscent of the interurbans. Part of the main (southern) line to Sandy is also used by diesel freight, but that is at night when the passenger service has a recess.
You should ride the California Zephyr between Salt Lake City and Denver. The scenery is magnificent and worth the fare.
I am Jewish and never found the Mormons to be unfriendly. Quite the contrary. And the Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city is one of America’s most beautiful and well worth a visit to experience its interior beauty. And Salt Lake City is one of the USA’s most safe and clean.
There is lots of good classical music also, with the Tabernacle Choir concerts, occasional organ recitals at the Taberncacle, Assembly Hall, and at the Catholic Cathedral, and some of the other churches, Mormon and otherwise, around town. All free! Then the regular Utah Symphony concerts at the very beautiful modern concert hall built on traditional concepts. There is also modern and experimental theatre.
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