Deep Creek Railroad
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railroad |
| Founded | 1917 |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Headquarters | Wendover , United States |
Area served | Utah, Nevada |
Key people | Reed Smoot (financier) |
| Products | Rail transport services (freight and passenger) |
| Parent | Western Pacific Railroad (from 1918) |
The Deep Creek Railroad was a rail enterprise responsible for constructing and managing a 45-mile track stretching between Wendover and Gold Hill, Utah. Founded in 1917 to facilitate transportation for the mining operations near Gold Hill, it remained active for 22 years before ceasing operations due to persistently low traffic volumes.
History
During the late 19th century, explorers ventured into Utah's isolated Deep Creek Mountains, triggering a short-lived gold rush that led to the establishment of Gold Hill in 1892. Although the initial boom was brief, the 1910s witnessed a surge in copper demand driven by the expanding use of electricity, which revitalized mining interests. Prosperous nearby mining areas such as Ely, Nevada and Bingham Canyon, Utah inspired Gold Hill investors to seek comparable growth.
In 1916, plans for the Deep Creek Railroad were developed to facilitate ore transport from these mines, supported by financiers including Utah Senator Reed Smoot and the president of Western Pacific Railroad. Completed in 1917, the railway linked Wendover—located on the Utah-Nevada border—with Western Pacific's rail system. The line followed a southern path close to Nevada’s border, briefly crossing into Nevada to avoid difficult terrain before arriving at Gold Hill. Additionally, a short spur line served adjacent mining sites.
Constructed rapidly and with cost-efficiency in mind, minimizing earth-moving efforts, the railroad operated with two used steam engines acquired from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, alongside one passenger coach and a single boxcar. Freight cars owned by connecting railroads carried ore shipments. By 1918, it became a subsidiary of Western Pacific, which provided financial backing owing to freight traffic flowing through its network.
Nevertheless, copper reserves dwindled by 1920. Although tungsten and arsenic were also transported from the region, mineral output drastically declined after 1925. This downturn severely reduced traffic levels, eventually limiting service to just one weekly roundtrip on Fridays. With no improvement forthcoming, the railroad was discontinued in 1939. Remnants of its former trackbed are still observable today.