#Hever creepr full#

Much of the route of the railroad is now occupied by the Provo River Parkway Trail. After that brief second life, the western end of the branch right-of-way was sold to the Utah Transportation Commission and the tracks between Provo and Vivian Park were taken up. The line was briefly reopened in 1968 to allow the shipment of a very tall Christmas tree from Daniels Canyon (between Heber Valley and Strawberry Reservoir) to Washington, D.C. The Provo Canyon Branch with the Provo River and Highway 189 on the left. Traffic dropped off and eventually the railroad could no longer economically operate the branch. The original line ran along the bottom of the valley, near the Provo River, while the relocated line now runs along the north shore of the reservoir.Īs with many railroad lines, the Provo Canyon Branch was a victim of the post-war shift to car and truck travel over newly improved highways. The wooden trestle carrying the Provo Canyon Branch over Snake Creek.Ī large section of the railroad was rerouted in 1939-1940 as Deer Creek Reservoir was constructed.

#Hever creepr full#

In particular, the branch shipped hundreds of stock cars full of sheep out of Heber Valley through the 1940s and 1950s. It provided both passenger and freight service from its construction 1899 through its initial closure in 1967. The Provo Canyon Branch ran from the mainline in Provo, up the canyon and through Heber Valley to Heber City. The D&RGW mainline ran through Spanish Fork Canyon (where you can still see freight and Amtrak passenger trains at the right time of day), through Provo and up to Salt Lake City. The railroad started its life as the working Provo Canyon Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway, which was constructed in the late 19th-Century to provide a competitor in transcontinental traffic to the Union Pacific. The HVRR running next to the Provo River in Provo Canyon.

From its depot in Heber City, trains run west to Soldier Hollow, along Deer Creek Reservoir, and down Provo Canyon as far as Vivian Park. This tourist railroad has offered trips through Heber Valley and Provo Canyon for over fifty years. Many residents of Utah, especially Wasatch and Utah Counties, have fond memories of riding the Heber Creeper (technically the Heber Valley Historic Railroad).