Existing comment:
Why a cut-off was needed:
Since the completion of the transcontinental railroad, Promontory Summit's sharp grades and many curves remained an obstacle hindering train travel. As trains became heavier and longer with increasing freight and passenger loads, they were broken into segments with helper or "hog" locomotives used to cross the Promontory Mountains. This resulted in bottlenecks and train jams even in good weather conditions. The time it took to travel 147 miles between Ogden and Lucin, Utah, took 36 hours and cost the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) (who leased the Central Pacific Railroad at the time), thousands of dollars in maintenance and operating costs. |