Deseret News | FrontRunner service starts amid festivities

FrontRunner service starts amid festivities

Officials hail return of commuter rail to Utah

By Arthur Raymond
Deseret News

Published: Sunday, April 27, 2008 1:16 a.m. MDT

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A new chapter in Utah's storied railroad history began Saturday with the inaugural run of the Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner commuter-rail service.

Festivities kicked off early Saturday morning in Ogden and headed south to Salt Lake City with a train full of invited dignitaries, guest speakers and UTA officials. Mini-celebrations were held in Ogden, Roy, Clearfield, Layton, Farmington and Woods Cross, leading to the featured grand opening event in the plaza of the new Salt Lake Central Station.

In a theme that was revisited in presentations at the new rail stations, the idea of what once was old becoming new again took on a new significance in the form of the red, white and blue FrontRunner engine and bi-level passenger cars.

At the Ogden kick-off, UTA Board of Trustees vice president Robert Hunter introduced Gordon Cardall, a Davis County native who grew up listening to the sound of the Bamberger electric commuter trains that passed his boyhood home in Centerville. Cardall would eventually go to work for the Bamberger, which plied a nearly identical path between Ogden and Salt Lake as the new FrontRunner trains.

He started as a 15-year-old and worked his way to full-fledged "trolleyman" by the time he reached 16. Cardall recalled his days with a wry humor.

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"Working for Bamberger was like being in the Russian Army," Cardall said. "If you had 20 years with them, you were still a rookie."

Cardall said the electric-powered train, which began service in 1905, whisked passengers along at a pace in the range of the new service — about 75 mph — and could make the Ogden-Salt Lake run in an hour. Cardall also had the distinction of driving the last train operated by Bamberger, a swan song that played out on Sept. 15, 1952. Cardall said he was very happy to be around to see the rebirth of commuter rail on his old run.

Transit as a seed of development opportunity was a concept also recognized by speakers honoring FrontRunner's maiden journey. Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey praised UTA, local officials and the Ogden community for supporting the project and raised the possibilities the new service brings.

"Trains have been an important part of Ogden's economic stability ... for more than 100 years," Godfrey said. "This very platform can once again be a gateway for economic prosperity for our community if we are prepared for it and we do the right things."

Clearfield Mayor Don Wood encouraged the audience at his community's new station to celebrate the FrontRunner service as a first step toward bigger goals.

"What you see here today is just the basic beginnings," Wood said. "One day you will see high-rise office buildings, you will see restaurants ... retail ... you will see this 70 acres developed to be a showplace for Clearfield city."