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Show Old Heber City and the Heber Creeper (T TtT Of 11 Throughout the winter, curious passcrsby have watched with interest as old buildings have arrived on location from all over the state. Occasionally, they wondered whose horse was tied up at the cantina, wandering closer, they peered into the old country store and found its proprietors, proprie-tors, Ed and Rosalynn Grose. inside carefully arranging authentic local antiques. Weeks passed and it became evident that a miniature Main Street had appeared sporting a blacksmith shop, a Chinese laundry, a saloon (natch) and Sheriff's Office. The street was quiet though with only spordic bursts of energy mainly in and around the Corinne Depot. ? J ': S .; . . A ..J t 4 T , t. - . . . - 5 . x i . I " . - - - . 'V X We travel too fast these days. Hven with the speed limit restricted to 55 mph, it's tough to absorb the scenery wc travel through. Take Provo Canyon for example. If you drive it regularly you have probabh ceased to notice the grandeur gran-deur of the craggy granite peaks, setting your sights instead on passing the meandering carload of tourists tou-rists in front of you. No wonder we are so often tired, suffering from varying degrees de-grees of jet lag. If you doubt or just can't remember the beneficial aspects of slowing down, may we prescribe a trip to Old Heber City and a leisurely ride on the Heber Creeper, where the pace of life in 1909 has been revived. You will be astounded by how much more you see traveling at 12 mph, with the soothing rumble of the track and the nostalgic hoot of the engine's whistle in the background. Preservation of the historic Southern Pacific rail spur has at times been an uphill battle, but Heberites have staunchly refused to aban-' aban-' don their Creeper. Though winter avalanches have stood the track on end, though there have been lease disputes and threats of a superhighway, the magical lure of the Heber Creeper has survived. This year, with the formation of the non-profit Timpanogos Preservation Society, and the addition oi Old Heber City, the Heber Creeper has been established estab-lished as an institution and a popular one at that. ' .... ; ; . S ' ' . In , - . ) , i ; ' v J f I - v . ; ' - ' n ' ; ' ' ..... . - A ride on a real steam locomotive and a bag of chips. What more could a kid hope for? Conductor Randy Riter collects tickets and answers questions ques-tions about the historic train. ' 1 t y 1 " . f - . i .f ' f , -j. I ' i f i Y - ' : : '' ' - , " I ,' ' . ' ' ' " I - i A. -". , , . .. . .. . i Si - ... - ' - ' ' t r . s " , ' 1 - ... - ' - " T, " ' , r - : 1 ..V... ' ' C: " -'""! :-.-(' -. 1 j S . ' r- : ! I s 1 1 't i ' " , . :,::..- . s E . : ' ; ' '"' ' '' ' ' ' "' '' I j ... - v - ' I ! I V 5 j : 1 - . ' ; A popcorn break from all of the excitement. Kim Stirland serenades the passengers in the Harriman coach cars. Back 1 00 Y ears All was quiet in Old Heber City that is until last weekend. Utah railbuffs celebrated " not only the anniversary of the Golden Spike, which joined the east and west coast rail systems for the first time, but also the grand opening of the Heber Creeper and Old Heber City. Main Street bustled with activity. In fact, Sheriff Brady had a tough time keeping Claude Shark out of trouble with the tourists. While visitors sipped saspa-rilla saspa-rilla at Belle Star's Saloon, played the gaming tables at the Cantina and had their photos taken at Miss Lilly's Photopourri, Claude and Belle were busy framing the bank's teller and making off with the payroll. It all ended well though under the big top after which the Old West Players waved their audience off on the 11:00 Heber Creeper to Bridal Veil Falls. At 11:00 precisely, Conductor Con-ductor Randy Riter shouted, "All Aboard." While some passengers curled up into the comfortable seats of the Harriman cars, others dashed dash-ed up to the front open air car just behind the old oil burning Southern Pacific steam engine. A straggler dashed from the depot and leapt onto the train just as the whistle sounded. At the same moment, Heberites all over town nodded with pleasure at the familiar sound. Engineer Doug Brown guided the train slowly through traffic finally crossing cross-ing over new green fields toward Deer Creek Reservoir. Reser-voir. Alongside the tracks, cars pulled over to watch the historic train chug on by with children waving furiously from the crowded car behind the engine. Once adjusted to the pace . and less afraid of missing something, tourists drifted back toward the snack bar where Penny and MaryDee were cheerfully serving up hot dogs, popcorn and licorice ropes. Further back, in the rare and luxurious Harriman cars, Kim Stirland serenaded a car full of families some of whose members were happily recalling re-calling the days when the train was the only way to travel. Some of the passengers were from as far away as New York City but many were local Utahns who had always meant to ride the Creeper but were just getting around to it. Almost all of them were surprised at' how different Deer Creek looked from the 'other side' and there were ooos and ahhs over the large brown trout visible just below the surface of the lake. Soda pop in hand most of the youngsters moved back up front to the converted flat car as the Creeper started through Provo Canyon. Tree branches brushed their elbows el-bows and the Provo River raced alongside the train. Conductor Riter moved through the train reminding passengers not to lean too far out of the cars. "It's the people," he says, "that make this job worthwhile." Riter had just returned from the Sacramento Rail Fair, where, upon comparing notes with many other railbuffs, he concluded with confidence that the Creeper "is one of the best historic railroads in the country with one of the finest collections of old cas and engines. All eyes turned upward as the train rounded the last bend before Bridal Veil Falls. While the engineeer drove the engine around to' the other end of the train for the return trip and more passengers purchased tickets, tic-kets, most of the passengers took advantage of the Vi lour break to stretch their ! ;gs and take a closer look at he falls. Sheriff Brady lopped the train on the way lome to make sure no one lad been scalped by Indians and to invite everyone to the Old West Players Show in the tent. Last stop, Heber City. Reluctantly to rejoin the hustle and bustle of 1981, passengers lingered on Main Street and promised Belle they would return. The Helx r Creeper runs twice each Saturday and Sunday until Memorial Day weekend leaving Heber City at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Passengers may also join the train at Bridal Veil Falls at 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the train will run daily on the same schedule with the addition of a Family Night Special on Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. and the Deluxe Night Train Fridays and Saturday evenings. Reservations Re-servations are recommended for all trips. Round trip tickets are &3.50 for children 3-12 years cul; $7 for adults. Group rates are available. Call 531-0022 (SLC) or 654-2621 (Heber) for reservations reser-vations and information. I ' . J r ....... . v . -4 '.." - " , . " . : , -. . 1 " ! x :;; l l ' ' . ! t 1 - - J." - -f . '-: A' t - - I-- V i i ' 4 i I ' - i ' : ',1 I r.N ..... , . , .......... H, , Chief Mechanicai Officer Craig Drury explained that maintaining the 1901 steam engine is an art which has been passed down from generation to generation. iw;Mtj8?2JT'' ,-.. ....... t .. .. ...... -.. .. -v . j i ! f " mnv y f I ' ' 1 I -I ' r . ' , v ! J V- 1 i'v Vfl ) , - j I. : .1 . - ' J x r j : , fi til If r-M : :J - i 1 i:il " r' t ' - rt - ' . " M . 4? . , , : I Resident blacksmith Jan Pearson also designs custom inlaid in-laid pistol handles, jewelry and leather work. J.D. Silvester and Curtis Powers, members of Utah Stuntmen's Association, add to the scenery. |
