'Really iconic': Ogden museum secures $200K grant to rehab old Saltair train car

OGDEN — A historic open-air railcar that used to haul patrons to the old Saltair resort on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake will be getting a massive facelift so it can be put on display at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden.

The 104-year-old car is currently sitting unprotected on a section of unused rail line adjacent to the Weber County Fairgrounds complex, deteriorating. But Ogden officials have secured $200,000 in grant funding to help restore it to its former glory.

"These are really iconic," said Hope Eggett, administrator of Museums at Union Station, the grouping of museums at the old Ogden train station that includes the railroad museum. The open sides allowed passengers to "get that nice salty breeze in your face."

Each car featured three distinctive steps leading to the seating area. The backing of the seat rows could be moved forward or backward, allowing passengers to face toward or against the direction they were traveling. They hauled passengers from Salt Lake City to Saltair, a resort and getaway spot along the Great Salt Lake that peaked in popularity in the 1920s and closed in 1958, according to the Utah Historical Society.

The Saltair car to get rehabbed is one of two owned by the city and Utah State Railroad Museum. They are among the 13 Saltair cars built in all in 1922 and operated on the old Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway, which served the Salt Lake City and Toole areas.

'Positive energy'

The total restoration cost of the Saltair car is estimated at $205,000, according to Eggett, and museum officials are working to secure the final $5,000 needed. Then bids will be sought to complete the work, which she thinks should take around 18 months. Once the rehabilitation is complete, the car will be placed on the railroad museum grounds at Union Station.

"It's also our first piece of civilian passenger equipment that'll be on display," Eggett said. Most of the other trains on display served the freight industry.

Sitting with the two surviving Saltair cars adjacent to the fairgrounds complex are old Bamberger and Moon Glow cars. No specific plans are in the works to rehab them, but Eggett holds out hope.

She hopes the "positive energy" created by renovating the Saltair car "shows what can be accomplished with a little bit of TLC," she said.

The Moon Glow car from the late 1940s featured a viewing dome in its top that was designed to renew interest in passenger rail service as numbers of riders waned. The Bamberger car was used in a passenger trolley system that connected Ogden and Salt Lake City.