Boat used to maintain railroad trestle over 120 years ago reappears on Great Salt Lake

The boat, owned by a local railroad, is believed to have shipwrecked over 120 years ago.

Great Salt Lake Park & Marina

A recent storm in Utah has uncovered some railroad history. Winds reached 55 mph, which was enough to nudge a steel boat free so it could be visible on the Great Salt Lake. The boat apparently shipwrecked in the late 19^th or early 20^th century.

The boat is believe to have belong to the Southern Pacific Railroad, which was using it over 120 years ago to maintain a trestle and causeway. According to Dave Shearer, manager of the Great Salt Lake Park, Southern Pacific Railroad was taking a lot of logs up to the railroad causeway or to the railroad, and was also taking stuff from the railroad back to mining camps.

Shearer said the steel boat looks to be about 30 to 40 ft long.

“Some of these boats experienced tragic endings only to be buried in the sand by storms,” the Great Salt Lake State Park & Marina said on its Facebook page. “But storms can also uncover them as the most recent one did by the Great Salt Lake Marina.”

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