roadhound Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 I am finalizing my route for a week long trip from California to Utah and back. I've got the return trip nailed down and we will be following the Lincoln Highway\US 50 westward. However, I am still working out details for the trip out which will be following I-80 east from Wadsworth to Wells. Just after Wells we will be heading North-East to Lucin, Utah, and catching the Transcontintal Roadway Bed and following it into Promontory, Utah. I found the attached 1917 & 1919 Nevada maps on the University of Nevada web site. Is the road highlighted in red on the second map the Victory? What route did the VH take in Utah prior to the completion of the Wendover cutoff? I have read that the Victory was routed over the north end of the Great Salt Lake prior to building of the Wendover Cutoff but have never been able to locate any specifics on the location. I am not able to find much on the web about the Victory Highway. Google searches don't turn up much and even though the VH is referenced in Wikipedia it does not have its own listing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 1917 Nevada map 1919 Nevada map Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Roadhound, I have been to Montello via Wendover and Cobre, but not beyond. You should find Montello interesting and worth a drive around. Some nice photo ops, including a neat brick building on the main drag and some fascinating residences. I’ll be interested to hear what its like beyond Montello. And to see your photos. The Victory and the later Lincoln were contiguous into Salt Lake (as I recall, I’ll confirm that in the AM), so No, that isn’t the Victory. But it is a very early auto road. I have a story around here about a couple driving that in 1908 or so in a Brush. That was the reason for my trip up the road. Don’t despair however as my 1921 Transcontinental ABB states it is part of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway (PPOO), which I like better than the Victory anyway. I have the turn by turn for the route if you want it. I can probably add maps of the PPOO but it looks like you have a good start. Let me know what you may want and I’ll try to scan it. Keep the Show on the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted July 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 Roadhound, I have been to Montello via Wendover and Cobre, but not beyond. You should find Montello interesting and worth a drive around. Some nice photo ops, including a neat brick building on the main drag and some fascinating residences. I’ll be interested to hear what its like beyond Montello. And to see your photos. The Victory and the later Lincoln were contiguous into Salt Lake (as I recall, I’ll confirm that in the AM), so No, that isn’t the Victory. But it is a very early auto road. I have a story around here about a couple driving that in 1908 or so in a Brush. That was the reason for my trip up the road. Don’t despair however as my 1921 Transcontinental ABB states it is part of the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway (PPOO), which I like better than the Victory anyway. I have the turn by turn for the route if you want it. I can probably add maps of the PPOO but it looks like you have a good start. Let me know what you may want and I’ll try to scan it. Keep the Show on the road! I would be extremely interested in seeing the turn by turn for the Eastern Neveda and Utah sections of the PPOO, especially if it covers the road between Wells and Montello. My choice when we get to Wells will be to stay on I-80 until Oasis and then head north or follow the route that is outlined on the 1919 map. I can see that there is a road that follows the railroad tracks just like 1919 map but the resolution on Google Earth is not high enough for that area to tell if it is paved or dirt. I'm learning something new every day. Up until a few days ago when the PPOO was mentioned on another post I was not aware of it. I just spent a few minutes searching google for it and found a couple of informative sites with a few maps. I was not aware that it came out to my neck of the woods for a few years before they completely re-routed it down to LA. Roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Roadhound, Wells itself is worth a stop. Be sure to get to the section along the railroad track. It is a classic facing-the-tracks-town strip. (BTW, Belles Hacienda Ranch across the tracks is short on farm stock!). Seventh Street was the old road, then it moved south a block, and now it is I-80. The Pikes Peak Ocean To Ocean through Wells, NV Oasis is a little interesting, but Cobre is all but gone. There is some railroad history there. I should also note that if you are coming out on the Victory through Winnemuca, you cross and follow the famed California Trail much of the way. You will enjoy Montello. A few grab shots taken along the Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway through Montello follow. The Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway eastbound out of Montello, NV This may be the old railroad station, moved here and once a residence. I am enclosing the 1916 road directions below. This is from the 1916 TIB Guide. The 1921 ABB page follows: What is your route beyond Montello? I ask because I think you can drive on sections of the original transcontinental railroad bed if you are crossing north of Salt Lake. More will follow as I get the opportunity. Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted July 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Roadhound, Wells itself is worth a stop. Be sure to get to the section along the railroad track. It is a classic facing-the-tracks-town strip. (BTW, Belles Hacienda Ranch across the tracks is short on farm stock!). Seventh Street was the old road, then it moved south a block, and now it is I-80. What is your route beyond Montello? I ask because I think you can drive on sections of the original transcontinental railroad bed if you are crossing north of Salt Lake. More will follow as I get the opportunity. Keep the Show on the Road! Thanks KtSotR! As usual the information that you have at your fingertips never ceases to amaze me. I will now have to spend some time and match up the locations with a present day map. Our destination on Day 2 is to drive the Transcontintental Railroad. When the Southern Pacific RR built their causeway across the Great Salt Lake they left a 90 mile section between Lucin and Promontory unused. This original section of the Transcontinentaly RR includes the section were the record of 10 miles of track was laid in a single day. (Amazing Side Note: The day that 10 miles of track were laid each man that was responsible for carrying the rails carried the equivelent of 123 tons of rail each! ) The tracks were removed in 1942 and now 90 mile drive is possible along the railroad grade. More info: http://www.ut.blm.gov/recsite/otherpages/central.html The way things are looking now is that we will leave the Interstate in Wells, follow the PPOO as much as possible to Montello, and then catch the Transcontintental railbed near Lucin. Should be a good days drive. Last time we passed through Wells we stopped and walked along the road facing the railroad tracks and then went a few miles Northwest and had lunch in Metropolis. There's not much left there, and we had to bring our own lunch, but how many people can actually say they've been to Metropolis? All that remains of Metropolis is the foundation of the bank and high school. No sign of Superman. Roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted July 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 After looking at a multitude of maps, reviewing the turn by turn description provided by Keep the Show on the Road, and exploring the area with both Google Earth and Mapquest I am fairly confident that the section of road between Wells and Cobre that was once known as the Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway is still there. I am also fairly confident that the PPOO utilized a section of railroad bed that was once part of the Transcontinental Railway and may in fact be the original road bed graded by the CPRR during the original construction. The radius of the curves are just like those that would be have been built for a railroad plus they are alongside the current railroad bed which was likely a replacement for the original. The question of whether or not the road is driveable still remains. The roadbed looks intact on Mapquest, which had a better image of the area than Google Earth, and there doesn't appear to be any areas that are washed out. Only the onsite research can truly determine whether the PPOO still lives. The true test will come when we actually drive it. I will report back at the end of the month. I've printed out the posted scans from the 1916 TIB and 1922 ABB and we will see how accurate they are. roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Since you are going in a single vehicle, I’m sure you will travel smart 1. Carry plenty of water (not only to drink, but to cool off if you stall), gas up in Wells, and check your spare. (VERY BIG CAUTION: NO KIDDING! DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ABOVE 105 ARE PREDICTED. VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE) 2. Carry a couple of good FRS walkie talkies 3. Advise someone that you will telephone them when you arrive at your destination and give them the FRS channel you will use in emergency. They should know the phone number of the county sheriff in your intended travel area in case you don’t call. 4. Carry a GPS so you can give your coordinates in an emergency. 5. Plot GPS waypoints on your map prior to leaving. 6. Carry extra batteries. If I find the story of the couple who did this route in about 1908, I’ll e-mail it. Have a fun and smart trip and Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhound Posted July 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Since you are going in a single vehicle, I’m sure you will travel smart 1. Carry plenty of water (not only to drink, but to cool off if you stall), gas up in Wells, and check your spare. (VERY BIG CAUTION: NO KIDDING! DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ABOVE 105 ARE PREDICTED. VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE) 2. Carry a couple of good FRS walkie talkies 3. Advise someone that you will telephone them when you arrive at your destination and give them the FRS channel you will use in emergency. They should know the phone number of the county sheriff in your intended travel area in case you don’t call. 4. Carry a GPS so you can give your coordinates in an emergency. 5. Plot GPS waypoints on your map prior to leaving. 6. Carry extra batteries. If I find the story of the couple who did this route in about 1908, I’ll e-mail it. Have a fun and smart trip and Keep the Show on the Road! Good advice for any trip, thanks. Last thing that I want to have happen is for the whole country to hear about my trip on the evening news. To many of those type of stories lately. I had not thought of getting the Sheriff's phone numbers prior to departing, excellent idea. GPS? Believe it or not I don't own one yet. Any recommendations? Believe me when I say that I am taking the preperations very seriously, especially when it comes to the weather. I have already purchased 3 cases of water and have 2-3 gallon jugs that I will also fill up with water. Since we will be camping on part of the trip we will also be packing a fair amount of food at the beginning, mostly prepackaged stuff like fruit cups and the like, that won't require refrigeration. I've got a repair kit for the truck and a fully stocked tool box. If you have a chance to e-mail me the 1908 story I would like to read it to help give me a sense of perspective. roadhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 You may find more information on following the old rail bed at Trails.com under Transcontinental Railroad Trail. And the Oregon- California Trails Association did a trip in 1997 along it. Go to the site below to read about it. http://www.utahcrossroads.org/G_FT1097.htm One caution they noted is that flat tires were common because of old railroad spikes on the roadbed. At least a couple of their vehicles got flats I have no right to give safety tips because I have been stuck without an adequate backup plan too often. But if the temperature is 109, and you are in sand up to the running boards, or experience a second flat tire, it is a bad time to wish you had planned ahead. I only know two things about GPS. One, don’t leave one on top of your car then drive away. And two, I don’t think the one I own is worth bragging about. Having exhausted my knowledge has never kept me from opining. I would like one that had good maps displayed on a screen I could see in daylight. I don’t need a voice telling me where to turn, but I do need maps that show back roads. DennyG uses a pretty fancy one and may be of help. I would not travel off-road without one today, so I would at least buy a cheapie. My guess is it won’t be your last one, and your first one should tell you what you want on the next one. Like a camera, your first one told you what you wanted on the next one. Twice in the past 10 years I have saved myself at least a long walk by having one, once in a labyrinth of logging roads on the Oregon coast and once in western Utah on the Lincoln Highway. I mark latitude and longitude at several junctures or crossroads along my route. Then I never miss a turn, or take a wrong turn. And should I get disoriented, it is great to know how far and in what direction your waypoint is. I am looking for the 1908 story. I will send it when it is uncovered! Are you still leaving mid month? keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 Having had a touch of heat stroke in a 108 degree desert, I can say with some authority that this is not something you want to experience, even if you do have plenty of cool water to drink. Yikes. jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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