BOX ELDER COUNTY — Many folks have family in town for the holidays, and if you’re looking for a family-friendly event to take them to, the annual Winter Steam Festival will be held this Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Golden Spike National Historic Park in Box Elder County.
The festival is one of the park’s most popular events of the year, the annual tradition is a great opportunity for families to have fun and learn about an incredible part of Utah’s history. On KVNU’s For the People program on Friday, Justin Glasgow, supervisory ranger at Golden Spike talked about how the festival got started.
“I think we’ve been doing this since 1990, its precursor was actually a film festival in the (19)80’s. And then somebody thought, ‘we should bring out a locomotive during the Winter Film Festival, and then (it started) in 1990. So, we’re on our 34th year here of doing the Winter Steam Festival, so, it’s a very special event for us,” he explained.
Glasgow said the film component dropped off around the mid-1990’s because the locomotive demonstrations took over the show, no pun intended.
“But the cold air and the heavy warm steam coming up, the contrast is quite nice. And, of course for those of us who are local to the area and have been out here, you know that these are Victorian-style locomotives, so they’re brightly colored and very ornate. They are certainly something to behold on a crisp, winter day.”
This year, the Union Pacific Locomotive No. 119 will take center stage during this year’s steam demonstrations. Visitors will have the unique opportunity to see, hear and feel the power of this Victorian-era replica locomotive as it travels along the historic Transcontinental Railroad grade.
And be able to step back in time and experience the sights and sounds of an era that transformed the nation.
Other activities include locomotive cab tours, hand-car and motor car rides.
Golden Spike National Historical Park is 32 miles west of Brigham City. To get there drive west on Utah 13 and 83 through Corinne (follow brown directional signs) to Golden Spike Drive. Turn left and follow signs to the visitor center (8 miles).
The park did issue a Winter Driving Alert, which states that with recent snows Thursday and occurring through Friday afternoon and evening, expect hazardous driving conditions leading into the park. Some area routes may remain unplowed with ice and snow accumulating on the roads. Caution is advised.