Mohrland to Gordon Creek Bridge

UT · Mohrland → Gordon Creek Bridge

A company town named with an acronym, served by a railroad built to haul its coal.

Coal was being mined in the Cedar Creek canyon by 1906. In 1908 four investors — Mays, Orem, Heiner and Rice — bought the mines, and the town took its name from their initials: M-O-H-R-land. The mines became part of the U.S. Fuel Company, and by around 1920 Mohrland had some 200 houses, an amusement hall, a school and about 1,000 people.

To get the coal out, the coal companies formed the Utah Railway, which built a line from Mohrland and Hiawatha north to a junction near Helper between 1912 and 1914. Coal was still being loaded at Mohrland as late as 1991.

The town itself died much earlier. U.S. Fuel connected the Mohrland mine underground to its Hiawatha mine in the 1930s, and by 1938 Mohrland was nearly a ghost town. Foundations, mine ruins and the old grade are still there. North of here, the line crosses Gordon Creek on one of the most impressive railroad bridges in Utah.

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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