A tougher (perhaps) Western Where It Is

[Anonymous]

Obviously I'm not in the same league as Murphy, Chad, Nordique, and Carl for posing Where-It-Is's that require one to think!  Maybe I can learn from practice.

This western railroad town changed its name after the railroad arrived, and was renamed for a geologic feature that didn't exist at first, and later was created by man.  Once upon a time this town was a crew and engine change point.  Only one railroad ever served this town, and developed an extensive network in the valley.  Much of the network but not the main line has been shortlined.  The short line is parodied by its employees for the resemblance of its reporting marks to a popular children's song.  The railroad built through this town en route to a major mineral strike, but later its traffic was almost 100% agricultural.  It was originally narrow-gauge, and originally independent from any Class I.

Name the city.

S. Hadid

[Murphy Siding]

Obviously I'm not in the same league as Murphy, Chad, Nordique, and Carl for posing Where-It-Is's that require one to think!  Maybe I can learn from practice.

This western railroad town changed its name after the railroad arrived, and was renamed for a geologic feature that didn't exist at first, and later was created by man.  Once upon a time this town was a crew and engine change point.  Only one railroad ever served this town, and developed an extensive network in the valley.  Much of the network but not the main line has been shortlined.  The short line is parodied by its employees for the resemblance of its reporting marks to a popular children's song.  The railroad built through this town en route to a major mineral strike, but later its traffic was almost 100% agricultural.  It was originally narrow-gauge, and originally independent from any Class I.

Name the city.

S. Hadid

      I consider myself in a league of my own(the one )

     I woke up this morning, thinking that the answer to yesterday's where is it was "trona" related.  I was waaaaay off.

     I would guess that today's has to do with The Lucien Cutoff, perhaps?

 

[Anonymous]

Actually I should qualify that the narrow-gauge was quasi-independent of any Class I.

Lucin Cut-Off was never narrow-gauge and there are no towns out there.  Lucin itself is a ghost town now; the last person who lived there was the signal maintainer.  Emptiest place you can find in the lower 48 on a main-line railroad.  You will see no lights out there at night except stars and another train.

[chad thomas]

I think you are doing a fine job Mr. Hadid.

 

Is the valley in Colorado?

[CopCarSS]

Would this city exist in someplace in the San Luis Valley of Colorado?

[chad thomas]

  Emptiest place you can find in the lower 48 on a main-line railroad.  You will see no lights out there at night except stars and another train.

I don't know, The Winnemucca sub has some pretty desolate streaches too.

[Murphy Siding]

     Hmmmm....geologic feature that didn't exist...sounds like a dam on a river somewhere.  Isn't there a town of "Coulee" somwhere?

[Anonymous]

  Emptiest place you can find in the lower 48 on a main-line railroad.  You will see no lights out there at night except stars and another train.

I don't know, The Winnemucca sub has some pretty desolate streaches too.

True, but there are some ranches out there, and the horizon is almost always delineated by nearby mountains.  On the Lucin Cutoff you can see 30-40 miles in all directions and see not one artificial illumination.

S. Hadid

[Anonymous]

Would this city exist in someplace in the San Luis Valley of Colorado?

Everything in the San Luis Valley has been short lined.  The main line through the town in this question has not.

[Anonymous]

I think you are doing a fine job Mr. Hadid.

 

Is the valley in Colorado?

You can rule out a lot of potential places by applying the note about the traffic base on this line at the time of its construction vs. now.

[Murphy Siding]

     Is this town along the Snake River?

[Murphy Siding]

     Grand Coulee, Washington?

[Anonymous]

     Is this town along the Snake River?

It straddles it, in fact, and the location was originally named "_____" Crossing for the person who built a toll bridge across the river here.  The town once established had another name -- the one that applied when the railroad arrived -- and shortly after that received its third and final name.

[CopCarSS]

Idaho Falls?

[Anonymous]

Idaho Falls?

I've got to quit making these so easy.  Now, for the extra points, the first and second name of the town, the original name of the railroad that arrived as narrow gauge, and the children's song that is linked to the short line there now.

[Murphy Siding]

Idaho Falls?

     And....E-I-E-O ?

[CopCarSS]

Taylor's Bridge and Eagle Rock.

[Anonymous]

Idaho Falls?

I've got to quit making these so easy.  Now, for the extra points, the first and second name of the town, the original name of the railroad that arrived as narrow gauge, and the children's song that is linked to the short line there now.

Wasn't that the Utah & Northern?

As for the children's song, is it a variation of the Barney the Dinosaur theme?