Ogden Arsenal, Locomotive Shop & Shelter, 7975 Utility Drive, Layton

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,6-LAY.V,1H-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Locomotives were repaired in this building, which provides particularly vivid images of the processes involved in the maintenance activities that supported the overall operations of Ogden Arsenal before, during, and after World War II. Building is one of the oldest buildings on the Base, and was constructed to sustain the Arsenal's original mission of storing surplus World War I munitions. History: Originally, this building was part of a network of structures that were designed to store left-over and obsolete ammunition from World War I. During the however, increasing world political tensions made it imperative that Ogden Arsenal and other such facilities be updated. The Arsenal grew dramatically as World War II approached.

Not only did storage facilities multiply more than tenfold, but the Arsenal also went into the business of manufacturing ammunition. In the beginning months of World War II, Building provided shelter for the repair and maintenance of army owned locomotives. During World War II, Ogden Arsenal contained a vast network of railroad tracks and ran trains for immense delivery and shipping purposes. Rail transportation was the primary method of shipping goods to and from the Arsenal, as well as between the various ammunition manufacturing plants on the Base. Ogden Arsenal, Locomotive Shop & Shelter HAER No. UT-84-H Page 2 Building originally contained two separate locomotive repair bays with individual tracks.

Each bay was accessible on the north side of the building through large steel rolling type doors over the tracks. Both repair stations featured an overhead travelling crane with a ten ton capacity that was used to hoist out heavy or awkward parts. One bay was equipped with an underground pit that provided accessibility to equipment on the underside of locomotives. Parts were removed from the locomotive and then carried into adjacent work rooms for repair. Some items may have been serviced in the Motor Repair Garage (Building Due to the rapid expansion of Ogden Arsenal on the eve of and during World War II, the locomotive repair needs of the Arsenal had grown beyond the capacity of this small building.

When a Locomotive Repair Shop with the capacity to service eight locomotives at a time (Building was completed in Building was converted into a machine shop and welding shop that supported the locomotive repair activities in Building One set of tracks that ran into the building were maintained so it could be used as an overflow repair facility when Building was full. The basement of Building became a central heating plant in Two boilers, manufactured by Union Iron Works, were installed. Each of these semi- automatic, gas fired boilers operated on a 100 Horsepower motor that supplied 15 psi pressure. General Description: Building a one-story maintenance shop, is located in the north section of the General's Loop area.

The most prominent feature of Building is a massive beige brick chimney, standing sixty feet tall, which serves the shop's boiler room. The shop's walls are constructed of brick, which has been laid in a nine-course American bond pattern and painted in a white and brown color scheme. The structure is actually one building although its massing makes it look like two buildings joined together. (It is believed that both halves were constructed at the same time.) The structure still has its original industrial steel sash windows throughout. Large metal rolling doors provide access to the building on both the north and south elevations.

A wooden shed, attached on the east wall, connects Building with Building The exterior access stair located on the north wall was enclosed after Ogden Arsenal, Locomotive Shop & Shelter HAER No. UT-84-H Page 3 2 s 13 ce 5 o I UJ LL- Ul o CD to UJ I/O <5 5 tJ -< 1 E to N J