Ogden Arsenal, Railroad Scale House & Scales, On Railroad Tracks, Northwest of Intersection of Wardleigh Road & Georgia Street, Layton

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

This building provides particularly vivid images of the processes involved in the transportation activities that supported the manufacture, storage, and shipment of munitions at Ogden Arsenal. This building, along with other structures at the base, renders a unique picture of the U.S. Army build-up which occurred on the eve of and during World War II. History: During World War II, Ogden Arsenal relied on a vast network of railroad tracks to run 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. This tiny building contains a single observation room that was used to monitor the weight of locomotives and cars on five separate tracks.

It is elevated above grade so the attendant could access train engines without climbing up to them from ground level. When the railroad was no longer needed as the primary form of transporting military goods, buildings like this one fell into disuse. The building has been vacant for many years, but it maintains utmost architectural integrity. It appears that most of the original equipment remains inside the structure. Ogden Arsenal, Railroad Scale House & Scales HAER No. UT-84-J Page 2 General Description: Building is a very small x one-story, flat-roofed building that is located between the Warehouse area and the West Fuze Plant area.

The building is constructed entirely of concrete, with the main entrance located on the east wall which is accessed by a set of stairs with a continuous pipe railing. The fenestration is designed to provide maximum visibility of the track area, with windows facing north, south, and west. Both the north and south walls contain a single, three-pane window with a steel frame. The west facade contains a continuous band of three-pane windows which terminate at a door that is raised approximately four feet above grade. The station sits on an approximately four-feet high water table and has a roof overhang of 24" on the east, north and south sides, forming a sun shelf above the windows.

The overhang on the west side, however, only protrudes An approximately 18- inch parapet rises from the roof in the same plane of the exterior walls. The remains of one weighing scale are located approximately four feet west of the station, and there are railroad ties all around the site. According to Base Maps, the station used to serve five railroad tracks; ground impressions indicate the previous placement of these tracks. Ogden Arsenal, Railroad Scale House & Scales HAER No. UT-84-J Page 3 -a (^ \o" -H 3 MAR *2Z