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Show years and a few months earlier, many of these same men had gone thither to resist the advance of an invading army, but to welcome and help into and across the smil¬ing vales of their rock-rimmed desert girt paradise the onward march of civilization toward the Occident." The contract with President Young amounted to about $2,250,000. Among the principal sub-contractors was John Taylor, future president of the Church. "BIG BOY" THUNDERS UP WEBER CANYON—This juggernaut of steel weighing 470,000 pounds, was the largest steam engine ever built. Each of its 16 drive wheels stood over 60 inches high. Photo-Muriel R. Shupe Between 500 and 600 men were employed and the amount of Taylor's contract was about $1,000,000. To the sub-contractors fell the heavy stone work of the bridge abutments and the boring of tunnels through Weber Canyon, (The original rock abutments of these bridges are still supporting the heavy trains which roll over them daily (1985). (History of Utah—Orson F. Whitney—Volume 2 pp 343-344) John Taylor located one of his construction camps in Mountain Green and anoth¬er at the mouth of Weber Canyon adjacent to Uintah. The building of the railroad through the valley opened up various jobs to local residents. In addition to furnishing railroad ties, men and their teams were employed at grading and excavating. To help finance the cost of building the rail line across the continent, the Federal Government permitted the U.P. to claim every other section of land along its right-of-way. 13 |