Interior of a Thistle Railroad Diversion Tunnel on November 17, 1983

Interior of a Thistle Railroad Diversion Tunnel on November 17, 1983

This image documents the Thistle Flood that began in April 1983 with a massive mud slide that created an earthen dam, blocking the flow of the Spanish Fork River. In addition to severing Highway 89 as a transportation route, the dam destroyed the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad tracks, cutting off the railroad link between Salt Lake and Denver. As flood waters rose, the town of Thistle (located on Highway 89) was inundated with the water that would form Thistle Lake. Massive construction efforts were made between 1983 and 1984 to reconstruct rail and road lines, as well as divert and drain water from Thistle Lake into the nearby Spanish Fork River.

Photographs

Color photographs

11/17/83

Utah State Archives and Records Service, Official Photographs: Thistle Disaster Documentation, Series 25229, Box 3, Folder 7, Photo 83240-7.

Inventory for the Utah Department of Transportation Thistle Flood photograph collection can be found at: http://archives.utah.gov/research/inventories/25229.html

Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the Utah State Archives, phone (801) 533-3535.

25229003007_83240-7_ThistleRailroadTunnelInterior.jpg

Digitized by : Utah State Archives and Records Service

4 inches x 5 inches

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Scanned by Utah State Archives and Records Service using Epson GT-30000 scanner, at 800 dpi. Archival file is uncompressed TIFF (800 dpi). Display file is JPEG 2000.

5/15/14

To order photocopies, scans, or prints of this item for fair use purposes, please contact the Utah State Archives History Research Center at: http://archives.utah.gov/research/index.html