In 1871 the Summit County Railroad Company was organized. It constructed a five-mile (8 km)
narrow gauge railway to transport coal from mines in
Coalville to the
Union Pacific line in
Echo. In 1880, the Utah Eastern Railroad built a narrow-gauge line between Coalville and Park City to transport coal to fuel the
pumps that removed underground water from Park City’s
silver mines. At the same time, the Union Pacific Railroad constructed the Echo-Park City Railway, a
broad-gauge spur line, alongside it. The narrow-gauge lines were eventually abandoned, and in 1989, Union Pacific abandoned its line. Union Pacific, along with the Division of Parks and Recreation, and A&K Railroad Materials, turned the property into the first non-motorized recreational trail in Utah. The state park opened to the public in 1992. ==References==