MT. PLEASANT—The developers of historic railroad-themed resort, Track 89 North, and the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area (MPNHA) have plans to upgrade to the resort with the addition of a famous and historic locomotive engine, as well as more upgrades to the adjacent city park.
Track 89 North developers David Grow and George Jones, along with MPNHA director Monte Bona are proposing to the Mt. Pleasant City Council a plan to complete the resort via the addition of the historic Denver Rio Grande locomotive No. 5771.
The No. 5771 was famous for heading up the lauded Rio Grande Zephyr service, which shuttled passengers in style on a tri-weekly basis between Denver and Salt Lake City during the 1970s and 1980s.
The engine’s addition to the resort’s current box cars and caboose will round out the whole package, giving the appearance of a train heading southbound from the historic 1890s railroad depot, which was saved from destruction and moved to its current location where it sits functioning as a visitor information center and local coffee shop, the Coffee Depot.
To install the No. 5771 locomotive, the resort requires an additional 46-foot X 10-foot property extension to make room for placement. In exchange for this small chunk of land from the city, the Track 89 North developers will donate $14,000 towards improvements to the Mt. Pleasant City Park. This will be the second major donation Grow and Jones have made towards park improvements, having previously contributed $25,000 earlier in the resort’s construction phase.
The famous engine will offer accommodations similar to the boxcars, including a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room area with a bed pull-out couch, two large screen TVs and other amenities.
The driving equipment on engine No. 5771 will be retained in the front five feet of the engine so that children (and yes, even adults) can pretend they are driving the train.
