Helper, UT (HER)

1 Depot Street
Helper, UT 84526

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $168,282
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 2,048

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad
• Parking Lot Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad
• Platform Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad
• Track Ownership: Union Pacific Railroad

• California Zephyr

Alex Khalfin
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsoak@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Helper
• Western Mining & Railroad Museum

The present Helper depot was constructed by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) around 1940 as a replacement for the original depot, which had stood directly to the northeast. The buff brick structure exhibits light Art Moderne touches in the windows and doors, which are multi-paned and horizontal in orientation. Above the principal entrances, the brick is laid in a decorative basketweave pattern and the door surrounds include buff brick interspersed with cream colored decorative stone blocks. The flat roof, typical of Art Moderne buildings, was later replaced with a gabled version. In addition to a passenger waiting room, the depot also houses UP offices.

In April 2024, Amtrak completed $5 million in upgrades at the Helper and Green River, Utah, stations to provide customers with a more accessible and comfortable experience. In Helper, Amtrak extended the concrete platform from a length of 25 feet to 550 feet for a more efficient boarding experience. The platform also received new guardrails, lighting and signage, and there are accessible parking spots and ramps leading to the platform. Due largely to Congressional investments, the improvements at Green River and Helper are part of Amtrak’s commitment to creating safer, accessible facilities across its National Network through its Americans With Disabilities Act Stations Program.

The settlement of Helper began with the arrival of the D&RGW, which completed its line between Denver and Salt Lake City in 1883. It became a freight terminal where “helper” or extra locomotives were available to assist heavy freight trains traveling up Soldier Summit in the Wasatch Mountains, thereby lending the name “Helper” to the town. The old D&RGW depot is located in the Helper Commercial National Historic District, which is centered on Main Street. It encompasses numerous buildings associated with Helper’s early development, including many constructed by the D&RGW, such as company housing, a chapel and an express freight depot.

Coal mining and railroading, the town’s major economic activities, brought an influx of immigrants to Helper. Today, the town remains the center of vast coal reserves and is known as the “Hub of Carbon County.” Helper is most known for its Western Mining and Railroad Museum which houses household and commercial artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries. The town is currently reviving itself as an arts and crafts center.

Station Building (with waiting room)