Heber Valley Historic Railroad · 2017 to 2026

All aboard

For eight years I worked on the train that runs from Heber City down Provo Canyon. I was a host, an actor, a storyteller and a safety lead, sometimes all on the same ride. Take the ride with me.

Board the train
A winter sunset over snowy fields and the Wasatch, seen from the side of the train with the track running ahead
A winter evening run, from the train.
Ethan smiling in a red brocade vest, white shirt, green tie and a Heber Valley Railroad cap
In the railroad's cap, ready for a run.
Deer Creek Reservoir under gray clouds, with snow on the sagebrush and the mountains behind
Deer Creek Reservoir in winter.
Deer Creek Reservoir, still and deep blue under a clear sky, with sagebrush in front
Deer Creek on a clear day.

Heber to Vivian Park

Heber Valley Historic RailroadAdmit one

Roles punched 0 of 6

  1. Host
  2. Actor
  3. Storyteller
  4. Safety lead
  5. Lead over other staff
  6. North Pole Express host

  1. Heber City depot

    Boarding

    I started on the Heber Valley Historic Railroad in October 2017 and worked there until January 2026.

    As a host I was responsible for up to sixty passengers at a time: keeping them safe and giving them a ride worth remembering.

    Punched: Host

  2. Charleston

    In character

    A lot of the job was acting. I was often in character, usually as someone from pop culture.

    Punched: Actor

  3. Deer Creek Reservoir

    Texas Jack

    Texas Jack was the cowboy poet, storyteller and joke teller in residence on the train. He connects with people of every age and background through cowboy poetry.

    He became a friend who checked in on me now and then and always had a new story. When I came home to Utah, he made me feel welcome.

    Punched: Storyteller

  4. Deer Creek Dam

    In charge

    I managed safety for my passengers and oversaw other employees on the run.

    Punched: Safety lead

    Punched: Lead over other staff

  5. Provo Canyon

    The Heber Creeper

    Trains on the canyon branch were held to 20 miles an hour, and on the narrow, twisting grade they seemed to creep. A 1972 brochure says nobody knows when the name started, but it stuck: the Heber Creeper.

  6. Vivian Park

    The turnaround

    My first year at Stanford, in ITALIC, my art was oral storytelling, and a lot of it came from the train. For my final project I wrote and recorded Transcontinental, a frontier poem about the people who built the first transcontinental railroad.

    In July 2024, the Spokes team stayed in Midway on our ride across the country, and we rode the train together. I made a guest announcement.

    It wasn't Leland Stanford who began the spiking in,
    And it wasn't honest Abe who crossed the ocean without kin,
    And it wasn't Brigham Young who blasted canyons into shape,
    It was thirty thousand lab'rers opened up the Western gate.

    From Transcontinental, 2023

    Ride the Spokes route from Heber Robert Service and cowboy poetry

What riders said

I adore this train! Have worked here for 6 years and it's changed the way I see my valley. I've gotten to take part in so many fun events and awesome themes, plus music videos, free concerts (for the whole community!), breathtaking views of Provo Canyon, the most fantastic cowboy poets and storytellers, live fiddlers, guitarists, singers, and dancers.

My own Google review, 2024

10 riders wrote my name into their Google reviews of the railroad. Pick a year, or read them all.

  • 2019 · Easter Bunny Train

    “Easter Bunny Train was a ton of fun!! Conductor Ethan was so much fun!!”

    Xela T., on Google
  • 2020

    “Ethan was a great host in our train car.”

    Stephanie L., on Google
  • 2020

    “I had the hostesses Ethan and Tanner and they were the absolute best! They were both very kind to everyone and very polite.”

    A Google reviewer, on Google
  • 2020

    “Fun family ride with entertainment and informative rail porters Ethan and Jonah.”

    Robin and Scott M., on Google
  • 2021 · North Pole Express

    “Our train host Ethan was fantastic! Thanks Ethan! Magical night!”

    Nissa, on Google
  • 2021

    “Ethan was our host for the ride and he made it great for the whole family.”

    Redick B., on Google
  • 2021 · Lakeside

    “Hailey and Ethan were so friendly and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere was perfectly quaint.”

    Frank S., on Google
  • 2023

    “Ethan, who was a tour guide/host of our cabin did a fantastic job making us all laugh and feel welcome, he gathered bunch of staff members to sing happy birthday for my FIL.”

    Asma W., on Google
  • 2023 · Monday train

    “Ethan and Allison were great at leading the songs and dancing.”

    Elizabeth F., on Google
  • 2025

    “Our hosts were Ava and Ethan, an enthusiastic duo who provided the historical commentary.”

    A Google reviewer, on Google

The trains on the line

The same sixteen miles of track carry a different train for every season. A stamp means a rider's review puts me on that one.

  • Most days Deer Creek Express The everyday ride: 90 minutes out along Deer Creek Reservoir and back, with hosts and entertainment on board.
  • Two hours Lakeside Limited A longer run along the lake, with music and the valley's history. I worked this one
  • Three hours Provo Canyon Limited The long ride, down the canyon to Vivian Park and back.
  • Evenings Monday Night Train The family night ride, with sing-alongs and dancing in the cars. I worked this one
  • Spring Easter Bunny Train A spring ride with the Easter Bunny on board. I worked this one
  • Wild West rides Train robbery Outlaws, a holdup and a gunfight along the line.
  • October nights Halloween Express A night ride to the haunted Grim Hollow station. The railroad bills it as fun, not scary.
  • November and December North Pole Express The Christmas train, below. I worked this one

The Christmas train

The North Pole Express is the railroad’s Christmas train: a 90-minute night ride from Heber along Deer Creek and into Provo Canyon, with hot cocoa, cookies, carols and dancing. The lights go out as the train passes the North Pole, a candy-cane village where Santa waves from outside, and he boards for the ride home to greet every child with a gift.

It is the railroad’s biggest season: about 86 round trips from the week before Thanksgiving to December 30, around 600 riders on each. The elves, about 190 of them, are kids from the valley, 12 and up. Tickets go on sale in July and are mostly gone within weeks.

The line, 1899 to today

Ride the years. Pick a station on the rail, or use the arrows. Gold stations are mine.

  1. 1899
    The branch opens

    The Rio Grande Western and the Utah Eastern built the line up Provo Canyon. Before it, the toll road over the canyon was a three-day trip in good weather.

  2. 1915
    Sheep, hay and sugar beets

    That year Heber shipped 360 cars of sheep, 280 of hay, 60 of sugar beets and 40 of cattle. Passengers rode on mixed trains, coaches behind the freight.

  3. 1940
    Moved for Deer Creek

    The track moved off the valley floor to make room for the reservoir, and the new line hauled rock for the dam.

  4. 1968
    The last freight

    Trucks on the new highway took the freight. Trains dropped to weekly by 1966, and the last freight train left Heber in 1968. The rails were set to come up for a road.

  5. 1971
    Saved by the valley

    Lowe Ashton, other Heber business owners and the Promontory Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society formed the Wasatch Mountain Railway. They rescued steam engine 618, a 1907 Baldwin, from the Salt Lake fairgrounds, and the Heber Creeper started carrying tourists.

  6. 1990
    The last private run

    A new sales tax and hard years ended the private railroad. The last private Heber Creeper ran on October 27, 1990, and most of the equipment went to the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

  7. 1993
    The state's railroad

    The Utah Legislature created the Heber Valley Historic Railroad Authority in 1992, and the new railroad made its first run on May 8, 1993. Engine 618 was overhauled and steamed again in 1995.

  8. 1999
    The Movie Train

    The railroad bought the Movie Train: steam engine 75, another 1907 Baldwin, with its coaches and freight cars. The line and its cars have been in more than 35 films and shows, Touched by an Angel among them.

  9. 2002
    The Olympic Steam Team

    Steam trains carried spectators during the Salt Lake Winter Games.

  10. 2017
    I start

    I joined the railroad in October 2017.

  11. 2024
    The Spokes team rides

    Our cross-country team rode the train in July, and I made a guest announcement.

  12. 2026
    My last run

    I worked there until January 2026. The railroad now carries more than 110,000 riders a year.

What the job taught me

HostUp to sixty passengers at a time.
ActorOften in character, usually as someone from pop culture.
StorytellerStories and cowboy poetry, many of them learned from Texas Jack.
Safety leadManaged safety for my passengers.
Lead over other staffOversaw other employees on the run.
North Pole Express hostHost on the Christmas train. A rider in 2021: "Our train host Ethan was fantastic!"
  • ReliableEight years on the same railroad, October 2017 to January 2026.
  • Responsible for peopleUp to sixty passengers at a time, kept safe and looked after.
  • Good with any crowdTen riders named me in their Google reviews, from families with small kids to a couple on a date to a grandfather on his birthday.
  • Trusted to leadI oversaw other employees on the run.
  • Recognized at homeThe Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce's Wasatch Works Scholarship, for my work at the railroad and at Timpanogos Valley Theatre.

More on my CV, or get in touch.

Where the history comes from