1916 USGS Map of Mendon and southern Cache Valley.
The Utah Northern Railroad enterted Cache Valley from the west, near Mendon and made the "jump" to what is called the College spur and on into Logan. That section of track is NOT shown on this map, but you can see how it would have lined up in 1872.
The Oregon Short Line (OSL) made the change in 1890, to come through Bear River Canyon and establish Cache Junction. The OSL then moved up the west side of Cache Valley and left Mendon and Logan, to be serviced by a local. It was at this time that the OSL changed from Narrow Gauge to Standard Gauge along the route north to Montana.
The Ogden, Logan and Idaho Railroad, (OLI) which would become the Utah, Idaho Central Railroad in 1918 (UIC) took over the narrow gauge trackage around the mountain and into Mendon. They joged the track back west to line up with Main Street in Mendon, as shown on the map in 1916.
From Mendon the UIC used new and or former OLI roadbed to connect the cities of Mendon, Wellsville, Hyrum Millville, Providence, Logan, Hyde Park, Smithfield, Richmond and on into Preston, Idaho.
Mendon, over time had three railroad stations. The first was the 1872 era Thithing Barn and was used as the shipping point for the Cache Valleys tithing to Salt Lake City. The second was the Oregon Shortline Railroad depot, located east of Mendon and built after 1890 and last was the OLI/UIC depot that is still on the city square today.
NO steam trains ran down Main Streen in Mendon. Despite claims that they did. The OLI/UIC was an electric train system and did not use steam power. Steam engins were used east of Mendon on the OSL and the UNRR, but thses did not enter Mendon proper
