The town of Conda was built in 1920 by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company to house the miners and their families engaged in the Company’s new phosphate ore mining operations about eight miles north of Soda springs. The company also built a railroad to Soda Springs that connected with the Union Pacific Line to ship their products. The Conda Bus was a motorized railroad passenger coach that ran between the two towns. It was used from 1922 to 1936 until more modern forms of transportation and good roads became available. The bus remained at Conda until 1960, when the new mine owner, J.R. Simplot, gave the bus to Willard and Betty Poulsen, Soda Springs residents who had lived in Conda. The Poulsens gifted the bus to the City of Soda Springs in 1982 and it was put in Corrigan Park and later restored. The town of Conda no longer exists.

During the early 1980s, Western Railroad Builders constructed a rail line near Soda Springs, Idaho for the Conda Partnership (now Monsanto). They mined phosphorus used in many products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, baking and leavening agents, water treatment chemicals, insecticides and herbicides. Because of Dave [Durbano]’s railroad experience and entrepreneurial drive, he was given the opportunity to move the product on the industrial spur to the Union Pacific Railroad’s mainline.

Nice presentation. Very interesting and I love mining history so this is really a cool find. What was the story on the submerged locomotive for those of us fascinated by what lurks under the water? Regards, John.

When the dam for Alexander Reservoir near Soda Springs, Idaho, was built in 1924, it hauled supplies to the dam. Trapped by rising water, the locomotive was abandoned. In 1976 the reservoir was drained for repairs, uncovering the locomotive. It was restored by Union Pacific Railroad, and presented to the City of Soda Springs.