The ex-Rio Grande passenger line runs south from the wye at Grant Tower (MP 745.4), in Yard Limits, past the Union Station (the former D&RGW station) at Salt Lake (MP 745.1), with a road bridge overhead at the south end of the station, past a road bridge overhead, a freeway ramp overhead, a yard with 4-6 tracks on the west side of the line (on the freight tracks, described below), and a grade crossing as the passenger and freight tracks come together, to join the formation of the (freight) main line at Ordnance Junction, where there is a signal bridge, past a rail-served industry on the west side, on a spur that trails in on the west side, a grade crossing, and the passenger track connection to the main line at the crossovers at 13th South X-Over (MP 643.5).
The ex-Rio Grande (freight) main line heads south at the wye on the west side of Grant Tower (MP 745.4), in Yard Limits with connections from the lines to the west trailing in at 2nd South (MP 745.2), all lines coming together at 8th South X-Over (MP 744.4), the line from Buena Vista crossing on the flat at 9th Street (MP (MP 744), and a southwest quadrant connector trailing in from the northwest at Ordnance Junction, where the passenger line also approaches on the east side to join at the crossovers at 13th South X-Over (MP 643.5).
There is a grade crossing, multiple freeway bridges overhead at an angle, spurs from industry trailing in on the west side, and a road bridge overhead. All of these lines have been 30 mph trackage within yard limits. Another line from Buena Vista trails in from the west at Salt Lake Junction, where the Salt Lake & Utah once crossed at grade, a spur east to Granite Furniture heads away in that direction, and the line, now Two Main Tracks, CTC, then passes two extra tracks on the west side, a grade crossing, two more extra tracks, and then one, on the west side, a road bridge overhead, quadruple highway bridges overhead, and the former D&RGW Roper Yard (MP 742.0), six tracks wide, with more tracks away on the west side, with a gap between them and those nearer the main line, all on the west side of the tracks.
Two Main Tracks, CTC, still 30 mph, continue south of Roper. with two yard tracks trailing in on the west side, and a bridge over a street. At the crossovers at East Roper (MP 740.8), the south end of the yard, the speed limit increases to 70-60, with a signal bridge overhead, and the line passes a freeway bridge overhead from northeast to southwest, a road bridge overhead, trees alongside to the west, a bridge over a street, the line on an embankment, MP 739, a bridge over a divided street, Kalunite, Dunford, extra track on the west side, a former loading ramp on the west side, a grade crossing, Fireclay, Murray, extra track on the west side, the line on an embankment again, a bridge over drainage, a grade crossing, MP 738, signals, Murray Sampler, a bridge over a divided street, MP 737, and a grade crossing.
A spur heads off to the west to Highland Boy Station, followed by a bridge over a divided street, a bridge over a wide road, a road bridge overhead, a bridge over a street, crossovers at Midvale X-Over (MP 735.9), freeway bridges overhead from northwest to southeast, extra tracks on the west side, shops on the west side for commuter trains in the yard just to the south, the tracks from which trail in, a bridge over a divided street, the line bridges over a connector west from the former Oregon Short Line at Atwoods, and there is a wye with signal bridges on the west side at Midvale (MP 734.9) with a line heading west past Bingham Smelter to the Bingham Canyon Mine. A spur also headed east at a wye on the east side just south of the wye on the west side.
There is a 6,790 ft. siding on the west side at Midvale, south of the west-side wye, two bridges over divided streets, Intermediate Signals, a grade crossing, a closed-off grade crossing, a bridge over a divided street, detectors at MP 730.7, where the speed limit is 60 mph, a bridge over a divided street, lots of wasteland on the west side, a bridge over a divided street, more wasteland on the west side, and the Two Main Tracks reduce to single-track, CTC, the speed limit rises to 79-60, and there is a 6,470 ft. siding at Riverton (MP 728.3-726.7), where the speed limit falls to 70-60, before changing to 75-45.
The line, in a valley between bluffs, passes Olivers, a bridge over a river, a power plant on the far side of the river on the west/south side, Mount, where it turns south-southeast, still between the bluffs, Rivers, the 7,240ft. siding on the west side at Mesa (MP 721.6-719.8), where there was once a flat crossing with an LA&SL branch northeast from Boulter, a road bridge overhead, a street alongside to the west, the south end of the siding, three grade crossings in open fields, a grade crossing at the north end of more housing, a grade crossing, and Lehi, followed by three grade crossings and the main line turns east, two more grade crossings, an acute angle grade crossing, the 8,820 ft. siding at American Fork (MP 715.9-714.1), where the speed limit falls to 60-40 and the line turns south-southeast, two grade crossings, a bridge over a stream, a dirt road grade crossing, a grade crossing among fields, two grade crossings, a detector at MP 711.7, a lake on the west side, a grade crossing, and signals at Pipe Mill (MP 708.4), where Two Main Tracks, CTC, resume, with speed limit 75-60.
The line passes the site of the now closed massive steel works at Geneva, destination of the erstwhile traffic flow of taconite pellets from Minnesota that SP had cleverly arranged for as the back flow of hopper cars that would otherwise have returned empty after carrying Utah coal to Wisconsin and Minnesota power plants. In 2006, the site has been almost completely cleared for hazardous waste cleanup.
Three Main Tracks start up at Geneva X-Over (MP 707.1), with a street alongside to the west and the third track on the east side, many spurs from Geneva Steel once trailed in on the east side, and the ex-Oregon Short Line track once trailed in from the north (on the east side) at Geneva Junction. There is a grade crossing, a road bridge overhead, new housing on the west side, a detector at MP 705.8, the ex-OSL splitting off on the west at Lakota (MP 705.7), and the former Rio Grande main line continues south-southeast past a dirt road grade crossing, dual road bridges overhead, a grade crossing, dual road bridges overhead, a road bridge overhead, a grade crossing, Scaley, Gatex, and Provo Junction, where the OSL track is alongside to the west, a grade crossing, housing to the west, and a grade crossing, crosses the Provo River, past a grade crossing, and turns east to the brick waiting shelter on the east side at Provo passenger platform (MP 701.1), where there is a road bridge overhead, the speed limit is 40 mph and the Three Main Tracks reduce to Two Main Tracks, with the ex-OSL still alongside to the west until it turns away south at this point, and the ex-Rio Grande turns south-southeast past a wye on the east side at the Rio Grande's Provo location (MP 700.8), where the speed limit is 50 mph, a connector west to the ex-OSL line, a 6-track yard, belonging to the Utah Railway, on the west side at Ironton (MP 698.8), where the speed limit rises to 60-50 and the line turns south, Ironton X-Over (MP 698.6), several grade crossings, a road bridge overhead, a bridge over a road, detectors at MP 696.9, and the crossovers at Springville X-Over (MP 695.8), where the branch to Spanish Fork and Elberta turns away to the southwest, and the main lines turn southeast.