Evanston, Wyoming, is named after James A. Evans (1850–1903) — a civil engineer who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad during the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the late 1860s.

Evans was a survey engineer responsible for mapping and laying out parts of the Union Pacific line as it crossed southern Wyoming. The town of Evanston was established around 1868 as a railroad supply and maintenance stop, and it was named in his honor for his contributions to the route’s planning and engineering.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Evans

Here are the origins of several station-town names along the California Zephyr route from Sacramento into Nebraska:

If you like, I can look up every stop from Sacramento to Nebraska (and beyond) with name-origins.

Great — I pulled the Amtrak **California Zephyr** route (the usual Sacramento → Nebraska rail corridor) and looked up the name-origins for each station/town along the route between **Sacramento, CA** and the first Nebraska stops. Below are the stops in order (eastbound) with a short origin for each name and a source you can click.

# Stations from Sacramento (eastbound) → Nebraska (California Zephyr) — name origins

1. **Sacramento, CA (Sacramento Valley Station)** — named for the **Sacramento River**, which in turn comes from Spanish *sacramento* (“the sacrament,” i.e., Holy Eucharist). ([Wikipedia][1])

2. **Roseville, CA** — (rail stop used by the Zephyr timetable). Roseville grew as a railroad junction; the town name dates to early settlers and local place-names (Roseville is the local city used on the timetable). (See Amtrak timetable listing). ([Amtrak Content][2])

3. **Rocklin, CA** — granite-quarry town; the name’s origin is uncertain but tied to local granite outcrops/quarries (local histories discuss several origin theories). ([City of Rocklin][3])

4. **Auburn, CA** — Gold Rush town (founded 1848–49); named “Auburn” during early settlement (Gold Country naming traditions). ([Auburn, CA][4])

5. **Colfax, CA** — renamed for **Schuyler Colfax**, Speaker of the U.S. House (vice-president under Ulysses S. Grant). ([DeWitt Media][5])

6. **Truckee, CA** — named for **Chief Truckee** (Paiute guide), remembered by emigrants for shouting “Tro-kay” (“everything’s all right”) — the name was applied to the station/town. ([Wikipedia][6])

7. **Sparks / Reno, NV (Reno is the major stop)** — **Reno** was named for Union General **Jesse L. Reno**. (Sparks is adjacent and often appears on route materials.) ([Wikipedia][7])

8. **Winnemucca, NV** — named for the Paiute leader **Winnemucca** (also called Poito/Bad Face); the place name derives from the family/tribal name. ([Wikipedia][8])

9. **Winnemucca area — Elko / Winnemucca / Elko, NV** — **Elko** was founded as a freighting and rail supply center in 1868 (name origin discussed in local histories). ([Great Basin College][9])

10. **Elko, NV** — (see above: rail/freight center founded 1868). ([Great Basin College][9])

11. **Salt Lake City, UT** — named for the **Great Salt Lake** (the city was named after the nearby lake). ([Wikipedia][10])

12. **Provo, UT** — named for the French-Canadian trapper **Étienne (or Antoine) Provost** (often rendered “Provo” in early records). ([Utah.com][11])

13. **Helper, UT** — named for the railroad “**helper**” engines that were stationed there to help trains up steep grades; the community name stuck. ([Infospigot: The Chronicles][12])

14. **Green River, UT** — named for the **Green River** (river name refers to the greenish tint from suspended sediments). ([Wikipedia][13])

15. **Grand Junction, CO** — named for the “grand” **junction** of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers (originally the Colorado River was also called the Grand River). ([99.9 KEKB][14])

16. **Glenwood Springs, CO** — named for the nearby **hot springs** / glen; early resort town built around natural springs. ([Wikipedia][15])

17. **Granby / Fraser-Winter Park area, CO**

    • **Granby** — name derives from British place-name (Marquis of Granby) as used by early settlers. ([Grand County History Stories][16])

    • **Fraser / Winter Park** — *Fraser* originally spelled “Frazier” after early settler Reuben Frazier; Winter Park is the nearby ski area/name. ([Grand County History Stories][17])

18. **Denver, CO (Union Station)** — named for **James W. Denver**, a 19th-century politician and territorial official. ([Wikipedia][18])

19. **Fort Morgan / Fort Morgan area, CO** — town named after the old **Fort Morgan** military post (the fort was renamed for Officer **Christopher Morgan**). ([Wikipedia][19])

20. **McCook, NE** — named for **Brig. Gen. Alexander McDowell McCook** (Union Army officer). ([Wikipedia][20])

21. **Holdrege, NE** — named for **George W. Holdrege** (railroad official / manager associated with lines through Nebraska). ([Wikipedia][20])

22. **Hastings, NE** — named for **Colonel D. T. Hastings** (railroad figure involved in building lines through the county). ([Wikipedia][20])

23. **Lincoln, NE** — renamed and named after **President Abraham Lincoln** (became state capital 1869). ([Wikipedia][21])

---

If you want, I can now:

• Expand any single entry with more detail (who the person was, dates, why they were important), or

• Produce a printable table / CSV of the full station list + origin notes and citations, or

• Map the stops visually (I can fetch map images or create a simple timeline).

Which would you like next?

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento%2C_California?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Sacramento, California"

[2]: https://content.amtrak.com/content/timetable/California%20Zephyr.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com "[PDF] California Zephyr Route Timetable | Amtrak"

[3]: https://www.rocklin.ca.us/history-rocklin?utm_source=chatgpt.com "History of Rocklin"

[4]: https://www.auburn.ca.gov/459/Auburns-History?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Auburn's History"

[5]: https://www.dewittmedia.com/2014/07/15/a-history-of-colfax-150-years-in-the-making/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "A History of Colfax: 150 Years in the Making"

[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee%2C_California?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Truckee, California"

[7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno%2C_Nevada?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Reno, Nevada - Wikipedia"

[8]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnemucca_%28Paiute_leader%29?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Winnemucca (Paiute leader)"

[9]: https://www.gbcnv.edu/howh/elkohist.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Elko: The First 100 Years - Great Basin College"

[10]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_City?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Salt Lake City"

[11]: https://www.utah.com/destinations/cities-towns/provo/things-to-do/history/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Provo - History | Utah.com"

[12]: https://infospigot.com/2024/02/19/how-helper-utah-got-its-name-and-other-stories/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "How Helper (Utah) Got Its Name, and Other Stories - Infospigot"

[13]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Colorado_River_tributary%29?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Green River (Colorado River tributary) - Wikipedia"

[14]: https://kekbfm.com/coloradogrand-junctionnamehistory/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "The History Behind Grand Junction's Name And Growth"

[15]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Springs%2C_Colorado?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Glenwood Springs, Colorado"

[16]: https://stories.grandcountyhistory.org/article/naming-granby?utm_source=chatgpt.com "The Naming of Granby | Grand County History Stories"

[17]: https://stories.grandcountyhistory.org/article/place-names-grand-county?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Place Names of Grand County"

[18]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Denver - Wikipedia"

[19]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Morgan%2C_Colorado?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Fort Morgan, Colorado"

[20]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Zephyr?utm_source=chatgpt.com "California Zephyr - Wikipedia"

[21]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%2C_Nebraska?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Lincoln, Nebraska - Wikipedia"