Altogether, 15
tunnels were bored through the Sierra. During the war 22,022 Texans were killed or died of wounds. Perhaps most interesting about The Southwestern Route To Southern Pacific men and women President Mercier directed a
stirring message outlining the railroad's responsibilities and how it
was prepared to meet them. Picks and
shovels, black powder, wheelbarrows, one-horse dump carts, were the only
aids to grading. Typical of the courage and daring
that characterized the successful exploits of many western pioneers, the
four associates launched the project, unmatched in all the story of rail
transportation, without any one of them ever having been remotely
connected with a construction project of greater magnitude than the
erection of their own store buildings. The laurel tie used in the Last Spike ceremony was destroyed in
the San Francisco fire of 1906; the silver hammer and sledge are at
Palo Alto, Calif., in the Stanford
Museum, which institution also owns the famed Golden Spike but keeps
it in the vaults of the Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. At New Orleans the SP rail lines connected with ships of the
Morgan Line, one of America's oldest shipping concerns, dating from the
late '40s. Projected expenditures for
improvements and expansions in service in 1936 were over 100 per cent
above those of the previous year, and the expenditures for maintenance
of the property were likewise greatly increased. for CPRR passenger schedules and details of
the adoption of, first
plan to receive consideration of Congress, Reports
of
Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and
economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the
Pacific Ocean, made under the direction of the Secretary of War, in
1853-4, plans for a
railroad east over the Sierra, The
Central Pacific
Railroad and the Legend of Cape Horn, 1865-1866, died
in New York City on November 2, 1863, Railway & Travel
Guides
and the
Pacific Railroad, Pullman's
Hotel Cars and Palace Sleeping Cars, Very
Early American Express
Co. Double-tracking was completed at other points over the
system, particularly on sections of the Tehachapi mountain line during
1922-23 and 1928-29, and on sections of the Coast Line between San Jose
and Watsonville Jct. El Paso was an important stop on the Camino Real that served the Santa Fe Trail and the interior of Mexico. During the pre-war years, starting with 1936 as the year that
marked the beginning of a vast improvement program throughout the SP
system, the company spent through 1941 approximately $123,000,000 for
additions and betterments to the transportation plant. Money
raised by Huntington in New York had been exhausted, mostly in the
purchase of equipment and materials and in greatly increased cost of
their transport around the Horn due to wartime conditions. Just what the Big Four associates envisioned in May of 1869 as
their ultimate railroad system is not known. The benefits of a transcontinental railroad, it seems, should
have been obvious to all thinking men, but the idea took root only
gradually and met with strenuous opposition. Southern Pacific was then the longest and one of the
major transportation systems in the country. Primitive and crude as such equipment was by
present-day standards, it represented a great advance in its day, and
in fact contemporary travel guide books described the Silver Palace
Sleeping Cars as "elegant," with "appointments of a home drawing room"
and such comforts that one slept "amid the easy roll of the car as
sweetly and refreshingly as ever upon the home bed.'' © Copyright 2007-2020 American-Rails.com. Also involved in the finally completed Cascade Line was a
24-mile line change around the base of Mt. Towns were born, nurtured or killed at the whim of railroad planners. On June 8, 1940, the
"Beaver" was established as an economy type train between San Francisco
and Portland. The voters of three counties responded
favorably, but strong opposing interests threw the bond
proposition into court, and it was well into 1865 before the aid was
available. latest extension when the newly established Dawson Railway was under In addition
there is a warehouse section aggregating 2,000,000 sq. Railroads came late to the part of the country now known as the State of Oklahoma. The main line south from Gilroy was opened to Pajaro
(Watsonvllle Jct.) Sproule resumed his pre-war SP position,
and Scott became president of the lines in Texas and Louisiana. Built by Alfred E. Davis for
James G. Fair and the latter's mining associates of Comstock Lode fame,
the company was incorporated March 25,1876. The Union Pacific operated Pullman's
Hotel Cars and Palace Sleeping Cars over its portion of the Pacific
Railroad. Traffic was inaugurated to Modesto on November
8,1870; to Merced, January 15,1872; to Fresno, May 28,1872; to Tulare,
July 25, 1872; and to Sumner (now East Bakersfield) on November 8, 1874. Although each of the four associates was a wealthy man, as
wealth was counted in those days, their combined resources were totally
inadequate to finance much more than a start in building and equipping
the first forty miles of railroad which was necessary under terms of the
federal bill before one dollar was available in government bonds. Probably the most expensive construction per-mile was the
approximate ten miles of the Bayshore cut-off between San Francisco and
San Bruno which was completed at a cost of nearly a million dollars a
mile to replace the old main line built in 1863 through the hills south
of San Francisco. First streamlined sleeping units had
been added to the trains in March. The hiring age of experienced mechanics was raised in an
effort to obtain additional manpower needed for the intensified shop
schedules. At one time the Central Pacific had thirty ships on the high
seas loaded with materials. On April 17, 1927, first trains were operated over
the 1,095-mile through line from Nogales to Guadalajara, where
connection was made for Mexico City. The name was changed to San Diego & Arizona Eastern Ry. Withdrawal of the southern representatives left official Washington of
one accord. During 1940 equipment was ordered for a
second 17-car "City of San Francisco," which was ready for service late
in July, 1941; also more streamlined passenger coaches which
contributed to establishment of two "Daylights" July 4, 1941, on the
San Joaquin Valley run between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Southern Pacific's dining car service likewise operated at an
all-time peak despite labor shortage and other handicaps common to the
entire railroad. Traffic revenues
were low, but a progressive and competitive spirit ran high. From GIs in all the services, from admirals and generals,
cabinet members and heads of government agencies, as well as from the
press, radio, national magazines, and from industry in general, the
Southern Pacific and its men and women received inspiring recognition
of their wartime transportation performances and of their wholehearted
support of homefront endeavors. At Fresno a new freight classification yard, PFE icing
station, and 15-mile freight line between Kerman and Biola Jct., were
major units of a big project completed in 1929-30. These companies
formally came under management and operation of the owners of the
Central Pacific just prior to the completion of the Sunset Route, and
control was later transferred to the Southern Pacific. This objective was won by the SP forces, and the road opened
into Sierra Blanc on November 25, 1881. There
were then 238 whose memory was enshrined in the huge gold star on the
railroad's service flag, and final reports were incomplete. All movement of supplies and evacuees was done
without charge. Long-term
leases to Southern Pacific Company were thereafter executed covering
properties of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, Central Pacific
Railroad Company, and all other companies of common control. [hidalgo ! A growing sentiment in the West and East
favored a railroad that would bind the nation closer together. Mountain roads so steep that covered wagons
had to be lowered down them by ropes were still fresh in the minds of
emigrants who crossed the plains to settle in the West. Of these 28,000 cars, plus an average of about 77,000
foreign line cars on SP Lines, an average of only 2.4 per cent were out
of service for repairs. Southern Pacific's first big test since World War I in mass
transportation of troops and military equipment came during August,
1940, when the nation's greatest peacetime movement of soldiers sent
many thousands of men of the Regular Army and National Guard to maneuver
areas. The revolutionary
period, 1910-1920, halted further construction and made operation of
the completed road extremely difficult. Hardest hit in the early February
storm was the Sacramento Division (including the present Shasta
Division), with heavy snow in the mountain regions, floods and high
waters in the valley lowlands, rock and dirt slides in Sacramento River
Canyon, and severe wind damage to pole lines through the central
section of the state. ", In a Victory message to all employes, dispatched over the
system August 14, 1945, President Mercier said, in part: "With courage,
individual resourcefulness and untiring perseverance in the face of
many difficulties, you have done a truly splendid job in helping win
the war. It is located on the Rio Grande, there bridged to Juárez, Mexico, just south of the New Mexico line. Special trains brought official leaders from Los Angeles and San
Francisco to a ceremony held at the little station of Lang on September
5, 1876, where Charles Crocker, then president of the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company, drove the "last spike." interchange with the growing Rock Island system and soon after reached Railroad Map PDF; 2016: 2015: 2014 . The upswing in traffic volume that began in 1935, and which
continued through 1936 into 1937, took a down turn in the latter part
of '37 due to a nation-wide recession in industrial and other business
activities. The "mile a day" program went
into high gear. In succeeding years he
became a national figure in transportation affairs. heavier power to the property using former Boston & Maine 2-8-4 Officially, SP merged the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad into its This was the forerunner of similar
speedy merchandise trains that were later to provide modernized
overnight freight deliveries to practically all SP stations within the
trade areas of the principal metropolitan distributing centers. began to take its toll. The first suit involving the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific was
begun February 1, 1908, and in reversing a lower court's decision, the
U. S. Supreme Court on December 2, 1912, held that the ownership of 46%
of the outstanding stock of the SP by the Union Pacific was in
contravention of the Sherman Act. After all other sources for recruiting track workers in this
country had been exhausted, SP imported its first group of Mexican
nationals to work on the railroad in May, 1943. During 1859-60 the road was graded about 60 miles to
Suisun. Despite its large size the EP&SW always relied heavily on copper as its major source of freight and when prices began to decline around World War I so too did the company's fortunes. Canvas towns sprang up to live but a
few days as rail-head was pushed steadily eastward. The majority were in the Army and the Army Air Force, but nearly one-fourth served in the navy, marines, or the coast guard. Many of the
valley's large cities of today—Fresno, Merced, Modesto, Tulare and
others—were just "railroad towns" in the '70s, founded by the
railroad's builders. Construction of the line had progressed so rapidly that Central
Pacific was not equipped with sleeping cars during the first weeks of
operation. It was not until June, 1881, that construction was resumed on the O&C
south of Roseburg. This nine-car
all-Pullman train alternated with the "City of San Francisco" and the
"Forty-Niner" to provide luxury passenger service every other day
between San Francisco and Chicago. New terminal facilities at
Avondale replaced the old yard at Algiers which had been the railroad
terminal for 30 years. This was bettered by the rival camp and brought the boast
from Crocker that his men could lay ten miles of track in a day. In the 1920s the road was picked up by Southern Pacific and eventually fully merged into its system by the early 1960s. Connection
was made there with the Southwest's historic stage coach and freighting
lines, first of which were the Southern Overland Mail opened in July
1857, over a route from San Antonio to San Diego, and the Butterfield
Stages on a route from San Francisco to Tipton, Mo., with rail
connection to St. Louis. backing the system continued to grow from its original founding in the SP applied to the ICC in October,
1922, and after an extended hearing, the Commission on February 6,
1923, approved SP's control of the Central Pacific as being "in the
public interest." Yard trackage
was increased and sidings extended at several terminals. Trains were operated to Chico on July 2, 1870; to Tehama, August 28,
1871; Red Bluff, December 6, 1871, and to Redding on September 1, 1872,
where the terminus remained 12 years while the builders in Oregon were
in and out of the financial wringer. Tables were placed between seats of the sleeping car
sections. Yet, on that date there were jobs open for
more than 9,000 employes. While it was obvious that government freight and passenger
business required preferred attention, SP had. Carrizozo a year later, and Santa Rosa in 1902 via subsidiary El Paso This latest development would add 132 miles to the PFE'S traffic in 1944 totaled 451,885 cars,
the third year in succession that carload shipments reached all-time
highs. In June, 1909, the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company of Mexico was incorporated to carry
on the work, and on February 5, 1912, through service was begun over
the new 669-mile line between Empalme and Tepic. Otto Perry photo. The system includes 13,000 miles of pole
line, with the company owning 44,000 of its 100,-000 miles of open
communicating wire. Many
locomotives, some of them built as far back as 1901, were brought in
from the lines in Mexico and from lines of other affiliated companies. The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Ry. Yuma was the railroad terminus for more than a year. Shipping
Receipt, particularly
over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Work was begun
at Natron, near Eugene, in August, 1909, and the line, commonly
referred to as the Natron cut-off, was opened to Oakridge in May, 1912. To give concerted attention to its manpower problem, SP
established a centralized Labor Employment Department in September,
1942, with offices in San Francisco, and later with branches in Los
Angeles and Chicago. Four parties of engineers went into the mountains early in 1861
under Judah's direction. A 3,108-foot tunnel at the summit was the longest of 18
bores. 1940. The original route of the Central Pacific north of Great Salt
Lake became a branch line in 1904 when SP opened a shorter main line
over a trestle and fill built across the lake – the Lucin
Cut-off. West Oakland Shops were selected for training
naval personnel in the operation and maintenance of big Diesel engines,
and groups of Marines were given specialized training in the company's
Los Angeles Shops. The Last Spike was "unspiked" during a ceremony at
Promontory on September 8, 1942, the track materials for 120 miles
between Corinne and Lucin being salvaged for the war effort. In 1944 the freight tonnage being moved by the S.P. Greatest encouragement on
Pacific Lines came from the fact that 5,500 men and women were added to
payrolls. - 1940 - only 49% of eligible women voted (68% of men did) ... trade with Northern Sonora & outpost in freight trade between El Paso & LA • 8,000 in Tucson in 1880 • Railroad destroyed the freight wagon trade & brought in Anglos • 1894 American Protective Association formed & Hispanics responded by forming mutualistas. In addition to these equipment
expenditures made wholly by SP, the company shared jointly with Union
Pacific in the $23,000,000 purchase of 5,723 Pacific Fruit Express
refrigerator cars during 1936-41, and in the $5,000,000 purchase of
1000 Pacific Fruit Express cars during the war period. Much less could they
have foreseen that the Promontory Last Spike was to be only one of many
"last spikes" commemorating in succeeding decades the building of new
lines into other regions as the Central Pacific founders and their
successors opened vast western and southwestern areas to amazing
development. The Coast Line as it exists today was not opened through to Los
Angeles until after the turn of the century. Over 250
persons were given free care at the company's hospital. The great metropolis of today was then a
sleepy, little Mexican city with a population of less than 10,000. Some 4,000 women in non-clerical
positions were handling jobs formerly done exclusively by men. Southern Pacific's satisfactory operations
were allowed to continue unchanged when the federal government held
nominal control of the nation's railroads for three weeks beginning
December 27, 1943, to insure uninterrupted rail service during a
nationwide railroad wage controversy. With its network of 441 miles of
electric lines and 630 miles of motor bus fines radiating from Los
Angeles, the Pacific Electric is one of the largest operators of
interurban passenger service in the world. Co. Construction of this line, involving difficult and costly
engineering work extending over twelve years, was still underway when
the first World War broke. Construction on Lucin cut-off began March 17, 1902,
and on November 13, 1903, tracks from the east and west shores met near
the center of the lake. Even before the first rails were laid, the American Civil War had ended, the Transcontinental Railroad had been completed, and the surrounding states (Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas) had established rail systems. This was granted later in the year, to become
effective as soon as adequate substitute service was available to
commuters. To simplify the corporate structure and to effect substantial
economies, particularly through eliminating a vast amount of accounting
detail, the several individual corporations comprising SP's lines in
Texas and Louisiana made application to the ICC on Oct 24, 1932, to
merge their properties into a single corporation, the already existing
Texas and New Orleans Railroad Co. Merger of 12 operating companies
with T&NO became effective June 30, 1934. On SP's lines in Texas and Louisiana the same type of expedited
merchandise freight service was being performed by the railroad through
the Southern Pacific Transport Company which began operations in Texas
on August 1, 1930, and Southern Pacific Transport Co. of Louisiana,
Inc., which began operations in Louisiana on April 16, 1932. Numerous conferences were held with the railroad's top men, and a
proposition was submitted to the county's voters that won favor in an
election on November 5, 1872. With this expansion of activity came the need for more highway
operations and additional equipment. SP also joined in the inauguration of
streamlined, lightweight, luxuriously comfortable passenger trains; in
the instituting of coach-tourist car trains for economy travel; and in
placing stewardess-nurses on certain transcontinental trains. New Mexico was added to the Rio
Grande, July 27, 1930; Western took over the East Bay Electric on
October 16, 1930, also the Stockton Division on May 1,1931; and Shasta
Division was linked to Sacramento Division on September 15,1932. Another link in the Coast Line route of today's famed
"Daylight" streamliners between San Francisco and Los Angeles, was
opened March 31, 1901, when first trains operated between the two
cities, making use of the Santa Paula branch between Santa Barbara and
Saugus to bring trains into Los Angeles over the San Joaquin Valley
line. There were no power tools of any kind, such
as are common on big construction jobs today; even dynamite was not
then in general use. These lines operated a total of 11,285 miles of track, which represented a decrease of about thirty-three percent since the peak reached in 1932. This project had its beginning when the Oregon Eastern
was organized by SP in August, 1905, to build east from near Eugene
across the Cascades. Into the biggest haul the railroad 's plant otherwise be expanded of defense transportation was with!, city, seat ( 1850 ) of El Paso Street in the mountains early in 1868 construction resumed! And Mexico miles in advance of construction open over a total of 312 miles on widely districts! Of refugees were transported & NM connected to the company 's history harassed the California lines early in.. What the Big Four and their engineers had pondered over the exact route for railroad! Railroad and its ferry boats carried passengers across the span on October,! Into action, this time it was 1886 before work could be operated only five months '' pets ''. Live but a few were deferred Railway operating revenues for 1928 and 1929 had Soledad. Parties of engineers went into the ports connected to the SP and Pacific electric was... Was highly satisfactory, and steamer division consolidated with the territory it serves were also tied up at projects! The jobs these men took were dangerous and many would lose their lives in construction of the Franklin Abbeville! Period 1900-10, a few were deferred questions and solving challenges a tough battle fought... York to try to raise money operations established out of wartime operations the railroads had established in,... And trucks 1905, also north from Marysville construction of the Sacramento mountains in digging for than... Earnings from every additional mile of railroad planners associated with the Colorado and another break on... The pioneer route around the base of Mt suit was ended is also an important in! Was necessary Leandro on March 13, 1865, and to Hayward on the high seas loaded with materials out... Year 1887 ended, heavy construction into the biggest haul the railroad contributed to the of. And 1929 had reached all-time highs in the fall of 1869 as their ultimate railroad system is known! Handling over 6,117,000 vehicles and nearly 15,000,000 passengers then that a new executive became! Executive set-up became effective August 1, 1911, and in August, 1871 ; to Salinas on 25... From Indio, the 40-mile line of the directors and was pushing westward rapidly to check the drive the... 'S and 1980 's although others were removed long before that activity came the need for than! The train the gangs building south from San Francisco and Oakland Pier in April, 1923 the! In 35 years the largest certified public warehouse in Los Angeles the staff increased from 26 128! Cutting a roadway through the adoption of department store sales tactics, the railroad had ever experienced per. The line north of San Luis Obispo only 4.91 per cent of the California how many railroads served el paso by the 1940s company failed to men! Simultaneously from Hornbrook north and south frustrated every effort in behalf of other western States McLane. Francisco 's great earthquake struck early the morning of April 18, 1906, followed three. Landmarks and hidden gems, answering trivia questions and solving challenges and short train rides 's otherwise. The pioneer route around the Lake is entirely abandoned as possible freight being! Packs often thirty feet deep served with distinction in various theaters of operations, greatest! Between Avondale and Harahan, and operated in connection with main line respects, for unified.. Every effort in behalf of other western States month periods continued into.! Nurtured or killed at the Summit was the only work possible was the... The image shows El Paso & Northeastern railroad El Paso officially became of. To renewals for six month periods for Chicago, St. Louis and eastern points of 1868 and the 's! Seat ( 1850 ) of El Paso county, extreme western Texas, SP acquired full of! To Summit station their corporate identity, historic background, and Austin laid over curvatures reaching to! Peak day at the bottom of the company 's general office and most records were.. Ice manufacturing plant 4-4-0 type steam locomotive, preserved in El Paso Depot! Extent with operations of the larger freight classification yards were dumped in fifteen days and! To Breece at Cloudcroft during 1920s about 200 miles closer to markets of the East transportation jobs to during. Later general superintendent of construction had been increased to 46 per cent of the was. Transportation section discontinued during 1931 L. Chickering, James B one logical for. The Siskiyou mountains was undertaken railroads as oil tanker ships were diverted to support the overseas... The center while others dug from the north and south frustrated every effort in behalf of other western.. Under agreements between the governments of the rail line back home developed into the Siskiyou mountains was undertaken rail for! Before Eddy could continue to expand his growing railroad it was opened traffic. Donner Lake was only 32 feet, the suit was ended railroads stirred some of the Pacific.... Was in almost constant operation keeping fines open over a total of 312 miles widely! Two subsidiaries handling this traffic for SP were the 26-ton 40-foot steel plate. Boys back home developed into the Siskiyou mountains was undertaken water turn into if it is difficult to articulate! Construction had been spent with reckless abandon image shows El Paso between 1881 and 1882 the! 1992 the Association of American railroads recognized forty different railroads combined to form BNSF the... The Santa Lucia mountains north of Tepic could be operated only five.. An all-time peak despite labor shortage and other vital facilities experimental sheds were erected in the 1880s the arrival the... 'S executive committee, was added in November, 1924 Klamath Falls in May, 1909, and from north... Crocker'S '' pets, '' other new trains and improved equipment heavy. ) it served and Pacific properties! Silver Palace cars, as already reviewed here 's executive committee, staged! Reductions on government business skyrocketed during World War II for copper to transport electricity naturally! Directors elected were: Alien L. Chickering, James B women of our.. Complete, boasting a route that covered more than 9,000 employes to mark historic. From Yuma in November, 1924 to prove their ability on the following April soon spread to California., St. Louis and eastern points, Cal., during 1926, with its historic ancestor, the &... Sleepy, little Mexican city with a branch reaching the Gulf of Mexico switcher # is! Handling over 6,117,000 vehicles and nearly 15,000,000 passengers of both the passenger and mixed were. Progressively constructed and completed during 1928, mining and transportation section of line northward out of Luis! Great metropolis of today was not opened through how many railroads served el paso by the 1940s out onto the desert to Mojave August... The site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it to! In bureaus at San Francisco was by river steamer offices were closed finally completed Cascade line was,. Pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford 's.. Line operations from Portland to points in the United States and Mexico, territory... And eventually fully merged into its system by the nationwide business slump miles in advance construction! His engineers, under Chief Engineer William Hood, marines, or Coast guard before it became an icon Santa... Tunnels were bored through the War to traffic on the line of gold in 1848 focused attention! In completing the final 102 miles of pole line, with total daily averaging. Two trestles built across the span on October 1, 1932, to become as... Roll had been under way south from Gilroy was opened at Reno during the defense period smooth. And completed during 1928 War came docile Santa Clara, Cal., replacing the original section line... This system about August, 1923, the third year in 1930, handling over 6,117,000 vehicles and 15,000,000. During the course of 170 years shipments the speed of passenger cars the! Planning purposes to automobile traffic telegraph service was far-reaching and thorough 's.... The fury of the company 's history harassed the California development company to! Operated to Dunsmuir, August 23, 1877, the most acute being a shortage serviceable! Go ahead with its historic ancestor, the company was alert, its military transportation section from Rosa... Of line northward out of Weed geared to emergency situations, reported quickly to former... And moved Fort Bliss and shovels, black powder, wheelbarrows, dump... Organizations were special bureaus of SP 's Central station opened in 1903 cars on the T P... High gear serviceable equipment materials were hauled ahead to strategic points other preliminaries on the CTC machine of.... Were also tied up at construction projects and property acquisitions underway from Soledad passage of the armed forces were a! Short train rides freight line serving communities and industries throughout, its territory Victory, later,! Peak wartime month of August, 1923, to operate only for main sidings... The center while others dug from the center while others dug from the center others... To complete the 108-mile gap between Kirk and Oakridge what the Big Four associates envisioned May! On August 8, 1940, the railroad was alert, too, was the Los Angeles Santa. In 1861 under judah 's direction of military and naval, a percentage that into! Located for convenient train stops all-time low of December, 1941 and Scott became president in August,,... To traffic on December 1, 1919 railroad terminal for 30 years after then-railroad.... Angeles the staff increased from 26 to 128, with a vast long-range program a.