And within only a few years, the transcontinental railroad turned the frontier wilderness of the western territories into regions populated by European-Americans, enabling business and commerce to proliferate and effectively ending the traditional Native American way of life. They were routinely lowered down sheer cliff faces in makeshift baskets on ropes where they drilled holes, filled them with explosives, lit the fuse and then were yanked up as fast as possible to avoid the blast. Roger Puta photo. The Pacific Railroad Act facilitated the creation of the First Transcontinental Railroad, a huge railway line that connected the east of the USA to the west. The Big Four replaced Judah with Samuel Montague and the Central Pacific construction crews began building the line east from Sacramento. (A bridge over the Missouri River would be built later to join Omaha to Council Bluffs, the official eastern terminus.) A year later electrified service was initiated (November 15, 1913). From Niles, the line split in opposite directions, reaching Oakland and San Jose. The website contains everything from historic (fallen flags) to contemporary (Class I's, regionals, short lines, and even some museums/tourist lines) rosters, locomotive production information, technical data, all notable models cataloged by the five major builders (American Locomotive, Electro-Motive, General Electric, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin), and much more. Judah used maps from his survey to bolster his presentation to Congress in October 1861. It is difficult to truly articulate just how much material can be found at this website. It was incorporated in 1861 by Judah and "The Big Four" (who called themselves "The Associates"): Sacramento, California businessmen Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. Another benefit was the difference in grades; Donner ranged from between 1% to 2.3% during an 80-mile stretch while Beckwourth's never exceeded 1%. From the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. Pacific Railway Act Digital History ID 4004. By early April, 1913 it had extended to Sacramento and a connection with the Northern Electric. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Almost immediately, conflicts arose between Judah and his business partners over the construction of the Central Pacific line. Sacramento Northern's "Southern Division" was the work of the Oakland & Antioch Railway. When completed in the early 20th century, the Western Pacific marked one of the last major projects of its kind ever undertaken. Forming The Modern Southern Pacific. Contractors officially turned over the property to the operating department on July 1, 1911. All content copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted). The CZ was still witnessing relatively strong ridership when an ailing Western Pacific elected to cancel its leg on March 22, 1970. Canons boomed in San Francisco and Washington. They often lived in the tunnels as they worked their way through the solid granite, saving precious time and energy from entering and exiting the worksite each day. Western Pacific F7's approach Dixon Landing Road between Fremont and Milpitas, California with a long freight train during the fall of 1978. Indeed, at one point the graders from both companies, working ahead of track layers, actually passed one another as they were unwilling to concede territory to their competitors. In 1922 Western Pacific acquired the SN for its freight business, adding the Sacramento Short Line in 1927 for the same purpose. On March 20, 1949 it introduced one of the most successful and fondly remembered streamliners of all time, the California Zephyr (CZ). According to Brian Solomon's book, "Southern Pacific Railroad," the very first "Western Pacific Railroad Company" dates back to the Transcontinental Railroad, incorporated on December 13, 1862 by Collis Huntington to give the then-Central Pacific Railroad (CP) direct access into the Bay Area. According to James Griffin's book, "Rio Grande Railroad," Gould used his D&RG/RGW railroads to finance Western Pacific's enormous construction costs (the two would contribute a total of $31.5 million to the endeavor, or roughly 40%). Frustrated at the lack of manpower necessary to support the railroad, Crocker suggested to his work boss, James Strobridge, that they hire Chinese laborers. Once believed to be too frail to perform arduous manual labor, the Chinese workers accomplished amazing and dangerous feats no other workers would or could do. Richard C. Overton, Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines (New York: Knopf, 1965). Just six years later the OA&E found itself in a similar predicament and was renamed as the San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad (the so-called "Sacramento Short Line"). It was reorganized as the Western Pacific Railroad on June 16, 1916. Butters who quickly eyed a connection into Sacramento. These images may not be downloaded or used for any commercial purpose without specific written permission from Union Pacific. Today, the Western Pacific may no longer exist but its legacy Kansas Pacific Railroad (1863-1880) â Established in 1855 as the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad, it was later reorganized in 1863 as the Union Pacific Eastern Division.Authorized by the United States Congress as part of the Pacific Railway Act, its mission was to create a second southerly branch of the transcontinental railroad, alongside the Union Pacific. The nation was indeed united. Finding workers was a more difficult task for the Central Pacific. While the railroad boasted stunning scenery and the lowest grades through the Sierra Range, profits did not reflect these attributes. First, he opened a branch to nearby San Jose and then acquired 64 miles of the narrow-gauge Nevada-California-Oregon Railway (N-C-O) on June 17, 1917. For operations of the current railroad, see Union Pacific Railroad; for the holding company that owns the current railroad, see Union Pacific Corporation. Western Pacific GP35 #3021, two other Geeps, and a U-boat lead a westbound freight through Quincy, California during August of 1969. During the four years of construction, work was slow but steady. A rail line built along this route would require tunneling through granite mountains and crossing deep ravines, an engineering feat yet to be attempted in the U.S. After he realized Keddie's intentions the two men joined forces to create the Western Pacific Railway on March 3, 1903. Theodore Judah, a civil engineer who helped build the first railroad in California, promoted a route along the 41st parallel, running through Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. However, Crédit Moblier was owned by Union Pacific investors and, over the next few years, it swindled the government out of tens of millions of dollars by charging extortionate fees for the work. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. Photographer unknown. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the, You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's, Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. It reached its final length on January 10, 1912 when it opened to Lakeview, Oregon. Although Judah's plan had merit, detractors noted the formidable obstacles along his proposed route, the most serious of which was the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It began from Bay Point, near Oakland, where a connection was achieved with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (Santa Fe) and progressed eastward. The son of legendary mogul, Jay Gould, he was then working to complete his late father's dream of a true, coast-to-coast railroad. It could be strongly argued the Western Pacific should have never been The Pacific Railway Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 1, 1862. The railroad workers were armed and oftentimes protected by U.S. Calvary and friendly Pawnee Indians, but the workforce routinely faced Native American raiding parties that attacked surveyors and workers, stole livestock and equipment, and pulled up track and derailed locomotives. Several years later, Keddie tried a second time when he helped establish the San Francisco & Great Salt Lake Railroad, incorporated on May 21, 1892. Became Stockton Terminal & Eastern #1000-1001 in 8/1966. Later that year it abandoned the parallel Plumas Branch and dropped the 28-mile northern component to Hackstaff (in 1926 the Southern Pacific picked up the remainder of the N-C-O property). The NE was funded and promoted by H.A. The OA&E was hampered by a rugged profile due to its crossing of the Coast Range, requiring grades of 3% and 3,500-foot tunnel. An aging Western Pacific F7A at the engine terminal in Stockton, California during March of 1972. The Missouri Pacific Historical Society, Inc. was organized as a not-for-profit corporation in 1980. 1 (Built as Texas Pacific-Missouri Pacific Terminal #12. Laborers, mainly Irish immigrants, were hired in New York and Boston and shipped out west at great expense. Drew Jacksich photo. Prior to the American Civil War, disagreement between the northern and southern states prevented the creation of this railroad. Crocker was in charge of construction, which bega⦠Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). Despite a route difficult to maintain it was operationally superior to the SP's former Central Pacific corridor over Donner Pass (part of the original Transcontinental Railroad). A Western Pacific freight train, led by U30B #3055 and several EMD units, sweeps over the Southern Pacific (now abandoned) on California's Altamont Pass in March, 1981. A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Founded July 1, 1862, when President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, Union Pacific has been building America for more than 150 years. Such a project had been tried many times but noted tycoon Collis P. Huntington, who controlled the SP, used his influence to stop each attempt. No particular route became a clear favorite as political groups were split over whether the route should be a northern or southern one. The annexation of the California territory following the Mexican-American War, the discovery of gold in the region in 1848, and statehood for California in 1850 further spurred the interest to unite the country as thousands of immigrants and miners sought their fortune in the West. They recommended a line that would follow Platt River, along the North Fork, that would cross the Continental Divide at South Pass in Wyoming and continue along to Green River. On July 1, 1862, Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, authorizing land grants and government bonds, which amounted to $32,000 per mile of track laid, to two companies, the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. The men, mostly Irishmen, worked hard and well, despite going on strike occasionally when Durant withheld their pay over petty labor disputes. But many of them abandoned railroad work, lured by the Nevada silver mines. Many Congressmen were leery of beginning such an expensive venture, especially with the Civil War underway, but President Abraham Lincoln, who was a long time supporter of railroads, agreed with Judah. Western Pacific GP35 #3004, U30B #3061, and GP40 #3520 through the fall colors of Northern California in October, 1972. One of the engineering marvels of the Western Pacific's construction was Williams Loop in Northern California. They blasted tunnels through the solid granite -- sometimes progressing only a foot a day. Heading into the setting sun is an A-B-B lashup of F7s, led by #914-A, as their pig train rolls eastbound near Livermore, California during July of 1966. 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