|
Pacific Coast Railway
The Pacific Coast Railway was a narrow gauge railway on the Central Coast of California. The original 10-mile (16 km) link from San Luis Obispo to Avila Beach and Port Harford was later built southward to Santa Maria and Los Olivos, with branches to Sisquoc and Guadalupe. Origins The Santa Maria Valley of the central California coast was isolated by the Santa Lucia Range to the north and the Santa Inez Range to the south. '' El Camino Real'' traversed the difficult Cuesta Pass to reach San Francisco via the Salinas Valley or San Marcos Pass to reach Los Angeles via Santa Barbara. The People's Wharf was built at Port Harford in 1869 to transfer freight and passengers from Pacific Coast Steamships ''Mohongo'', ''Orizaba'' and ''Gypsy'' operating between San Francisco and San Diego. Goodall, Nelson and Perkins steamships ''Ventura'' and ''Constantine'' began weekly service to Port Harford in 1873; and Ah Louis built a horse-powered, narrow gauge tramway in 1873 to tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Margarita, California
Santa Margarita ( Spanish for " St. Margaret") is a town and census-designated place located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It was founded in 1889 near Cuesta Peak and San Luis Obispo along State Route 58. The town's name comes from the Mexican Alta California land grant of Rancho Santa Margarita. It is home to the Santa Margarita de Cortona Asistencia site. The population was 1,259 at the 2010 census. Etymology Santa Margarita was named for the 13th-century Saint Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297). Geography Located in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, it is one of the most rural communities in San Luis Obispo County. Santa Margarita Lake, a major water source for San Luis Obispo, is located several miles southeast of the town on the headwaters of the Salinas River. It is served by ZIP code 93453 and area code 805. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of , all of it land. Climate Santa Margarita experiences a cool Mediterran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Marcos Pass
San Marcos Pass (Chumash: ''Mistaxiwax'') is a mountain pass in the Santa Ynez Mountains in southern California. It is traversed by State Route 154. The pass crosses the Santa Ynez through a southwestern portion of Los Padres National Forest, and connects Los Olivos (and the Santa Ynez Valley) with Santa Barbara, California along the Pacific coast. The road has been designated as a daylight-headlight highway by the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans because of frequent accidents, particularly around the exit for Lake Cachuma. Geography The pass is one of three passages across the steep Santa Ynez Mountains, and the nearest to Santa Barbara. The Painted Cave community and Laurel Springs Ranch near Chumash Painted Cave SHP is four miles east of San Marcos Pass via East Camino Cielo Road, which intersects with SR 154 right at the summit. San Marcos Pass is a shorter but hillier alternative to using Highway 101 through Gaviota Pass. "Battle" of Fremont's Pass No shots w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betteravia, California
Betteravia (from French " sugar beet roots") was a community in northern Santa Barbara County, California on Betteravia Road, six miles west of Santa Maria. It is notable as a rare ghost town on the Central Coast of California. History Betteravia was a company town founded on the former Rancho Punta de Laguna around the turn of the 20th century and existed for nearly ninety years. The Union Sugar Refining Company established a sugar beet farm here in 1897. At one time this community supported a population of 350 residents, the vast majority of whom were employed by the Union Sugar Company, now a part of Sara Lee Corporation. The community consisted of 65 cottages, a hotel, a church, a schoolhouse, a post office, an amusement hall, a general store, a gasoline station, and a fire department. Housing consisted of small cottages, larger 2-3 bedroom homes, a larger superintendents home, and a very large plant managers home complete with fish ponds and an aviary. Housing was determ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The original Southern Pacific began in 1865 as a land holding company. The last incarnation of the Southern Pacific, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, was founded in 1969 and assumed control of the Southern Pacific system. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company was acquired in 1996 by the Union Pacific Corporation and merged with their Union Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific legacy founded hospitals in San Francisco, Tucson, and Houston. In the 1970s, it also founded a telecommunications network with a state-of-the-art microwave and fiber optic backbone. This telecommunications network became part of Sprint, a comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flatcar
A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair (or rarely, more) of bogies under each end. The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck. Flatcars are used for loads that are too large or cumbersome to load in enclosed cars such as boxcars. They are also often used to transport intermodal containers (shipping containers) or trailers as part of intermodal freight transport shipping. Specialized types Aircraft parts flatcars Aircraft parts were hauled via conventional freight cars beginning in World War II. However, given the ever-increasing size ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant Locomotive Works
Grant Locomotive Works was a manufacturer of steam railway locomotives from 1867 to 1895, first in Paterson, New Jersey, and then in Chicago. The company built about 1,888 locomotives. Predecessors In 1842, Samuel Smith, Abram Collier, and George Bradley started a small foundry in Paterson. In 1848, Smith sold his interest to Collier and formed a new partnership with his brother, William C. Smith, Henry Whitely, and Thomas Beggs. Beggs died soon thereafter and William Smith and Whitely sold their interests. William Swinburne, who had been superintendent at Rogers Locomotive Works bought Beggs's interest. The firm was renamed Swinburne, Smith and Company. In 1848, it took an order for ten locomotives for the New York and Erie Railroad; three years later, it received a corporate charter as New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Company. In 1863-64, Oliver De Forest Grant bought the stock and ran the business with his sons, David B. Grant and R. Suydam Grant. The father died shortly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades the world's largest producer of steam locomotives, but struggled to compete as demand switched to diesel locomotives. Baldwin produced the last of its 70,000-plus locomotives in 1951, before merging with the Lima-Hamilton Corporation on September 11, 1951, to form the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation. The company has no relation to the E.M. Baldwin and Sons of New South Wales, Australia, a builder of small diesel locomotives for sugar cane railroads. History: 19th century Beginning The Baldwin Locomotive Works had a humble beginning. Matthias W. Baldwin, the founder, was a jeweler and whitesmith, who, in 1825, formed a partnership with machinist David H. Mason, and engaged in the manufacture of bookbinders' tools and cylinders fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coach (rail)
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passengers. The term ''passenger car'' can also be associated with a sleeping car, a baggage car, a dining car, railway post office and prisoner transport cars. The first passenger cars were built in the early 1800s with the advent of the first railroads, and were small and little more than converted freight cars. Early passenger cars were constructed from wood; in the 1900s construction shifted to steel and later aluminum for improved strength. Passenger cars have increased greatly in size from their earliest versions, with modern bi-level passenger cars capable of carrying over 100 passengers. Amenities for passengers have also improved over time, with developments such as lighting, heating, and air conditioning added for improved passenger com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most loads. Boxcars have side sliding doors of varying size and operation, and some include end doors and adjustable bulkheads to load very large items. Similar covered freight cars outside North America are covered goods wagons and, depending on the region, are called ''goods van'' ( UK and Australia), ''covered wagon'' ( UIC and UK) or simply ''van'' (UIC, UK and Australia). Use Boxcars can carry most kinds of freight. Originally they were hand-loaded, but in more recent years mechanical assistance such as forklifts have been used to load and empty them faster. Their generalized design is still slower to load and unload than specialized designs of car, and this partially explains the decline in boxcar numbers since World War II. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ah Louis
On Wong (; 1840 – December 16, 1936), more commonly known as Ah Louis, was a Chinese American banker, labor contractor, farmer, and shopkeeper in San Luis Obispo, California, during the late 19th and early 20th century. His Ah Louis Store building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ah Louis was a central figure in the development of the Central Coast of California, serving as an organizer of Chinese laborers during the construction of the Pacific Coast Railway's Avila— Port Harford spur and the tunnels through Cuesta Grade over the Santa Lucia Range. History Ah Louis traveled from his home in Guangdong Province, (today's) Greater Taishan Region, China, and arrived in California between 1856 and 1861 in order to strike it rich during the California Gold Rush. Unsuccessful at mining, he became a laborer working in Corvallis, Oregon, and further south. Wong settled in San Luis Obispo, California, in 1870, and was working as a cook in a hotel there in 1871. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Clement Perkins
George Clement Perkins (August 23, 1839February 26, 1923) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Perkins served as the 14th Governor of California from 1880 to 1883, and as United States Senator from California from 1893 to 1915. He also served in the California State Senate. Life and career Perkins was born in 1839 in Kennebunkport, Maine, the son of Lucinda (Fairfield) and Clement Perkins. Perkins ran away to sea at age twelve, eventually arriving in San Francisco in 1855. After making an unsuccessful effort at staking a mining claim in Butte County, Perkins worked a succession of jobs in Sacramento and the mining town of Oroville, including driving a mule team and working as a store clerk. Perkins eventually bought the Oroville store he clerked at, and was soon grossing $500,000 a year. Perkins was elected to California State Senate in 1869, representing Butte County. While in serving in the Senate in Sacramento, Perkins met busines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States and the seat of San Diego County, the fifth most populous county in the United States, with 3,338,330 estimated residents as of 2019. The city is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches and parks, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center. San Diego is the second largest city in the state of California, after Los Angeles. Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego is frequently referred to as the "Birthplace of California", as it was the first site visited and settled by Europeans on what is now the U.S. west coast. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Boxcar")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Ah Louis")
.jpg "Click for more on -> San Diego")