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The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
. 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 The Union Pacific Corporation (Union Pacific) is a publicly traded railroad holding company. It was incorporated in Utah in 1969 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent company of the current, Delaware-registered, form of the ...
and merged with their
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
. The Southern Pacific legacy founded hospitals in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, and
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. 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 company whose name came from the acronym for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony.


History

The original Southern Pacific, Southern Pacific Railroad, was founded as a land holding company in 1865, later acquiring the Central Pacific Railroad in 1885 through leasing. By 1900, the Southern Pacific system was a major railroad system incorporating many smaller companies, such as the
Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was a partl ...
and
Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad Henry Morgan & Company (colloquially Morgan's) was a Canadian department store chain founded by Henry Morgan in 1845. The first store was located in Montreal, and expanded to include 11 stores in Ontario and Quebec before being bought by Hudson's ...
. It extended from
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
through
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
to
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
, across
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
and through
Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, through most of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, including
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. Central Pacific lines extended east across
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
to Ogden, Utah, and reached north through
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
to
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
. Other subsidiaries eventually included the St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt),
El Paso and Southwestern Railroad The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad began in 1888 as the Arizona and South Eastern Railroad, a short line serving copper mines in southern Arizona. Over the next few decades, it grew into a 1200-mile system that stretched from Tucumcari, New ...
, the
Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a reg ...
at , the Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico, and a variety of
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
routes. The SP was the defendant in the landmark 1886
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case ''
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad ''Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company'', 118 U.S. 394 (1886), is a corporate law case of the United States Supreme Court concerning taxation of railroad properties. The case is most notable for a headnote stating that the Equa ...
'', which is often interpreted as having established certain corporate rights under the
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
. The Southern Pacific Railroad was replaced by the Southern Pacific Company and assumed the railroad operations of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1929, Southern Pacific/Texas and New Orleans operated 13,848 route-miles not including Cotton Belt, whose purchase of the Golden State Route circa 1980 nearly doubled its size to , bringing total SP/SSW mileage to around . In 1969, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company was established and took over the Southern Pacific Company; this Southern Pacific railroad is the last incarnation and was at times called "Southern Pacific Industries", though "Southern Pacific Industries" is not the official name of the company. By the 1980s, route mileage had dropped to , mainly due to the pruning of branch lines. On October 13, 1988, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (including its subsidiary, St. Louis Southwestern Railway) was taken over by
Rio Grande Industries Rio Grande Industries (RGI or Rio Grande Industries, Inc.) was a name of two holding companies that were involved in the railroading industry. The original and second company took part in the operations of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Ra ...
, the parent company that controlled the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from D ...
. Rio Grande Industries did not merge the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad together, but transferred direct ownership of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, allowing the combined Rio Grande Industries railroad system to use the Southern Pacific name due to its brand recognition in the railroad industry and with customers of both the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. A long time Southern Pacific subsidiary, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway was also marketed under the Southern Pacific name. Along with the addition of the SPCSL Corporation route from Chicago to St. Louis, the total length of the D&RGW/SP/SSW system was . Rio Grande Industries was later renamed Southern Pacific Rail Corporation. By 1996, years of financial problems had dropped Southern Pacific's mileage to . The financial problems caused the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to be taken over by the
Union Pacific Corporation The Union Pacific Corporation (Union Pacific) is a publicly traded railroad holding company. It was incorporated in Utah in 1969 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent company of the current, Delaware-registered, form of the ...
; the parent Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly Rio Grande Industries), the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation was also taken over by the Union Pacific Corporation. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation into their
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
but did not merge the Southern Pacific Transportation Company into the Union Pacific Railroad. Instead, the Union Pacific Corporation merged the Union Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company on February 1, 1998; the Southern Pacific Transportation Company became the surviving railroad and at the same time the Union Pacific Corporation renamed the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to Union Pacific Railroad. Thus, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company became, and is still operating as, the current incarnation of the Union Pacific Railroad.


Locomotives

Like most railroads, the SP painted most of its steam locomotives black during the 20th century, but after 1945 SP painted the front of the locomotive's
smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...
silver (almost white in appearance), with graphite colored sides, for visibility. Some passenger steam locomotives bore the ''Daylight'' scheme, named after the trains they hauled, most of which had the word ''Daylight'' in the train name. The most famous "Daylight" locomotives were the GS-4
steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
. The most famous Daylight-hauled trains were the Coast Daylight and the Sunset Limited. Well known were the Southern Pacific's unique " cab-forward" steam locomotives.. These were 4-8-8-2, 2-8-8-2, and 4-6-6-2 (rebuilt from 2-6-6-2) locomotives set up to run in reverse, with the tender attached to the smokebox end of the locomotive. Southern Pacific had a number of
snow shed Avalanche control or avalanche defense activities reduce the hazard avalanches pose to human life, activity, and property. After a number of engineers began running their engines in reverse (pushing the tender), Southern Pacific asked Baldwin Locomotive Works to produce cab-forward designs. No other North American railroad ordered cab-forward locomotives.


Passenger train service

Until May 1, 1971 (when
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
took over long-distance passenger operations in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
), the Southern Pacific at various times operated the following named
passenger trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
. Trains with names in ''italicized bold text'' still operate under Amtrak: * '' 49er'' * '' Acadian'' * ''Apache'' * ''
Argonaut The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', n ...
'' * ''
Arizona Limited The ''Arizona Limited'' was an extra-fare streamliner train operated by the Southern Pacific and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad from 1940 until 1942 on the Golden State route from Chicago, Illinois, to Phoenix, Arizona, via Tucumcari ...
'' * ''Beaver'' * ''Californian'' * '' Cascade'' * '' City of San Francisco'' * ''
Coast Daylight The ''Coast Daylight'', originally known as the ''Daylight Limited'', was a passenger train on the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, via SP's Coast Line. It was advertised as the "most beautiful ...
'' * ''Coast Mail'' * ''Coaster'' * '' Del Monte'' * ''Fast Mail'' * '' Golden Rocket'' * '' Golden State'' * ''Grand Canyon'' * ''Hustler'' * ''
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
'' * ''Klamath'' * ''
Lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark oc ...
'' * ''Oregonian'' * '' Overland'' * ''Owl'' * '' Pacific Limited'' * ''
Peninsula Commute The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California and San Francisco, California on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a ...
'' ** ''Loop Service'' * ''Rogue River'' * ''
Sacramento Daylight The ''Sacramento Daylight'' was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad, part of the family of "Daylights" which included the ''San Joaquin Daylight'', '' Shasta Daylight'', ''Coast Daylight'', and '' Sunbeam''. It carri ...
'' * ''
San Francisco Challenger The ''San Francisco Challenger'' was a train operated by Southern Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Starting in 1936, it ran from Oakland, California to Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Wi ...
'' * ''
San Joaquin Daylight The ''San Joaquin Daylight'' was a Southern Pacific passenger train (train numbers 51 and 52) inaugurated between Los Angeles and San Francisco's Oakland Pier by way of the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Pass on July 4, 1941. Travel times wer ...
'' * ''Senator'' * ''
Shasta Daylight The ''Shasta Daylight'' was a Southern Pacific Railroad passenger train between Oakland Pier in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon. It started on July 10, 1949, and was SP's third "Daylight" streamliner; it had a fast 15-hour-30-minut ...
'' * ''Shasta Express'' * ''Shasta Limited'' * ''Shasta Limited De Luxe'' * ''Starlight'' * '' Sunbeam'' * '' Sunset Limited'' * '' Suntan Special'' * ''Tehachapi'' * ''
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
'' * ''El Costeño'' * ''El Yaqui''


Locomotives used for passenger service


Steam locomotives

* 2-8-0 Consolidation * 2-8-2 Mikado * 4-4-2 Atlantic * 4-6-2 Pacific – see SP 2472 * 4-8-2 Mountain – see SP Mt-5 * 4-8-4 Golden State/General Service – see SP 4449 * 2-8-8-4 * 4-8-8-2 Cab Forward Articulated *
4-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, represents the arrangement of four leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. In South Africa, where the wheel arra ...
Southern Pacific - see SP 5021


Diesel locomotives

*
ALCO PA The ALCO PA was a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains. The locomotives were built in Schenectady, New York, in the United States, by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and General Electric (GE ...
*
EMC E2 The EMC E2 was an American passenger-train diesel locomotive which as a single unit developed , from two (2) prime movers. These locomotives were typically operated as a unit set ( A - B - B) or ( A - B - A); where the three unit lashup deve ...
*
EMD E7 The E7 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. 428 cab versions, or E7As, were built from February 1945 to April 1949; 82 booster E7Bs were built from March 1945 to Ju ...
*
EMD E8 The E8 is a , A1A-A1A passenger-train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois. A total of 450 cab versions, or E8As, were built from August 1949 to January 1954, 447 for the U.S. and 3 for Cana ...
*
EMD E9 The E9 is a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois, between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped A units were produced and 44 cabless booster B units ...
*
EMD FP7 The EMD FP7 is a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, ...
*
GE 70-ton switcher The GE 70-ton switcher is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between about 1942 and 1955. It is classified as a B-B type locomotive. The first series of "70 tonners" were a group of seven center-cab locomotives built for ...
*
EMD NW2 The EMD NW2 is a , B-B switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. From February 1939 to December 1949, EMD produced 1,145 NW2s: 1,121 for U.S. and 24 for Canadian railroads. Starting in ...
*
EMD NW5 The EMD NW5 was a road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between December 1946 and February 1947. A total of 13 were produced, of which the majority (ten locomotives) ...
*
EMD SW1 The EMD SW1 is a Diesel locomotive#Diesel–electric, diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by General Motors Corporation, General Motors' Electro-Motive Diesel, Electro-Motive Corporation (later Division) between December 1938 and November ...
*
EMD SW8 The EMD SW8 is a diesel switcher locomotive manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between September 1950 and February 1954. Power is supplied by an EMD 567B 8-cylinder engine, for a total of . A tot ...
* EMD SW900 *
EMD SW1200 An EMD SW1200 is a 4 axle diesel switcher locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and May 1966. Power is provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine which generates . Additional SW1200 production was comp ...
*
EMD SW1500 The EMD SW1500 is a Diesel-electric locomotive intended for switching service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division from 1966 to 1974. The SW1500 replaced the SW1200 in the EMD product line. Many railroads regularly used SW1500s f ...
* GE U25B *
GE U28B The GE U28B diesel-electric locomotive model replaced the U25B in early 1966, featuring a slightly uprated prime mover (only more power than the U25B). Early units had the same car body styling as the U25B, while later units had design features ...
*
GE U30C The GE U30C is a six-axle locomotive built by General Electric from 1966 to 1976. With 600 units sold, the U30C proved to be a viable alternative for customers who were unable to purchase SD40s from Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) due to production ba ...
*
GE U33C The GE U33C is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems between January 1968 and January 1975. 375 examples of this locomotive were built for 11 North American railroads and one construction contractor. Original ow ...
*
FM H-12-44 The FM H-12-44 was a switcher locomotive produced by Fairbanks-Morse from May 1950 until March 1961. The units had a , six-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover, and were configured in a B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-a ...
* FM H-24-66 "Train Master" *
EMD GP7 The EMD GP7 is a four-axle ( B-B) diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October 1949 and May 1954.Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973) pp. 53 Power was provided by an EMD 567B ...
*
EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen- cylin ...
*
EMD SD7 An SD7 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1951 and November 1953. It had an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine producing for its six traction motors. 188 were built for United States railroads. ...
*
EMD SD9 An SD9 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated . Externally similar to its predecessor, the SD7, the SD9 was built with the improv ...
*
GE P30CH The GE P30CH (nicknamed "Pooch" because of the similarity of the designation) was one of the first brand-new diesel-electric locomotives built for Amtrak by General Electric during Amtrak's early years. The design was based on the GE U30C, but ha ...
*
EMD SD40M-2 EMD may refer to: Finance and commerce * Emerging market debt * Earnest money deposit, in the United States, a security deposit, especially for real estate Medicine * Electromagnetic diaphragm * Electromechanical dissociation * Emergency me ...
*
EMD SD39-2 An SD39 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors Electro-Motive Division between August 1968 and May 1970. 54 were built for American railroads. In 1966 Electro-Motive Diesel, EMD replaced all their ...
* EMD SD38-2 *
EMD SD35 An EMD SD35 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1964 and January 1966. Power was provided by an EMD 567D3A, 16-cylinder engine which generated . A fuel tank was used on this unit. ...
*
EMD SDP45 The SDP45 is a six-axle, C-C, diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. It was a passenger-hauling version of the SD45 on a stretched locomotive frame with an extended, squared-off long ...
*
EMD GP60 An EMD GP60 is a 4-axle (AAR wheel arrangement#B-B, B-B) diesel locomotive, diesel-electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1985 and 1994. The GP60 was EMD's first engine that was classif ...
* EMD GP40P-2 * EMD GP40M-2 *
EMD GP40-2 The EMD GP40-2 is a 4-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division as part of its Dash 2 line between April 1972 and December 1986. The locomotive's power is provided by an EMD 645E3 16-cylinder engine which generates ...
*
EMD GP38-2 The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 16-cyl ...
*
EMD GP20 An EMD GP20 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between November 1959 and April 1962. Power was provided by an EMD 567D2 16-cylinder turbocharged engine which generated . EMD was initially hes ...
*
EMD SD35 An EMD SD35 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1964 and January 1966. Power was provided by an EMD 567D3A, 16-cylinder engine which generated . A fuel tank was used on this unit. ...
* GE B30-7 *
GE B36-7 The GE B36-7 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems between January 1980 and September 1985. 222 examples of this locomotive were built for North American railroads and eight units were built for a Colombian coal ...
* GE B39-8 * GE B40-8 *
GE AC4400CW The GE AC4400CW, sometimes referred as "AC44CW" is a diesel-electric locomotive that was built by GE Transportation Systems between 1993 and 2004. It is like the Dash 9-44CW, but features AC traction motors instead of DC, with a separate invert ...
* GE C44-9W *
EMD SD50 The EMD SD50 is a diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. It was introduced in May 1981 as part of EMD's "50 Series"; production ceased in January 1986. The SD50 was a transitional model between EMD's Dash ...
*
EMD SD45 The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2022, mos ...
*
EMD SD45T-2 The SD45T-2 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Like the later SD40T-2 it is colloquially nicknamed a tunnel motor. 247 total units (including the original EMD/SP joint venture working Prototy ...
*
EMD SD40T-2 The SD40T-2 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in the United States. The SD40T-2 is equipped with a 16-cylinder EMD 645E3 diesel engine producing . 312 SD40T-2s were built for three railroads i ...
*
EMD SD40R EMD may refer to: Finance and commerce * Emerging market debt * Earnest money deposit, in the United States, a security deposit, especially for real estate Medicine * Electromagnetic diaphragm * Electromechanical dissociation * Emergency med ...
* EMD SD70M


Notable accidents

*
John Sontag John Sontag (May 27, 1861 – July 3, 1893) was an outlaw of the American West known for train robberies. Background John Sontag was the oldest son of Maria (Bohn) and Jacob Contant of Mankato, Minnesota. After the death of his father in 1867, ...
, a young Southern Pacific employee, was injured c. 1888 while coupling cars in the railroad yard in
Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
. He accused the company of not providing him with medical care while he was recuperating from his on-the-job injury and then not rehiring him when he had healed. He soon turned to a life of crime (mostly train robberies) and died of gunshot wounds and
tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...
in the Fresno jail in 1893 aged 32 years. : Sontag's partner in crime, Chris Evans also hated the Southern Pacific, which Evans accused of forcing farmers to sell their lands at reduced rates to the company. * On 28 March 1907, the Southern Pacific '' Sunset Express'', descending the grade out of the
San Timoteo Canyon San Timoteo Canyon is a river valley canyon southeast of Redlands, in the far northwestern foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. Geography The canyon runs from its southern inflow mouth in B ...
, entered the Colton rail yard traveling about , hit an open switch and careened off the track, resulting in 24 fatalities. Accounts said 9 of the train's 14 cars disintegrated as they piled on top of one another, leaving the dead and injured in "a heap of kindling and crumpled metal". Of the dead, 18 were Italian immigrants traveling to jobs in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
from Genoa, Italy. * The ''
Coast Line Limited The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
'' was heading for
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, on 22 May 1907, when it was derailed just west of Glendale, California. Passenger cars reportedly tumbled down the embankment. At least 2 people were killed and others injured. "The horrible deed was planned with devilish accurateness" the ''
Pasadena Star News The ''Pasadena Star-News'' is a paid local daily newspaper for the greater Pasadena, California area. The Pasadena ''Star-News'' is a member of Southern California News Group (formerly the Los Angeles Newspaper Group), since 1996. It is also part ...
'' reported at the time. It said spikes were removed from the track and a hook placed under the end of the rail. The ''Stars coverage was extensive and its editorial blasted the criminal elements behind the wreck:
The man or men who committed this horrible deed near Glendale may not be anarchists, technically speaking. But if they are sane men, moved by motive, they are such stuff as anarchists are made of. If the typical anarchist conceived that a railroad corporation should be terrorized, he would not scruple to wreck a passenger train and send scores and hundreds to instant death.
* In the early hours of 1 June 1907, an attempt to derail a Southern Pacific train near
Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
, was foiled when a pile of railway ties was discovered on the tracks. A work train crew found that someone had driven a steel plate into a switch near Burbank, California, intending to derail the Santa Barbara local. * On 12 August 1939, the westbound '' City of San Francisco'' derailed from a bridge in
Palisade Canyon Palisade Canyon is a canyon along the Humboldt River in northern Eureka County, Nevada, United States. Description The canyon runs along the Humboldt River roughly between State Route 278 upstream (about south–southwest of Carlin), and ...
, between Battle Mountain and Carlin in the Nevada desert. Among the passengers and crew members 24 people were killed and many more injured, and 5 cars were destroyed. An act of sabotage was determined to be the most likely cause; however, no suspect(s) was(were) ever identified. * On New Year's Eve 1944 a rear-end collision west of Ogden in thick fog killed 48 people. * On 17 January 1947, the Southern Pacific Nightflier wrecked outside of Bakersfield; 7 people were killed and over 50 injured. Four coaches and a tourist sleeper were overturned, landing far off the tracks; the other seven cars remained upright. The locomotive stayed on the tracks and its crew was uninjured. A 29-year-old passenger, Robert Crowley from Miami, Florida, had been conversing with a man across the aisle who was killed instantly. Crowley, who was a combat war veteran, said “I never saw such a mess” even on a battlefield. * On 8 May 1948, in
Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, a Southern Pacific passenger train, the ''Del Monte Express'' struck a car driven by influential marine biologist
Ed Ricketts Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (May 14, 1897 – May 11, 1948) was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. He is best known for '' Between Pacific Tides'' (1939), a pioneering study of intertidal ecology. He is also known as a m ...
at the now defunct railroad crossing at Drake Avenue. Ricketts subsequently succumbed to his injuries three days later in the hospital. * On 17 September 1963, a Southern Pacific freight train
crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
into an illegally converted bus at a grade crossing in
Chualar, California Chualar (Spanish for " Pigweed grove") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Chualar is located southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of . The popul ...
, killing 32 bracero workers. It would later be a factor in the decision by Congress in 1964 to terminate the bracero program, despite its strong support among farmers. It also helped spur the Chicano civil rights movement. As of 2014, it was the deadliest automobile accident in United States history, according to the National Safety Council * On 28 April 1973, a Southern Pacific freight train carrying munitions exploded in Roseville Yard injuring 52 people, the cause of this was due to a hot box on a railcar setting the floor ablaze and causing the disaster to occur. * On 12 May 1989, a Southern Pacific train carrying fertilizer derailed in
San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...
. The train failed to slow while descending a nearby slope, and sped up to about before derailing, causing the
San Bernardino train disaster The San Bernardino train disaster (sometimes known as the Duffy Street incident), was a combination of two separate but related incidents that occurred in San Bernardino, California, United States: a runaway train derailment on May 12, 1989; an ...
. The crash destroyed 7 homes along Duffy Street and killed 2 train workers and 2 residents. Thirteen days later on 25 May 1989, an underground pipeline running along the right-of-way ruptured and caught fire due to damage done to the pipeline during clean-up from the derailment or from the derailment itself, destroying 11 more homes and killing 2 more people. * On the night of 14 July 1991, a Southern Pacific train derailed into the upper
Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento ...
at a sharp bend of track called “the Cantara Loop”, upstream from
Dunsmuir, California Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, northern California. It is on the upper Sacramento River in the Trinity Mountains. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 census. Dunsmuir is currently a hub for tourism ...
, in
Siskiyou County Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...
. Several cars made contact with the water, including a tank car. Early in the morning of 15 July, it became apparent that the tank car had ruptured and spilled its entire contents into the river – approximately of
metam sodium Metam sodium is an organosulfur compound with the formula . The compound is a sodium salt of a dithiocarbamate. The compound exists as a colorless dihydrate, but most commonly it is encountered as an aqueous solution. It is used as a soil fumig ...
, a soil fumigant. Ultimately, over a million fish, and tens of thousands of amphibians and crayfish were killed. Millions of aquatic invertebrates, including insects and mollusks, which form the basis of the river's ecosystem, were destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of willows, alders, and cottonwoods eventually died; many more were severely injured. :The chemical plume left a wake of destruction from the spill site to the entry point of the river into
Shasta Lake Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United State ...
. The accident still ranks as the largest hazardous chemical spill in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
history. At the time of the incident,
metam sodium Metam sodium is an organosulfur compound with the formula . The compound is a sodium salt of a dithiocarbamate. The compound exists as a colorless dihydrate, but most commonly it is encountered as an aqueous solution. It is used as a soil fumig ...
was not classified as a hazardous material.


Preserved locomotives

There are many Southern Pacific locomotives still in revenue service with railroads such as the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
, and many older and special locomotives have been donated to parks and museums, or continue operating on scenic or tourist railroads. Most of the engines now in use with Union Pacific have been "patched", where the SP logo on the front is replaced by a Union Pacific shield, and new numbers are applied over the old numbers with a Union Pacific sticker, however some engines remain in Southern Pacific "bloody nose" paint. Over the past couple years, most of the patched units were repainted into the full Union Pacific scheme and as of January 2019, less than ten units remain in their old paint. Among the more notable equipment is: *
745 __NOTOC__ Year 745 ( DCCXLV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 745 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
(Mk-5, 2-8-2), owned by the Louisiana Rail Heritage Trust, operated by the Louisiana Steam Train Association, and based in Jefferon (near
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
),
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
*
786 __NOTOC__ Year 786 ( DCCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 786 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...
(Mk-5, 2-8-2), owned by the City of Austin, leased to the Austin Steam Train Association. Currently under full mechanical restoration in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. *
794 __NOTOC__ Year 794 ( DCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 794 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
(Mk-5, 2-8-2), the last Mikado built for the
Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was a partl ...
in 1916 out of spare parts in their
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
shops. It currently resides with cosmetic restoration at San Antonio Station,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, but plans are to restore it to operating condition. *
982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...
(F-1, 2-10-2), tender located at the
Heber Valley Railroad The Heber Valley Railroad (HVRX) is a heritage railroad based in Heber City, Utah. It operates passenger excursion trains along a line between Heber City and Vivian Park, which is located in Provo Canyon. The HVRX carries over 110,000 pass ...
in Heber City,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, main locomotive located in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. * 1518 (
EMD SD7 An SD7 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between May 1951 and November 1953. It had an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine producing for its six traction motors. 188 were built for United States railroads. ...
), former EMD demonstrator 990 and first SD7 built, located at the
Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Hist ...
,
Union, Illinois Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census, up from 576 in 2000. History A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of th ...
*
1744 Events January–March * January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued. * January 24 – The Dag ...
(M-6, 2-6-0), components slowly being gathered at Brightside,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
for a restoration to operating condition on the
Niles Canyon Railway The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment (1866, 1869) through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, ...
. * 2248 ''Puffy'' (T-1, 4-6-0), operated by the
Grapevine Vintage Railroad The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (GVRR) is an excursion and special event railroad in Grapevine, Texas, USA, that runs from the Main Street station in Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards. GVRR is owned and operated by the City of Grapevine. His ...
, but is currently pending for a 1,472-day overhaul required by the
FRA A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
in
Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. * 2467 ( P-8, 4-6-2), on loan by the
Pacific Locomotive Association The Pacific Locomotive Association, Inc. (PLA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the physical aspects and atmosphere of Pacific Coast railroading during the period from 1910 to 1960. The Pacific Locomotive Association ...
, Fremont, California to the California State Railroad Museum * 2472 ( P-8, 4-6-2), owned and operated by the
Golden Gate Railroad Museum The Golden Gate Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum in California that is dedicated to the preservation of steam and passenger railroad equipment, as well as the interpretation of local railroad history. History The Golden Gate Railr ...
,
Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...
* 2479 ( P-10, 4-6-2), owned and being restored by the
California Trolley and Railroad Corporation Established in 1982, the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation (CTRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to preserve rail transportation in the Santa Clara Valley. History Streetcars California Trolley and Railroad Corporation (CTRC) ...
,
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
* 3100 (former SP6800 Bicentennial), U25B owned and operated by the Orange Empire Railway Museum, Perris, CA * 3420 ( C-19, 2-8-0), owned by El Paso Historic Board, stored at Phelps Dodge copper refinery,
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
*3769 (
EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen- cylin ...
), On display and used as a switch engine for the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah. * 4294 ( AC-12, 4-8-8-2), located at the California State Railroad Museum,
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
* 4449 ( GS-4, 4-8-4), formerly located at the Brooklyn Roundhouse before being relocated to the
Oregon Rail Heritage Center The Oregon Rail Heritage Center (ORHC) is a railway museum in Portland, Oregon. Along with other rolling stock, the museum houses three steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland: Southern Pacific 4449, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700, an ...
in June 2012,
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
* 4460 ( GS-6, 4-8-4), located at the
National Museum of Transportation The National Museum of Transportation (NMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of Amer ...
,
Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring western suburb of St. Louis located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad ...
*7457 (
EMD SD45 The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2022, mos ...
) the first GM Electro-Motive Division
SD45 The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2022, mos ...
diesel-electric road switcher locomotive to be built for that railroad in 1966. It last saw service on
Donner Pass Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual appr ...
. It was donated to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 2002. ''For a complete list, see:
List of preserved Southern Pacific Railroad rolling stock A large quantity of rolling stock formerly owned and operated by Southern Pacific Railroad has been preserved in museums and on tourist railroads across North America. Preserved steam locomotives Preserved diesel locomotives Prese ...
.''


Company officers


Presidents

*
Timothy Guy Phelps Timothy Guy Phelps (December 20, 1824 – June 11, 1899) was an American politician, businessman and government official. He was the first president of the Southern Pacific Railroad from 1865 until 1868 and saw the railroad build its first track ...
(1865–1868) * Charles Crocker (1868–1885) * Leland Stanford (1885–1890) * Collis P. Huntington (1890–1900) *
Charles Melville Hays Charles Melville Hays (May 16, 1856 – April 15, 1912) was the president of the Grand Trunk Railway. He began working in the railroad business as a clerk at the age of 17 and quickly rose through the ranks of management to become the General M ...
(1900–1901) *
E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...
(1901–1909) *
Robert S. Lovett Robert Scott Lovett (June 22, 1860 – June 19, 1932) was an American lawyer and railroad executive. He was president and chairman of the board of the Union Pacific Railroad and a Director of both The National City Bank of New York and Western U ...
(1909–1911) *
William Sproule William Sproule (1858 – January 1, 1935) was president of the Wells Fargo Express Company and later the Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that ...
(1911–1918) *
Julius Kruttschnitt Julius Kruttschnitt (July 30, 1854 – June 15, 1925) was a German American railroad executive. Biography He was born on July 30, 1854 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1873 and worked briefly as a s ...
(1918–1920) *
William Sproule William Sproule (1858 – January 1, 1935) was president of the Wells Fargo Express Company and later the Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that ...
(1920–1928) *
Paul Shoup Paul Shoup (January 8, 1874 – July 30, 1946) was an American businessman, president and later vice-chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1920s and 1930s, a founding board member of the Stanford University School of Business, and foun ...
(1929–1932) * Angus Daniel McDonald (1932–1941) * Armand Mercier (1941–1951) *
Donald J. Russell Donald Joseph McKay Russell (January 3, 1900 – December 13, 1985) was an American railroad executive. He was president of Southern Pacific Railroad from 1952 to 1964 and then chairman from 1964 to 1972. Russell was featured on the cover of Time ...
(1952–1964) *
Benjamin F. Biaggini Benjamin Franklin Biaggini (April 15, 1916 – May 28, 2005) was president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad, from 1964 to 1976 and chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1983. References ...
(1964–1976) * Denman McNear (1976–1979) * Alan Furth (1979–1982) *
Robert Krebs Robert D. Krebs is an American railroad executive who has headed three major United States railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific (SP) when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corpo ...
(1982–1988) * D. M. "Mike" Mohan (1988–1993) * Edward L. Moyers (1993–1995) * Jerry R. Davis (1995–1996)


Chairmen of Executive Committee

* Leland Stanford (1890–1893) * (vacant 1893–1909) *
Robert S. Lovett Robert Scott Lovett (June 22, 1860 – June 19, 1932) was an American lawyer and railroad executive. He was president and chairman of the board of the Union Pacific Railroad and a Director of both The National City Bank of New York and Western U ...
(1909–1913) *
Julius Kruttschnitt Julius Kruttschnitt (July 30, 1854 – June 15, 1925) was a German American railroad executive. Biography He was born on July 30, 1854 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1873 and worked briefly as a s ...
(1913–1925) * Henry deForest (1925–1928) *
Hale Holden Hale Holden (August 11, 1869 – September 23, 1940) was president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) from 1914 to 1918 and 1920 to 1929, and chairman of the board of directors for Southern Pacific Railroad from 1932 to 1939. H ...
(1928–1932)


Chairmen of Board of Directors

* Henry deForest (1929–1932) *
Hale Holden Hale Holden (August 11, 1869 – September 23, 1940) was president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) from 1914 to 1918 and 1920 to 1929, and chairman of the board of directors for Southern Pacific Railroad from 1932 to 1939. H ...
(1932–1939) * (position nonexistent 1939–1964) *
Donald J. Russell Donald Joseph McKay Russell (January 3, 1900 – December 13, 1985) was an American railroad executive. He was president of Southern Pacific Railroad from 1952 to 1964 and then chairman from 1964 to 1972. Russell was featured on the cover of Time ...
(1964–1972) *
Benjamin F. Biaggini Benjamin Franklin Biaggini (April 15, 1916 – May 28, 2005) was president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad, from 1964 to 1976 and chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1983. References ...
(1976–1982) * Denman K. McNear (1982–1988) * Edward L. Moyers (1993–1995) Chairman/C.E.O.


Notable employees

*
Carl Ingold Jacobson Carl Ingold Jacobson (March 12, 1877 – January 13, 1960) was a City Council member from 1925 to 1933. He was tried on a morals charge, and then it was later shown that he was the victim of a frameup by local police authorities. Biography Jac ...
, Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1925–33 *
W. Burch Lee W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...
, employee in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
office, along with his father, John Martin Lee Jr., before serving in the Louisiana House of Representatives *
Blake R. Van Leer Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956. Early life and education Van Leer was ...
, President of Georgia Tech, United States Army Officer and Hydraulic process inventor * Charles Wright, Land Surveyor for the railway, before becoming a botanist * Jack Kerouac, Novelist *
Jimmie Rodgers (country singer) James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
, Father of Country Music, Singer-Songwriter


See also

*
History of rail transportation in California The establishment of America's transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century that followed contributed to the state's soci ...
*
El Paso and Southwestern Railroad The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad began in 1888 as the Arizona and South Eastern Railroad, a short line serving copper mines in southern Arizona. Over the next few decades, it grew into a 1200-mile system that stretched from Tucumcari, New ...
*
Long Wharf (Santa Monica) The Long Wharf in Santa Monica, also known as Port Los Angeles or the Mile Long Pier, was an extensive pier wharf constructed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in Santa Monica Bay from 1892–94. When it opened in 1894, it was the longest ...
*
Mussel Slough Tragedy The Mussel Slough Tragedy was a dispute over land titles between settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) that took place on May 11, 1880, on a farm located northwest of Hanford, California, in the central San Joaquin Valley, leaving seve ...
*
Pacific Fruit Express Pacific Fruit Express was an American railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. History The company was founded on December 7, 1906, as a joint venture between the Union P ...
*
Santa Fe–Southern Pacific merger The Santa Fe–Southern Pacific merger was an attempted corporate consolidation of two of the major railroads in the Western United States at the time: the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad. The approximate ...
*
Southern Pacific 4449 Southern Pacific 4449, also known as the Daylight, is the only surviving example of Southern Pacific Railroad's "GS-4" class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives and one of only two GS-class locomotives surviving, the other being " GS-6" ...
* Southern Pacific Depot * St. Louis Southwestern Railway *
Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was a partl ...
*
TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...
(Total Operations Processing System), rolling stock management system jointly developed with IBM and Stanford University and used by SP until 1980, still used by British Rail and successor system


Notes


References

;General * * * * * * * Daggett, Stuart. ''Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific'' (1922
online
detailed history *

* * Hofsommer, Donovan; ''The Southern Pacific, 1901–1985''. Texas A&M University Press; (1986) . * Hofsommer, Don L. "Rivals for California: The Great Northern and the Southern Pacific, 1905-1931." ''Montana: The Magazine of Western History'' 38.2 (1988): 58–67. * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Sphts.org: Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society


* ttp://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/index.shtml Union Pacific Railroad.com: Union Pacific History
"Across the Great Salt Lake, The Lucin Cutoff"
— ''1937 article''.
Abandoned Rails.com: History of the Santa Ana and Newport Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Pacific Transportation Company Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad Rail lines receiving land grants Railway companies established in 1865 Railway companies disestablished in 1996 Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct Arizona railroads Defunct California railroads Defunct Louisiana railroads Defunct Nevada railroads Defunct New Mexico railroads Defunct Oregon railroads Defunct Texas railroads Defunct Utah railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads Defunct Colorado railroads Defunct Arkansas railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Tennessee railroads Defunct Illinois railroads Companies based in San Francisco History of San Francisco History of the Mojave Desert region 3 ft gauge railways in the United States 1865 establishments in California 1996 mergers and acquisitions