Elusive Eden: A New History of California, fourth edition CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD.

Elusive Eden: A New History of California, fourth edition

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD

TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS IN GOLD RUSH CALIFORNIA

• Transportation hampered development--Distances within, beyond the state--Mountains cut off southern San Joaquin Valley,

interior valleys • Water travel easiest--Great distances from ports to mining towns--Delayed delivery, raised costs--Added to business risk

• Ocean, overland travel expensive, dangerous--Discouraged immigration after Gold Rush--Few women, children• Californians demanded better transportation

EARLY TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD SCHEMES

• US railroad networks expanded through 19th c• Transcontinental rr would link eastern manuf

with Asian markets• Fremont surveyed central route for

transcontinental rr 1845• Mexican War, Gold Rush intensified interest

• Eastern industrialists, western communities pressured Congress to subsidize road

• 1853 Senator William Gwin proposed road w federally subsidies

--Too expensive for private companies--2000 miles with no freight, passengers • Supporters disagreed on placement--Southern or northern route--Terminus, communities served

PIONEER RAIL LINES• 1850s, 1860s Californians built trunk lines• Difficult to raise funds, find laborers• Projects speculative, sometimes fraudulent• One success: 1856 Sacramento Valley Railroad

completed 23 mile line--Connected Sacramento steamboat port with

American River --Carried miners, supplies --Created boom town at end: Folsom

• Short routes in SF Bay Area --1863 railroad between Oakland port, business

district--1865 50-mile San Francisco & San Jose

Railroad completed--1866 15-mile San Francisco & Alameda

Railroad opened--Secured city's dominance over interior --Helped build bedroom communities

THEODORE JUDAH, VISIONARY• Chief engineer Sacramento Valley Railroad • Civil engineer on Erie Canal• Built eastern bridges, railroads• Finished road in 2 years• Company went bankrupt• Judah left 1856

• Promoted central transcontinental railway route through Sierra Nevada

--Searched mountain passes--Looked for backers in SF, New York, Congress --Nicknamed "Crazy Judah" --Investors doubted Sierra route

• 1859 state legislature convened second Pacific Railroad Convention

--rival cities again prevented agreement on precise route

--convention agreed should connect SF Bay Area to central Sierras

--included federal construction subsidies

• Judah took plan to Washington--Promoted 1859-1860--Presidential campaign north-south contest--Northern Congressmen favored route,

southerners opposed--Lincoln elected November 6, 1860--South Carolina seceded December 20, 1860

THE FOUNDING OF CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD• Judah returned to California summer 1860• Gold rush to western Nevada in spring 1859 --Trade boom for SF--SF steamships, stagecoach businesses

dominated --Saved Sacramento rr--Goods, passengers carried by steamer to

Sacramento, rr to Folsom, wagon over Sierras--Monopoly renewed interest in railroad

• SF group hired Judah to extend road from Folsom

--Judah discovered central Sierra route --Secretly formed rival company, searched for

financiers• Route began at Sacramento--traveled north, east 70 miles --7000 feet, 115 miles over Donner Pass--Followed Truckee River down to Nevada

• October 1860 formed Central Pacific Railroad --Construction estimate $115,000 --Issued stock to raise --State required bond of 10%, $10K per mile • Judah promoted in San Francisco--Threatened steamship, freight lines--Sacramento Valley Railroad fired Judah,

criticized route--Discouraged investors for years

• Looked for backers along route --Tracks from Folsom to Dutch Flat, toll road to

Virginia City--Merchants, businesses supported • Collis P. Huntington, partner Mark Hopkins

owned Sacramento hardware store--Brought in Huntington attorney Charles Crocker,

brother Edwin, banker Leland Stanford--Subscribed to state's 10% minimum--About $2800 each

• April 1861 partners reorganized Judah's company

--Stanford elected president--Huntington VP--Hopkins treasurer--Edwin Crocker attorney--Judah chief engineer

• June 27, 1861 Central Pacific Railroad Corporation incorporated

--Hopkins, Huntington, Stanford, Crocker brothers brought credibility

--Huntington brought eastern suppliers• Stanford brought Republican connections--California Republican party founded 1856--Stanford campaigned for John C. Fremont,

then Lincoln--1860 elections Republican sweep

CIVIL WAR AND TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY• Small minority Californians southerners--Majority sided with Union--Confederate support in southern California,

San Joaquin Valley--Republicans controlled state, local politics

through 1850s--Raised $1 million for U.S. Sanitary Commission --California volunteers joined Second

Massachusetts Cavalry

• Wartime shortages stimulated local manufacturing

• Comstock silver discovery late 1859 drained SF population

--SF bankers, merchants made fortunes--Congress anxious to tie West to Union--Control gold, silver, move troops--Southern opposition to central route ended

January 1860

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC BESIEGED• 1861 Central Pacific in trouble--Critics skeptical of Donner Pass--Hampered private financing--Shortages of money, workers, equipment,

supplies, ships

• Judah underestimated costs, distance--First stock release raised $10K--Summer 1861 discovered 140 miles through

Donner Pass--Meant 3 miles of tunnels through granite --$13 million to finish ($310M today), $88,000

($2M) per mile--50% higher than Judah's original estimates--3x federal subsidies

• Local competition for federal subsidies--San Francisco & San Jose Railroad --Sacramento Valley Railroad --San Francisco, Stockton, Placerville, Marysville

supported competitors--Pacific Mail Steamship, California Steam

Navigation, Wells Fargo opposed Central Pacific control

THE PACIFIC RAILWAY ACT OF 1862• September 1861 Republican Stanford elected

governor • Republicans carried state legislature,

Congressional delegation--Judah, Huntington went to Washington--Joined Senate, House committees writing

railroad bill--Lobbied Congress through winter, spring 1862--Paid supporters with Central Pacific stock

• Settled with San Francisco & San Jose Railroad--Would build road from SF to Sacramento,

collect subsidy--Dropped opposition • July 1861 Congress passed Pacific Railway Act--Central Pacific would build east from

Sacramento River to Nevada--Union Pacific Railroad would build west from

Missouri River

--Given rights-of-way, rights to timber, stone --Granted 10 sq. miles per mile of track in

alternate sections--Subsidies backed by 30-year government

bonds at 6% interest --$16,000/mi flat lands; $32,000/mi deserts;

$48,000/mi mountains--Companies could sell bonds, land

• Completion still uncertain--Subsidies too low--1876 line must be complete or assets forfeited--Subsidies paid as segments completed--Govn held first mortgage on assets--Govn lien discouraged private investors

LOCAL SUBSIDIES AND MOUNTING OPPOSITION TO THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

• 1862-1864 Gov. Stanford secured state financing

--Sold state bonds --Authorized community bonds--Raised $1M

• Rival companies, communities filed lawsuits --Accused Central Pacific officials of corruption,

bribery--Labeled plan "Great Dutch Flat Swindle"--Gov. Stanford protected company interests--Most of lawsuits settled by 1865 --Added expense, delays

BREAKING GROUND• Construction began January 8, 1863 in

Sacramento• Crocker formed Charles Crocker & Co. to built

first segment• March 1863 Huntington secured funds,

material on credit

JUDAH VERSUS THE BIG FOUR• November 1864 deadline to finish first 50 mile

segment--Funds gone--Big Four demanded payment from delinquent

shareholders--Assessed new contributions

• Judah angry with Big Four--Gov. Stanford bribed state geologist --Told Congress Sierra Nevada began 7 miles

from Sacramento• Big Four angry with Judah's costly mistakes• July 1863 Huntington faction took control of

Central Pacific board--Demanded board pay assessments or give up

seats--Judah unable to pay

--Judah exchanged stock for $100,000 in

Central Pacific bonds

•October 1863 Judah left for New York --Planned meetings with Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt--Contracted yellow fever in Panama--November 1863 died in New York City

THE PACIFIC RAILWAY ACT OF 1864• Tracks laid through Sacramento September

1863--Connected port, construction site --First engine traveled November 9 --Named Gov. Stanford • Lawsuits settled, state, local bond monies

available• Huntington, Union Pacific convinced Congress

to amend railroad act

• 1864 Pacific Railway Act of 1864 more generous

--Extended first 50 mile deadline to 1865--Doubled land grant to 20 miles per mile of track--Assigned govn second position on bonds--More attractive for private investors• 1866 Congress removed construction limits --Companies began competing to lay track--Private subscriptions rose

COMPLETING THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY

• April 1864 first passengers, freight --18 miles Sacramento to Roseville• June 1864 finished road to Newcastle (near

Auburn), Dutch Flat wagon road • Took over Comstock trade--Revenues finally greater than expenses

• Winter 1865 building slowed --Snows in Sierra--Labor shortages--Mining easier • Crocker experimented with Chinese labor--Foreman objected--Learned fast, worked hard, paid 60-90% less

than white workers--Provided own food, shelter

• By May 1865 Chinese 2/3 of Central Pacific labor force

--Crocker imported additional Chinese workers--Completed extension lines--Repair gangs• Problems multiplied at Auburn--Grade to crest 5,000 ft over 40 mi--Below-zero temperatures, 40-ft snow in mtns--Workers killed in cave-ins, explosions, strikes

• Track progressed--14,000 workers worked round the clock shifts--1868 built snow-sheds through Donner Pass--November 1867 first train crossed summit--May 1868 reached Nevada line--Next 12 months, another 550 miles --Union Pacific slowed by Rocky Mountains--Companies laid parallel tracks to collect subsidies, land• Congress amended legislation

• May 10, 1869 Union Pacific, Central Pacific met at Promontory Point, Utah

THE BIG FOUR AND THE EMERGING RAIL SYSTEM

• Trunk lines built around state--SF Bay connected to coastal valleys--1869 Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad

connected pueblo to harbor--Interior populations grew--North coast, San Diego left out

• Big Four bought out competitors--Rate wars drove under --1865 forced Sacramento Valley RR out of

business--Initial revenues disappointing

• Options monopoly or bankruptcy--1873 national depression meant couldn’t sell

out--Borrowed, reinvested to maintain monopoly--1868 bought roads around SF Bay area--Controlled ports at Alameda, Oakland--Moved terminus from Sacramento to Oakland

• Invested in steamships, ferries, riverboats, freight service

--1871 partnered Pacific Mail Steamship Company

--1874 founded Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company

• Communities granted valuable real estate, cash payments or lost connections

• 1868 purchased Southern Pacific Railroad--Formed 1865 by San Francisco & San Jose --Southern route avoided Sierras --Planned to connect San Francisco, San Jose,

San Diego, then east to Arizona--Congress authorized to complete second

transcontinental road across Colorado River--Atlantic & Pacific to build west from St. Louis

• 1869-1876 Central/Southern Pacific completed southern routes

--Built from San Jose to Hollister --Second line south through San Joaquin Valley,

through Tehachapis • 1872 forced Los Angeles to subsidize trunk

line--Connected Los Angeles to northern, Sierra routes--Completed September 5, 1876--Big Four bought out competitors in Los Angeles

• 1877 bridged Colorado River, built to Yuma--Didn't wait for Congress, federal subsidies--Began laying tracks across Arizona, New

Mexico--1881 reached El Paso, Texas--Connected to Huntington-owned roads in

Texas, Louisiana --1883 completed lines to Houston, New Orleans--Now controlled coast-to-coast system

• February 1883 offered service from San Francisco to New Orleans

--1887 bought out Oregon & California Railroad --Connected Sacramento and Portland--Bought out other Oregon lines

THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY• By end of 1870s Big Four controlled California

transportation --Operated 2,340 miles of track--Controlled 85 % of roads in state--Controlled traffic in, around San Francisco, Los

Angeles, Sacramento, San Joaquin valley

• 1884 reorganized under Southern Pacific Company

--Holding company protected assets--Helped prevent federal control--Big Four operated system from headquarters

in San Francisco, New York

• Santa Fe Railroad encroached in 1880s--Built new lines into state--Forced Southern Pacific into rate war--Cheap fares sparked pop. Boom So. Cal. --1890s built tracks into San Joaquin Valley, built

trunk line to Richmond• 1900 Union Pacific, Western Pacific Railroad

finished competing transcontinental lines• Southern Pacific still dominated California into

1950s

Theodore D. JudahCalifornia State Railroad Museum.

The Big FourLeland Stanford. California State Railroad Museum.

The Big FourCollis P. Huntington. California State Railroad Museum.

The Big FourCharles Crocker. California State Railroad Museum.

The Big FourMark Hopkins. California State Railroad Museum.

Chinese Laborers Filling the Secret Town TrestleOnce they had proven their skills, Chinese immigrants came to comprise a high percentage of the Central Pacific’s work force, even after the completion of the first transcontinental line. In the 1870s Collis P. Huntington’s friend Carleton E. Watkins, who often worked on assignment for the Big Four, took this famous photograph of Chinese laborers filling in the 1,000-foot-long Secret Town trestle, sixty-two miles east of Sacramento. This item is reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Snowsheds on the Central PacificAlfred Hart photographed the Central Pacific’s famous snowsheds while they were under construction in the late 1860s. This item is reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Thomas Hill’s The Last SpikeCommissioned years later by Leland Stanford, Thomas Hill’s romantic depiction of the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Point portrays a cross-section of those associated with the building of the transcontinental line: leaders such as Stanford (at center, holding the hammer); Chinese laborers (to Stanford’s left); Irish immigrant workers, smoking their characteristic pipes (to the right and below Stanford); Indians (foreground); and a wagon train, the transportation mode being supplanted (background). Also in the painting were persons not present at the spike driving, including Collis P. Huntington, who was in New York at the time. Theodore Judah, dead for nearly six years, is resurrected at the lower right. Scorned by Stanford, the painting now hangs in the California State Railroad Museum at Sacramento. California State Railroad Museum.

Southern Pacific Rail Lines in California and Nevada, 1923In this map of main California and Nevada railroads near their peak of expansion, South-ern Pacific Company tracks appear as wide, those of rival companies as narrow, lines.Courtesy of the California His-tory Room, California State Library,Sacramento, California.