View source for Southern Pacific Railroad

{{Short description|United States Class I railroad (1865–1996)}}
{{redirect|Southern Pacific}}
{{Redirect|SPRR|the proposed railroad in Pennsylvania|South Pennsylvania Railroad}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name=Southern Pacific Railroad
| logo_filename=Southern Pacific Lines (logo).png
| logo_size= 150
| image=File:SP 8912 West Palm Springs, CA, February 1981 01 (31244231095).jpg
| image_caption=SP #8912 leads a freight train in [[Palm Springs, California]], in February 1981.
| image_size=250
| founders= [[William Tell Coleman]]<br />[[Timothy Guy Phelps]]<br />[[William Rosecrans]]<br />[[Leland Stanford]]
| marks=SP
| locale=[[Arizona]], [[Arkansas]], [[California]], [[Colorado]], [[Illinois]], [[Kansas]], [[Louisiana]], [[Missouri]], [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Oregon]], [[Tennessee]], [[Texas]], [[Utah]]
| start_year=1865 
| end_year= 1996
| predecessor_line=[[Central Pacific Railroad]]
| successors=[[Santa Fe Pacific Corporation]]<br />[[Union Pacific Railroad]]
| gauge={{RailGauge|4ft8.5in|allk=on}} with some {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}} [[Southern Pacific (narrow gauge)|narrow gauge branches]]
| hq_city=[[San Francisco, California]]
| system_map=SP Map.png
| map_size=250
| map_caption=SP system map (before the 1988 DRGW merger)
}}
The '''Southern Pacific''' {{Reporting mark|SP}} (or '''Espee''' from the railroad initials) was an American [[Railroad classes#Class I|Class I]] [[Rail transport|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, Arizona|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 Corporation|Sprint]], a company whose name came from the acronym for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony.<ref name=npr>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162963607/sprint-born-from-railroad-telephone-businesses |title=Sprint Born From Railroad, Telephone Businesses |last1=Block |first1=Melissa |last2=Neff |first2=Brijet |date=2012-10-15 |work=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=NPR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024223334/http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162963607/sprint-born-from-railroad-telephone-businesses |archive-date=2012-10-24 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-01-14 |quote=It all began in Kansas in the late 19th century and came to include a long-distance system created by the Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Network Telecommunications, or SPRINT.}}</ref>

==History==
{{broader|History of the Southern Pacific}}
[[File:Mr. Maguire's Stand on the Railroad Question, San Francisco Examiner Caricature of James G. Maguire, 1898.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|"Mr. Maguire's Stand on the Railroad Question," a caricature of Democratic gubernatorial candidate [[James G. Maguire]] published in the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' depicting him triumphant over the political forces of the Southern Pacific, October 8, 1898]]
The original Southern Pacific Railroad was founded in [[San Francisco]] in 1865, by a group of businessmen led by [[Timothy Guy Phelps|Timothy Phelps]] with the aim of building a rail connection between San Francisco and [[San Diego]], California. The company was purchased in September 1868 by a group of businessmen known as the [[Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)|Big Four]]: [[Charles Crocker]], [[Leland Stanford]], [[Mark Hopkins, Jr.]] and [[Collis Potter Huntington|C. P. Huntington]]. (The Big Four had, in 1861, created the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] (CPRR)<ref>{{Cite web |last=R |first=Miriam |date=2020-07-31 |title=Moments in History: Leland Stanford, 1824-1893 and Jane Stanford, 1828-1905 |url=https://paloaltohistorymuseum.org/moments-in-history-leland-stanford-1824-1893-jane-stanford-1828-1905/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Palo Alto History Museum |language=en-US}}</ref>) It later acquired the routes of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1885 through leasing.<ref>{{Harvp|Yenne|1996|p=29}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Yenne|1996|p=51}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Farmer, Jared |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/889889389 |title=Trees in paradise : a California history |date=2013 |publisher=Norton |isbn=978-0-393-07802-2 |oclc=889889389}}</ref> By 1900, the Southern Pacific system was a major railroad system incorporating many smaller companies, such as the [[Texas and New Orleans Railroad]] and [[Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad]]. It extended from [[New Orleans]] through [[Texas]] to [[El Paso]], across [[New Mexico]] and through [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], to [[Los Angeles]], through most of [[California]], including [[San Francisco]] and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]]. Central Pacific lines extended east across [[Nevada]] to [[Ogden, Utah]], and reached north through [[Oregon]] to [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. Other subsidiaries eventually included the [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway]] (Cotton Belt, reporting marks SSW), [[El Paso and Southwestern Railroad]], the [[Northwestern Pacific Railroad]] at {{convert|328|mi|km}}, the {{convert|1331|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico]], and a variety of {{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on}} [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] routes.<br />

The company was headquartered in the [[Flood Building]] in San Francisco's [[Financial District, San Francisco|downtown shopping district ]] in 1907. Ten years later, they moved into the historic 11-[[storey|story]], {{convert|65|m|adj=on}} [[Southern Pacific Building]], also known as "The Landmark", located at One [[Market Street (San Francisco)|Market Street]] on the [[Embarcadero (San Francisco)|Embarcadero]] whose construction started in 1916.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19160520.2.677 |title=S.P. Will Build S.F. Skyscraper |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May 20, 1916 |newspaper=Los Angeles Herald |access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MVR19170721.2.28 |title=Southern Pacific Building Nears Completion |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=July 21, 1917 |newspaper=Mill Valley Record |access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> At its completion, the building's first floor was devoted to retail except for the portion facing the rear courtyard (opening to Mission Street), which was reserved for Southern Pacific.<ref name=A&E /> SP rented the second floor to a tenant, but occupied floors three through ten with various offices.<ref name=A&E>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p7saAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA10-PA61 |title=The Southern Pacific General Office Building |last1=Jennings | first1=Frederick |date=November 1917 |journal=The Architect & Engineer of California |volume=LI |number=2 |pages=60–70 |access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> For nearly a century, the building was topped with a large sign emblazoned with a gothic "S·P" marking the company's San Francisco roots.<ref name="Lost">{{cite web |url=http://blog.sfgate.com/johnking/2014/05/30/readers-weigh-in-s-f-s-lost-architectural-landmarks/#photo-465017 |title=Readers weigh in: S.F.'s lost architectural landmarks |last1=King |first1=John |date=May 30, 2014 |website=SFGate [blog]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416025323/http://blog.sfgate.com/johnking/2014/05/30/readers-weigh-in-s-f-s-lost-architectural-landmarks/#photo-465017|archive-date=2016-04-16 |access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref>

The SP was known for its mammoth back shops at [[Sacramento, California]], which was one of the few in the country equipped to design and build locomotives on a large scale. Sacramento was among the top ten largest shops in the US, occupying 200 acres of land with dozens of buildings and an average employment of 3,000, peaking at 7,000 during World War II. Other major shop sites were located at [[Ogden, Utah]]; [[Houston]], Texas; and [[Algiers, New Orleans]]. After the 1906 earthquake destroyed much of San Francisco, including the SP shops there, new shops and yards were built six miles south of the city at Bayshore. The Alhambra Shops in [[Los Angeles]] consisted of 10 buildings and employed 1,500 but declined in importance when the Taylor Yard was built in 1930.<ref>* {{cite book| title=The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 3: Southeast and Western Regions| author=Starr, Timothy| year=2024| publisher=Privately printed}}</ref>

The SP was the defendant in the landmark 1886 [[United States Supreme Court]] case ''[[Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad]]'', which is often interpreted as having established certain [[corporation|corporate rights]] under the [[United States Constitution|Constitution of the United States]]. 

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 {{convert|3085|mi|km}}, bringing total SP/SSW mileage to around {{convert|13508|mi|km}}. The T&NO was fully merged into the SP in 1961.

[[File:SP 6453 EB Floriston PRS spc Feb 1971.jpg|thumb|right|An [[EMD FP7]] leads a Pacific Rail Society Special through [[Floriston, California]], in February 1971.]]
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 {{convert|10423|mi|km}}, 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]], the parent company that controlled the [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] (reporting marks D&RGW). 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{{efn|a subsidiary of Southern Pacific Transportation Company}} route from Chicago to St. Louis, the former mainline of the [[Chicago, Missouri and Western Railroad]] that once belonged to the [[Alton Railroad]], the total length of the D&RGW/SP/SSW system was {{convert|15959|mi|km}}. Rio Grande Industries was later renamed [[Southern Pacific Rail Corporation]].

By 1996, years of financial problems had dropped Southern Pacific's mileage to {{convert|13715|mi|km}}. The financial problems caused the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to be taken over by the [[Union Pacific Corporation]]; 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{{efn|See note a.}} were 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{{efn|See note a.}} into their [[Union Pacific Railroad]] 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.

{{Panorama
|image   = G. W. & C. B. Colton & Co. True Southern Pacific Railway c. 1881 UTA.jpg
|height  = 300px
|width   = 
|alt     = Map of the Southern United States with a railroad line
|caption = G. W. & C. B. Colton, ''Map Showing the Line of the True Southern Pacific Railway'', showing the planned trajectory in {{circa|1881}}. The [[Coast Line (SP)|Coast Line]] in California was originally planned to run via [[Coalinga]], though the company's eventual west coast route would differ from this.
|dir     = 
|align   = center
}}

== Locomotives ==
Like most railroads, the SP painted most of its [[steam locomotive]]s black during the 20th century, but after 1945 SP painted the front of the locomotive's [[smokebox]] silver (almost white in appearance), with graphite colored sides, for visibility.

{{Gallery
| title        = 
| align        = center
| footer       =
| style        =
| state        =
| height       = 200
| width        = 200
| captionstyle =
|File:SP 4449 and 3208 at Bray April 26 1981xrp - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|[[Southern Pacific 4449|SP 4449]] underway, wearing the ''Daylight'' scheme (April 1981)
|File:Southern Pacific Cab-First Locomotive 4294.JPG|[[Southern Pacific 4294|SP 4294]] "cab-forward" locomotive
|File:SP 18 at Laws.jpg|Restored SP #18 operational at Laws
|File:1744 3 - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|Restored [[Southern Pacific 1744|No. 1744]] while it operated on the [[Rio Grande Scenic Railroad]]}}

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 [[Southern Pacific class GS-4|GS-4]] [[steam locomotives]]. The most famous Daylight-hauled trains were the Coast Daylight and the Sunset Limited.

Well known were the Southern Pacific's unique "[[cab forward|cab-forward]]" steam locomotives.<ref name="Yenne1996p96">{{Harvp|Yenne|1996|p=96}}.</ref> 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 locomotive|tender]] attached to the smokebox end of the locomotive.<ref name="Yenne1996p96"/> Southern Pacific had [[snow shed]]s in mountain terrain, and locomotive crews nearly asphyxiated from smoke in the cab.<ref name="Yenne1996p96"/> After engineers began running their engines in reverse (pushing the tender), Southern Pacific asked [[Baldwin Locomotive Works]] to produce cab-forward designs.<ref name="Yenne1996p96"/> No other North American railroad ordered cab-forward locomotives.

=== List of locomotives used ===

==== Steam locomotives ====
Source:<ref>{{cite web | url=http://espee.railfan.net/sp_steam-index.html | title=Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive Index }}</ref>
* [[T.D. Judah]] - {{whyte|4-2-2}}
* [[C.P. Huntington]] - {{whyte|4-2-4T}}
* E class {{whyte|4-4-0}} - Eight Wheeler/American (various (inc. [[Gov. Stanford]], [[Jupiter (locomotive)|Jupiter]], [[Leviathan (locomotive)|Leviathan]]))
* A class {{whyte|4-4-2}} - Atlantic (A-1 – A-6)
* S class {{whyte|0-6-0}} - Switcher (S-1 – S-22)
* M class {{whyte|2-6-0}} - Mogul (M-1 – M-4 ([[Southern Pacific 1673|SP 1673]]), M-6 ([[Southern Pacific 1744|SP 1744]]) – M-22)
* Pr class {{whyte|2-6-2}} - Prairie (Pr-1)
* MM/AM-class {{whyte|2-6-6-2}}/{{whyte|4-6-6-2}} - [[Cab forward]] [[Mallet locomotive|Mallet]]/[[Articulated locomotive|Articulated]] Mogul (MM-1, [[Southern Pacific class MM-2|MM-2]]/[[Southern Pacific class AM-2|AM-2]], MM-3; Convention on the SP was that Mallet referred to compound expansion, while Articulated referred to simple expansion.)
* T class {{whyte|4-6-0}} - Ten Wheeler ([[Southern Pacific Class T-1|T-1]] – T-31 ([[Southern Pacific 2353|SP 2353]], [[Southern Pacific 2355|SP 2355]]) – T-58)
* P class {{whyte|4-6-2}} - Pacific (P-1 – [[Southern Pacific Class P-8|P-8]] ([[Southern Pacific 2467|SP 2467]], [[Southern Pacific 2472|SP 2472]]) – P-10 ([[Southern Pacific 2479|SP 2479]]) – P-14)
* Se class {{whyte|0-8-0}} - Switcher (Se-1 – Se-4)
* C class {{whyte|2-8-0}} - Consolidation (C-1 – C-8 ([[Southern Pacific 2706|SP 2706]], [[Southern Pacific 2718|SP 2718]]), C-9 ([[Southern Pacific 2579|SP 2579]]) – C-32)
* Mk class {{whyte|2-8-2}} - Mikado (Mk-2, Mk-4, Mk-5 ([[Southern Pacific 745|SP 745]], [[Southern Pacific 786|SP 786]]) – Mk-11; 
* MC/AC class - {{whyte|2-8-8-2}}/{{whyte|4-8-8-2}} - Cab Forward Mallet/Articulated Consolidation ([[Southern Pacific class MC-1|MC-1]]/[[Southern Pacific class AC-1|AC-1]], [[Southern Pacific class MC-2|MC-2]]/[[Southern Pacific class AC-2|AC-2]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-3|AC-3]], [[Southern Pacific class MC-4|MC-4]]/[[Southern Pacific class AC-4|AC-4]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-5|AC-5]], [[Southern Pacific class MC-6|MC-6]]/[[Southern Pacific class AC-6|AC-6]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-7|AC-7]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-8|AC-8]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-10|AC-10]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-11|AC-11]], [[Southern Pacific class AC-12|AC-12]] ([[Southern Pacific 4294|SP 4294]]))
* [[Southern Pacific class AC-9|AC-9]] - {{whyte|2-8-8-4}} - Yellowstone/Articulated Consolidation
* TW-class {{whyte|4-8-0}} - Twelve Wheeler ([[Mastodon (steam locomotive)|Mastodon]], TW-1 – TW-8)
* Mt-class {{whyte|4-8-2}} - Mountain (Mt-1 – [[Southern Pacific Mt-5|Mt-5]])
* GS-class {{whyte|4-8-4}} - Golden State/General Service (([[Southern Pacific class GS-1|GS-1]], [[Southern Pacific class GS-2|GS-2]], [[Southern Pacific class GS-3|GS-3]], [[Southern Pacific class GS-4|GS-4]] ([[Southern Pacific 4449|SP 4449]]), [[Southern Pacific class GS-5|GS-5]], [[Southern Pacific class GS-6|GS-6]] ([[Southern Pacific 4460|SP 4460]]), [[Southern Pacific class GS-7|GS-7]], [[Southern Pacific class GS-8|GS-8]])
* D-class {{whyte|2-10-0}} - Decapod (D-1)
* F-class {{whyte|2-10-2}} - Fourteen Wheeler (F-1 ([[Southern Pacific 975|SP 975]], [[Southern Pacific 982|SP 982]]) – F-5; Usually called the Santa Fe, but since the [[ATSF]] was SP's primary rival, they refused to use the name.)
* [[El Gobernador]] - {{whyte|4-10-0}}
* SP-class {{whyte|4-10-2}} - Southern Pacific (SP-1 ([[Southern Pacific 5021|SP 5021]])) 

'''Narrow Gauge Locomotives'''
* {{whyte|4-6-0}} Ten Wheeler - See [[Southern Pacific 18|SP 18]]

==== Diesel locomotives ====
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[ALCO PA]]
* [[ALCO RS-3]]
* [[ALCO RS-11]]
* [[ALCO RS-32]]
* [[ALCO RSD-5]]{{Refn|rebuilt into [[ALCO RSD-12|RSD-12s]] and [[ALCO RSD-15|RSD-15s]]|group=note|name=rsd5}}
* [[ALCO RSD-12]]{{Refn|rebuilt from RSD-5s|group=note|name=rsd12}}
* [[ALCO RSD-15]]{{Refn|some rebuilt from RSD-5s|group=note|name=rsd15}}
* [[ALCO Century 415|ALCO C415]]
* [[ALCO Century 628|ALCO C628]]
* [[ALCO Century 630|ALCO C630]]
* [[ALCO S-1 and S-3|ALCO S-1]]
* [[ALCO S-2 and S-4|ALCO S-2]]
* [[ALCO S-1 and S-3|ALCO S-3]]
* [[ALCO S-2 and S-4|ALCO S-4]]
* [[ALCO S-6]]
* [[Baldwin AS-616|BLW AS-616]]
* [[Baldwin S-12|BLW S-12]]
* [[Baldwin DS-4-4-1000|BLW DS-4-4-1000]]
* [[Baldwin DRS-6-6-1500|BLW DRS-6-6-1500]]
* [[Baldwin VO-1000|BLW VO-1000]]
* [[EMC E2]]
* [[EMD E7]]
* [[EMD E8]]
* [[EMD E9]]{{Refn|see [[Southern Pacific 6051|SP 6051]]|group=note|name=e9}}
* [[EMD F3]]
* [[EMD F7]]
* [[EMD FP7]]
* [[EMD NW2]]
* [[EMD SW1]]
* [[EMD SW8]]
* [[EMD SW8#TR6|EMD TR6A/TR6B]]
* [[EMD SW9]]
* [[EMD SW900]]
* [[EMD SW900#SW900E|EMD SW900E]]
* [[EMD SW1200]]
* [[EMD SW1500]]
* [[EMD MP15AC]]
* [[EMD MP15DC]]
* [[EMD GP7]]{{Refn|[[St. Louis Southwestern Railway|SSW]] only|group=note|name=stlouis}}
* [[EMD GP9]]
* [[EMD GP9R]]
* [[EMD GP9#SP GP9E and GP9R|EMD GP9E]]
* [[EMD SD7]]
* [[EMD SD7#SD7R|EMD SD7R]]
* [[EMD SD9]] 
* [[EMD SD9#SD9E|EMD SD9E]]
* [[EMD SD40-2|EMD SD40M-2]]
* [[EMD SD39]]
* [[EMD SD38-2]]
* [[EMD SD35]]
* [[EMD SD35|EMD SD35R]]
* [[EMD SDP45]]
* [[EMD GP60]]
* [[EMD GP40]]
* [[EMD GP40-based passenger locomotives#GP40P-2|EMD GP40P-2]]
* [[EMD GP40-2|EMD GP40M-2]]
* [[EMD GP40-2]]
* [[EMD GP40X]]
* [[EMD GP38-2]]
* [[EMD GP35]]
* [[EMD GP35|EMD GP35E]]
* [[EMD GP35|EMD GP35R]]
* [[EMD GP20]]
* [[EMD GP30]]
* [[EMD SD50]]{{Refn|Seven units owned by the [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad|D&RGW]], repainted into SP colors (with D&RGW sub-lettering) after SP was acquired by [[Rio Grande Industries]] in 1988|group=note|name=sd50}}
* [[EMD SD45]]
* [[EMD SD45#SD45R|EMD SD45R]]
* [[EMD SD45T-2]]
* [[EMD SD45T-2R]]
* [[EMD SD40T-2]]
* [[EMD SD40]]
* [[EMD SD40R]]
* [[EMD SD70M]]
* [[Southern Pacific 7399|EMD SD44R]]
* [[EMD DD35]]
* [[FM H-12-44]]
* [[FM H-24-66|FM H-24-66 "Train Master"]]
* [[GE 44-ton switcher]]
* [[GE 70-ton switcher]]
* [[GE AC4400CW]]
* [[GE B23-7]]
* [[GE B30-7]]
* [[GE B36-7]]
* [[GE B39-8]]
* [[GE B40-8]]
* [[GE Dash 9-44CW|GE C44-9W]]
* [[GE P30CH]]{{Refn|leased from [[Amtrak]]|group=note|name=amtrak}}
* [[GE U25B]]
* [[GE U25B#U25BE|GE U25BE]]
* [[GE U28B]]
* [[GE U28C]]
* [[GE U30C]]
* [[GE U33C]]
* [[GE U50]]
* [[Krauss-Maffei ML 4000]]
* [[M-K TE70-4S]]
{{div col end}}

== Passenger train service ==
Until May 1, 1971 (when [[Amtrak]] took over long-distance passenger operations in the United States), the Southern Pacific at various times operated the following [[List of named passenger trains|named]] [[passenger train]]s. Trains with names in '''''italicized bold text''''' still operate under Amtrak:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ''[[49er (passenger train)|49er]]''
* ''[[Acadian (train)|Acadian]]''
* ''[[Apache (train)|Apache]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the [[Rock Island Railroad]] (1926–1938)<ref name=consist>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rits.org/www/equipment/riimp.html|title=Imperial and Apache consists|publisher=Rock Island Technical Society|access-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref>|group=note|name=apache}}
* ''[[Argonaut (train)|Argonaut]]''
* ''[[Arizona Limited]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the [[Rock Island Railroad]]|group=note|name=ariz}}
* ''[[Beaver (train)|Beaver]]''
* ''[[Californian (train)|Californian]]''
* ''[[Cascade (train)|'''Cascade''']]''{{Refn|operates today as part of the ''[[Coast Starlight]]'' train <!-- obviously not the same name today, but ancestrally it is the same train as the Starlight north of OAK, w/o any interruption in service in 1971-->|group=note|name=casc}}
* ''[[City of San Francisco (train)|City of San Francisco]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the Chicago and North Western Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad; SP portion operates today as part of Amtrak's ''[[California Zephyr]]''|group=note|name=cosf}}
* '''''[[Coast Daylight]]'''''{{Refn|operates today as part of the ''[[Coast Starlight]]'' train|group=note|name=coastd}}
* ''Coast Mail''
* ''[[Coaster (Southern Pacific Railroad train)|Coaster]]''
* ''[[Coos Bay Limited]]''
* ''[[Del Monte (train)|Del Monte]]''
* ''Fast Mail''
* ''[[Golden Rocket (train)|Golden Rocket]]''{{Refn|proposed, was to have been operated jointly with the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]]|group=note|name=goldenrock}}
* ''[[Golden State (train)|Golden State]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]]|group=note|name=goldstate}}
* ''Grand Canyon''
* ''Hustler''
* ''[[Imperial (SP train)|Imperial]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the [[Rock Island Railroad]] 1946–1967)<ref name=consist/>|group=note|name=imperial}}
* ''[[Klamath (train)|Klamath]]''
* ''[[Lark (passenger train)|Lark]]''
* ''Newsboy''<ref name=1915Changes /><ref name=OakTrib1918>{{cite news |title=Trains Will Stop One Hor to Conform to National Time Change |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/advertisement-clipping-oct-25-1918-5048077/ |access-date=23 April 2025 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=October 25, 1918 |location=Oakland, California |page=4 |via=Newspaper Archives}}</ref>
* ''Oil Fields Flyer''<ref name=OakTrib1918 />
* ''[[Oregonian (train)|Oregonian]]''
* ''[[Overland Flyer|Overland]]''
* ''[[Owl Limited]]''
* ''[[Pacific Limited]]''
* '''''[[Peninsula Commute]]'''''{{Refn|operated until 1985, now [[Caltrain]]|group=note|name=penin}}
** ''Loop Service''
* ''[[Rogue River (train)|Rogue River]]''
* ''[[Sacramento Daylight]]''
* ''[[Challenger (train)|San Francisco Challenger]]''{{Refn|operated jointly with the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]] and the [[Union Pacific Railroad]]|group=note|name=challeng}}
* ''[[San Joaquin Daylight]]''
* ''San Jose Limited''<ref name=1915Changes>{{cite news |title=Southern Pacific Announces Changes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-recorder-southern-pacific-announces/170979107/ |access-date=24 April 2025 |agency=The Recorder |date=June 7, 1912 |location=San Francisco, California |page=1}}</ref>
* ''Seashore Express''<ref name=1915Changes />
* ''Senator''<!-- not to be confused with PRR-NH train-->
* ''[[Shasta Daylight]]''
* ''Shasta Express''{{sfn|Schwantes|1993|p=23}}
* ''Shasta Limited''
* ''Shasta Limited De Luxe''{{sfn|Schwantes|1993|p=222}}
* ''[[Shore Line Limited]]''
* ''Starlight''
* ''Statesman''<ref name=1915Changes />
* ''[[Sunbeam (passenger train)|Sunbeam]]''
* '''''[[Sunset Limited]]'''''
* ''[[Suntan Special]]''
* ''Tehachapi''
* ''[[West Coast (passenger train)|West Coast]]''
* ''El Costeño''{{Refn|operated from 1927 till 1949 as an international train under the subsidiary [[Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico]] between Tucson and Guadalajara, featuring through sleepers from Los Angeles to Mexico City|group=note|name=mex}}
* ''El Yaqui''{{Refn|operated from 1927 till 1951 as an international train under the subsidiary [[Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico]] between Tucson and Guadalajara|group=note|name=yaqui}}
{{div col end}}

==Notable accidents==
* On March 28, 1907, the Southern Pacific ''[[Sunset Express (passenger train)|Sunset Express]]'', descending the grade out of the [[San Timoteo Canyon]], entered the [[Colton, California|Colton]] rail yard traveling about {{convert|60|mph|km/h}}, hit an open switch and careened off the track, resulting in 24&nbsp;fatalities. Accounts said 9 of the train's 14&nbsp;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, California|San Francisco]] from [[Genoa]], Italy.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[San Bernardino Sun]] |date=29 March 1907 |title=[no title cited]}}</ref>
* The ''[[Coast Line Limited]]'' was heading for [[Los Angeles]], on May 22, 1907, when it was derailed just west of [[Glendale, California]]. Passenger cars reportedly tumbled down the embankment. At least 2&nbsp;people were killed and others injured. "The horrible deed was planned with devilish accurateness" the ''[[Pasadena Star News]]'' reported at the time. It said spikes were removed from the track and a hook placed under the end of the rail. The ''Star''{{'s}} coverage was extensive and its editorial blasted the criminal elements behind the wreck:<blockquote>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.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Pasadena Star News]] |title=Diabolism Incarnate |department=Editorial |date=May 1907}}</ref></blockquote>
* On New Year's Eve 1944, a [[Bagley train wreck|rear-end collision west of Ogden]] in thick fog killed 48&nbsp;people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arave |first1=Lynn |title=Remembering Utah's Worst Train Wreck |url=https://www.standard.net/news/local/remembering-utah-s-worst-train-wreck/article_73fc2d7a-0157-5455-bf54-f83d369dbc20.html |access-date=17 June 2019 |work=Standard-Examiner |date=26 Dec 2014 |language=en |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617024038/https://www.standard.net/news/local/remembering-utah-s-worst-train-wreck/article_73fc2d7a-0157-5455-bf54-f83d369dbc20.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* On January 17, 1947, the Southern Pacific Nightflier wrecked {{convert|12|mile}} outside of Bakersfield; 7&nbsp;people were killed and over 50&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Bakersfield Californian]] |date=17 January 1947 |title=7 Dead in "Owl" Wreck |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2105075/ |access-date=30 December 2018 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* On May 8, 1948, in [[Monterey, California]], a Southern Pacific passenger train, the ''Del Monte Express'', struck a car driven by influential marine biologist [[Ed Ricketts]] at the now defunct railroad crossing at Drake Avenue. Ricketts succumbed to his injuries three days later in the hospital.<ref>{{cite news |website=[[Atlas Obscura]] |date=n.d.|title=Doc Ricketts Memorial |url= https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/doc-ricketts-memorial |access-date=14 February 2019}}</ref>
* On September 17, 1963, a Southern Pacific freight train [[Chualar bus crash|crashed]] into an illegally converted bus at a grade crossing in [[Chualar, California]], killing 32 [[Bracero program|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.<ref name="Flores"/><ref name="Martin">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xpJsKX_bWgC&q=Chualar | title=Promise Unfulfilled: Unions, Immigration, and the Farm Workers | publisher=ILR Press | author=Martin, Philip L. | year=2003 | page=50 | isbn=0801488753}}</ref> As of 2014, it was the deadliest automobile accident in United States history, according to the [[National Safety Council]].<ref name="Flores">{{cite journal | title=A Town Full of Dead Mexicans: The Salinas Valley Bracero Tragedy of 1963, the End of the Bracero Program, and the Evolution of California's Chicano Movement | author=Flores, Lori A. | journal=The Western Historical Quarterly |date=Summer 2013  | volume=44 | issue=2 | pages=124–143 | doi=10.2307/westhistquar.44.2.0124}}</ref><ref name="Herald-2014">{{cite news|url=http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_25256461/second-survivor-1963-chualar-bus-crash-emerges |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131423/http://www.montereyherald.com/news/ci_25256461/second-survivor-1963-chualar-bus-crash-emerges |archive-date=2014-10-06 |title=Second survivor of 1963 Chualar bus crash emerges |work=Monterey Herald |date=March 1, 2014 |access-date=5 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On April 28, 1973, a Southern Pacific freight train carrying munitions [[1973 Roseville Yard Disaster|exploded]] in Roseville Yard injuring 52 people, the cause of this was due to a hot box on a railcar setting the floor ablaze, heating a bomb until it detonated.<ref>{{cite news| title=Freight train blasts shock area| url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/history/article145902054.html| last=Berthelsen| first=John| date=29 April 1973| newspaper=Sacramento Bee| access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref>
* On May 12, 1989, a Southern Pacific train, [[San Bernardino train disaster|SP 7551 East]] carrying [[trona]] [[Derailment|derailed]] in [[San Bernardino, California]]. The train failed to slow while descending a nearby slope, and sped up to about {{convert|110|mph|km/h}} before derailing, causing the [[San Bernardino train disaster]]. The crash destroyed 7&nbsp;homes along Duffy Street and killed 2&nbsp;train workers and 2&nbsp;residents. Thirteen days later on May 25, 1989, an underground pipeline running along the right-of-way ruptured and caught fire due to damage done to the pipeline during cleanup from the derailment or from the derailment itself, destroying 11&nbsp;more homes and killing 2&nbsp;more people.<ref>{{cite news| title=3 Die as Runaway Train Tumbles Onto Homes| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-13-mn-2629-story.html| last1=Malnic| first1=Eric| last2=Warren| first2=Jennifer| date=13 May 1989| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Cantara Loop 1.jpg|thumb|Site of the 1991 spill. The guardrail on the left was constructed after the spill.]]
* On the night of July 14, 1991, a Southern Pacific train derailed into the upper [[Sacramento River]] at a sharp bend of track called "the Cantara Loop", upstream from [[Dunsmuir, California]], in [[Siskiyou County]]. Several cars made contact with the water, including a tank car. Early in the morning of July&nbsp;15, it became apparent that the tank car had ruptured and spilled its entire contents into the river – approximately {{convert|19,000|usgal|m3}} of [[metam sodium]], a soil fumigant. Ultimately, over a million fish, and tens of thousands of [[amphibian]]s and [[crayfish]] were killed. Millions of aquatic invertebrates, including insects and [[mollusk]]s, which form the basis of the river's ecosystem, were destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of [[willow]]s, [[alder]]s, and cottonwoods eventually died; many more were severely injured.<ref name=Cal_Toxic_Control/>

:The chemical plume left a {{convert|41|mile|km|adj=on}} wake of destruction from the spill site to the entry point of the river into [[Shasta Lake]].<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Cantara Trustee Council |year=2007 |title=Final Report on the Recovery of the Upper Sacramento River}}</ref> The accident still ranks as the largest hazardous chemical spill in California history.<ref name=Cal_Toxic_Control>{{cite web |website=California Department of Toxic Substance Control |title=20th anniversary of largest chemical spill in California history |url=http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/cantara.cfm |date=2007}}</ref> At the time of the incident, metam sodium was not classified as a hazardous material.

==Preserved locomotives==
[[File:SP 3100 2024.jpg|thumb|left|Southern Pacific 3100 at the [[Southern California Railway Museum]], is the only U25B in existence that is operational.]]
{{For|a complete list|List of preserved Southern Pacific Railroad rolling stock}}
There are many Southern Pacific locomotives still in revenue service with railroads such as the [[Union Pacific Railroad]], 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:[[File:SP 1518 20050716 Illinois Railway Museum.JPG|thumb|SP 1518 at [[Illinois Railway Museum|IRM]], July 2005]]
* [[Southern Pacific 745|745]] (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]]), [[Louisiana]]
*[[Southern Pacific 786|786]] (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]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Locomotives|url=https://www.austinsteamtrain.org/the-train/locomotives/|access-date=2021-09-13|website=Austin Steam Train Association|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Southern Pacific 794|794]] (Mk-5, [[2-8-2]]), the last Mikado built for the [[Texas and New Orleans Railroad]] in 1916 out of spare parts in their [[Houston]] shops. It currently resides with cosmetic restoration at [[San Antonio Station]], [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], but plans are to restore it to operating condition.
*[[Southern Pacific 982|982]] (F-1, [[2-10-2]]), [[Tender (rail)|tender]] located at the [[Heber Valley Railroad]] in [[Heber City, Utah]], main locomotive located in [[Houston]], [[Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Southern Pacific 982 Steam Locomotive|url=https://www.facebook.com/TRPAHOUSTON/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Southern Pacific 1518|1518]] ([[EMD SD7]]), former EMD demonstrator 990 and first SD7 built, located at the [[Illinois Railway Museum]], [[Union, Illinois]]
*[[Southern Pacific 1744|1744]] (M-6, [[2-6-0]]), components slowly being gathered at [[Brightside, California]] for a restoration to operating condition on the [[Niles Canyon Railway]].
*[[Southern Pacific 2248|2248]] ''Puffy'' ([[Southern Pacific Class T-1|T-1]], [[4-6-0]]), operated by the [[Grapevine Vintage Railroad]], but is currently pending for a 1,472-day overhaul required by the [[Federal Railroad Administration|FRA]] in [[Grapevine, Texas]].
*[[Southern Pacific 2353|2353]] (T-31, [[4-6-0]]), on display at the [[Pacific Southwest Railway Museum]] in [[Campo, California]].
*[[Southern Pacific 2467|2467]] ([[Southern Pacific Class P-8|P-8]], [[4-6-2]]), on loan by the [[Pacific Locomotive Association]], [[Fremont, California]] to the [[California State Railroad Museum]]
*[[Southern Pacific 2472|2472]] ([[Southern Pacific Class P-8|P-8]], [[4-6-2]]), owned and operated by the [[Golden Gate Railroad Museum]], [[Redwood City, California]]
*[[Southern Pacific 2479|2479]] ([[Southern Pacific class P-10|P-10]], [[4-6-2]]), owned and being restored by the [[California Trolley and Railroad Corporation]], [[San Jose, California]]
*[[Southern Pacific 3100|3100 (former SP6800 Bicentennial)]], U25B owned and operated by the [[Southern California Railway Museum]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oerm.org|title=Orange Empire Railway Museum – Bringing Southern California's Railway History to Life.}}</ref> Perris, CA
* [[Southern Pacific 3420|3420]] ([[Southern Pacific Class C-19|C-19]], [[2-8-0]]), owned by El Paso Historic Board, stored at Phelps Dodge copper refinery, [[El Paso, Texas]]
* 3709 ([[EMD GP9]]), being restored to operation at [[Pacific Southwest Railway Museum]] in [[Campo, California]]
*3769 ([[EMD GP9]]), On display and used as a switch engine for the [[Union Station (Ogden, Utah)#Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center|Utah State Railroad Museum]] in [[Ogden, Utah]].
*[[Southern Pacific 4294|4294]] ([[Southern Pacific class AC-12|AC-12]], [[4-8-8-2]]), located at the [[California State Railroad Museum]], [[Sacramento, California]]
* [[Southern Pacific 4449|4449]] ([[Southern Pacific class GS-4|GS-4]], [[4-8-4]]), formerly located at the Brooklyn Roundhouse before being relocated to the [[Oregon Rail Heritage Center]] in June 2012, [[Portland, Oregon]]
*[[Southern Pacific 4460|4460]] ([[Southern Pacific class GS-6|GS-6]], [[4-8-4]]), located at the [[National Museum of Transportation]], [[Kirkwood, Missouri]]
*5119 ([[GE 70-ton switcher]]), Operational and awaiting paint restoration to SP colors at [[Pacific Southwest Railway Museum]] in [[Campo, California]]
*7304 ([[ALCO RS-32]]), on display awaiting restoration at [[Pacific Southwest Railway Museum]] in [[Campo, California]]
*7457 ([[EMD SD45]]) the first [[Electro Motive Division|GM Electro-Motive Division]] [[EMD SD45|SD45]] diesel-electric road switcher locomotive to be built for that railroad in 1966. It last saw service on [[Donner Pass]]. It was donated to the [[Union Station (Ogden, Utah)#Spencer S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Rail Center|Utah State Railroad Museum]] in 2002.

== Honorary tribute ==
On August 19, 2006, UP unveiled a brand-new [[EMD SD70ACe]] locomotive, [[Union Pacific 1996]], as part of a new heritage program. It was the final unit in UP's Heritage Series of locomotives, and was painted in a color scheme inspired by the "Daylight" and "Black Widow" schemes.

==Company officers==
===Presidents===
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Timothy Guy Phelps]] (1865–1868)
* [[Charles Crocker]] (1868–1885)
* [[Leland Stanford]] (1885–1890)
* [[Collis P. Huntington]] (1890–1900)
* [[Charles Melville Hays]] (1900–1901)
* [[E. H. Harriman]] (1901–1909)
* [[Robert S. Lovett]] (1909–1911)
* [[William Sproule]] (1911–1918)
* [[Julius Kruttschnitt]] (1918–1920)
* [[William Sproule]] (1920–1928)
* [[Paul Shoup]] (1929–1932)
* [[Angus Daniel McDonald]] (1932–1941)
* Armand Mercier (1941–1951)
* [[Donald J. Russell]] (1952–1964)
* [[Benjamin F. Biaggini]] (1964–1976)
* Denman McNear (1976–1979)
* Alan Furth (1979–1982)
* [[Robert Krebs]] (1982–1988)
* D. M. "Mike" Mohan (1988–1993)
* [[Edward L. Moyers]] (1993–1995)
* Jerry R. Davis (1995–1996)
{{div col end}}

===Chairmen of Executive Committee===
* [[Leland Stanford]] (1890–1893)
* (vacant 1893–1909)
* [[Robert S. Lovett]] (1909–1913)
* [[Julius Kruttschnitt]] (1913–1925)
* [[Henry deForest]] (1925–1928)
* [[Hale Holden]] (1928–1932)

===Chairmen of Board of Directors===
* [[Henry deForest]] (1929–1932)
* [[Hale Holden]] (1932–1939)
* (position nonexistent 1939–1964)
* [[Donald J. Russell]] (1964–1972)
* [[Benjamin F. Biaggini]] (1976–1982)
* Denman K. McNear (1982–1988)
* [[Edward L. Moyers]]  (1993–1995) Chairman/C.E.O.

==Notable employees==
* [[Carl Ingold Jacobson]], Los Angeles, California, City Council member, 1925–33
* [[Blake R. Van Leer]], President of Georgia Tech, United States Army officer and hydraulic process inventor 
* [[Charles Wright (botanist)|Charles Wright]], land surveyor for the railway, before becoming a botanist
* [[Jack Kerouac]], novelist
* [[Harry K. McClintock]], singer-songwriter, [[The Big Rock Candy Mountains]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=10426 |title=Harry (Haywire Mac) McClintock  |publisher=Hillbilly-Music.com |access-date=April 23, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Jimmie Rodgers]], Father of Country Music, singer-songwriter

==See also==
{{Portal|Railways}}
* [[History of rail transportation in California]]
* [[El Paso and Southwestern Railroad]]
* [[Long Wharf (Santa Monica)]]
* [[Mussel Slough Tragedy]]
* [[Pacific Fruit Express]]
* [[Santa Fe–Southern Pacific merger]]
*Southern Pacific 7399
* [[Southern Pacific 4449]]
* [[Southern Pacific Depot (disambiguation)|Southern Pacific Depot]]
* [[St. Louis Southwestern Railway]]
* [[Texas and New Orleans Railroad]]
* [[TOPS]] (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 [[Rail transport in Great Britain|successor system]]

==Notes==
List 1
{{Reflist|group=note}}

List 2
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Beale |first=Edwin I. |url=http://archive.org/stream/highwaysbywaysof00beal#page/56/mode/1up |title=Highways & Byways of the Virginia Peninsula |publisher=E. I. Beale |year=1907 |location=Newport News, Virginia |lccn=07009602}}
* {{Cite book |last=Beebe |first=Lucius |author-link=Lucius Beebe |title=The Central Pacific and The Southern Pacific Railroads |publisher=Howell-North Books |year=1963 |oclc= 1105965094 |location=Berkeley, California}}

* Baughman, James P. ''Charles Morgan and the Development of Southern Transportation'' (Vanderbilt University Press, 1968)

*{{Cite web |last=Colton |first=T. |date=May 2, 2014 |title=Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News VA |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/active/newportnews.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026024758/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/active/newportnews.htm |archive-date=26 October 2014 |access-date=23 February 2015 |publisher=ShipbuildingHistory |ref={{sfnref|ShipbuildingHistory: Newport News Shipbuilding}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Bruce C. |url=http://cprr.org/Museum/Riding_the_Rails_Intro.html |title=Riding the Transcontinental Rails: Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad 1865–1881 |publisher=Polyglot Press |year=2005 |isbn=1-4115-9993-4 |location=Philadelphia}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Classic Western American Railroad Routes |publisher=Chartwell Books/Worth Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7858-2573-9 |editor-last=Cooper |editor-first=Bruce Clement |location=New York |id=BINC: 3099794}}
* {{Cite book |last=Coscia |first=David |title=Southern Pacific in the San Fernando Valley 1876-1996 |publisher=Shade Tree Books |year=2018 |location=Bellflower, CA |oclc=1056109826}}
* {{Cite book |last=Daggett |first=Stuart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbooAAAAYAAJ |title=Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific |year=1922}} {{endash}} detailed history
* {{Cite book |last=Darton |first=D. H. |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/845/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025051611/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/845/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |title=Guidebook of the Western United States; Part F. The Southern Pacific Lines, New Orleans to Los Angeles. |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1933 |series=Geological Survey Bulletin 845 |location=Washington (D.C.)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Darton |first=D.H. |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/845/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025051611/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/845/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |title=Guidebook of the Western United States; Part F. The Southern Pacific Lines, New Orleans to Los Angeles |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1933 |series=Geological Survey Bulletin |volume=845 |location=Washington DC}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Diebert |first1=Timothy S. |title=Southern Pacific Company steam locomotive compendium |last2=Strapac |first2=Joseph A. |publisher=Shade Tree Books |year=1987 |isbn=0-930742-12-5 |location=Huntington Beach, California |oclc=18401969 |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hofsommer |first1=Donovan L. |title=The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985 |date=1986 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |location=College Station, TX |isbn=0-89096-246-4 |ol=OL2974063W}}, A standard scholarly history.
* {{Cite journal |last=Hofsommer |first=Don L. |year=1988 |title=Rivals for California: The Great Northern and the Southern Pacific, 1905–1931 |journal=Montana: The Magazine of Western History |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=58–67}}
*{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Emory R. |url=https://archive.org/stream/relationpanamac00johngoog#page/n3/mode/1up |title=The Relation of the Panama Canal to the Traffic and Rates of American Railroads |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |year=1912 |series=United States Senate Reports |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=February 22, 2015}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Jungen |first=C. W. |year=1922 |title=Ocean Unit of Lines That Span Continent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4hAhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 |journal=Southern Pacific Bulletin |location=San Francisco |publisher=Southern Pacific |volume=11 |issue=January 1922 |access-date=February 22, 2015}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Daniel |title=Iron Horse Imperialism: The Southern Pacific of Mexico, 1880–1951 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8165-2604-8 |location=Tucson |oclc=238833401}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Mayo |first=H. M. |year=1900 |title=Cuba and the Way There |url=https://archive.org/stream/sunsetvolumes00deptgoog#page/n453/mode/1up |journal=Sunset |location=San Francisco |publisher=Passenger Department Southern Pacific Company |volume=4 |issue=January 1900 |pages=95–98 |access-date=March 15, 2015}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Oscar |title=The Big Four |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1938 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Orsi |first=Richard J. |url=https://archive.org/details/sunsetlimitedsou00orsi_0 |title=Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West 1850–1930 |publisher=University of California Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-520-20019-5 |location=Berkeley |oclc=55055386}} A standard scholarly history.

* {{cite book |last=Schwantes |first=Carlos A. |year=1993 |title=Railroad Signatures across the Pacific Northwest |publisher= [[University of Washington Press]], Seattle, WA |isbn=0-295-97210-6 |oclc=27266208 |ol=OL1398871M}}
* {{cite book |title=Historical Outline of the Southern Pacific Company |date=1933 |publisher=Southern Pacific Bureau of News |url=https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/umsl/islandora/object/umsl%3A258085 |via=University of Missouri System}}
* {{Cite book |last=Starr |first=Timothy |title=The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 3: Southeast and Western Regions |publisher=Privately printed |year=2024}}{{self-published source|date=June 2024}}
* {{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Anthony W. |title=Pacific Fruit Express |publisher=Signature Press |year=1992 |isbn=1-930013-03-5 |location=Wilton, California |oclc=48551573}}

* Werner, George C. "History of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company" ''Handbook of Texas'' (1996) [https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/southern-pacific-system online]

*{{Cite book |last=White |first=Richard |author-link=Richard White (historian) |url=https://archive.org/details/railroadedtransc00whit_0 |title=Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America |date=2011 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-06126-0}}
*{{Cite journal |year=1899 |editor-last=Woodman |editor-first=E. H. |title=Transportation |url=https://archive.org/stream/sunsetvolumes00deptgoog#page/n200/mode/1up |journal=Sunset |location=San Francisco |publisher=Passenger Department Southern Pacific Company |volume=2 |issue=March, 1899 |access-date=March 15, 2015}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yenne |first=Bill |title=The History of the Southern Pacific |publisher=Smithmark Pub |year=1996 |isbn=0-8317-3788-3 |location=New York}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Southern Pacific Transportation Company}}
* [http://www.sphts.org Sphts.org: Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society]
* [http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/company.html?company=southern_pacific_transportation_company Harvard Business School, Lehman Brothers Collection: "History of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company"] 
* [http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/index.shtml Union Pacific Railroad.com: Union Pacific History]
* [http://engwonders.byethost9.com/e031.html "Across the Great Salt Lake, The Lucin Cutoff"] – ''1937 article''.
* [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525032052/http://www.abandonedrails.com/Santa_Ana_and_Newport_Railroad Abandoned Rails.com: History of the Santa Ana and Newport Railroad].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIcfCwszdX0&t=2s This Is My Railroad] (1946 film)

{{SP named trains}}
{{Former Class I}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Pacific Transportation Company}}
[[Category:Southern Pacific Railroad| ]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Union Pacific Railroad]]
[[Category:Rail lines receiving land grants]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1865]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Former Class I railroads in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct Arizona railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct California railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Louisiana railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Nevada railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct New Mexico railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Oregon railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Texas railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Utah railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Kansas railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Oklahoma railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Colorado railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Arkansas railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Missouri railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Tennessee railroads]]
[[Category:Defunct Illinois railroads]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:History of San Francisco]]
[[Category:History of the Mojave Desert region]]
[[Category:3 ft gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:1865 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1996 mergers and acquisitions]]