Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society

Los Angeles Division by John R. Signor

From the first stirring of a Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad locomotive in January 1869, to the merger with Union Pacific on September 11, 1996, Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles Division in all of its manifestations was an engine of growth and prosperity in Southern California. It employed many thousands over the years in its offices, shops and trains. It brought settlers west, established towns, brought war workers in and sent the troops home.
 
Much has been written about the Southern Pacific and its subsidiaries in the Southland. This volume was conceived to augment these works by tracing the long and involved operating history of the Southern Pacific as it first helped to create Southern California, then later adapted to cope with its explosive growth. Accompanying the text are over 1,000 photographs—most never published, including 456 in color—timetables and other ephemera, and 76 maps, many of which are rendered in the author’s unique “bird’s eye view” style.
 
With Los Angeles as a destination of significance from the beginning, the author has been able to draw from a wealth of historic material on the subject, preserved by the railway itself, official repositories, interested employees and other individuals which includes photographs, first hand experiences and the day-to-day paperwork that documented how SP operated in Southern California. Southern Pacific’s Los Angeles Division is sure to find a place on the book shelves of those interested in the SP, or the history of Southern California as a whole.
 
584 pages, 8½ x 11 library bound with dust jacket, 1,043 photos, 76 maps, Bibliography and Index.
 
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SP Trainline Archive Volume 2: Issues 42-80
(CD-ROM)

This CD-ROM contains thirty-nine issues of SP Trainline in easy-to-use PDF format. Also included on this disc is an exhaustive index of the first 80 issues, making finding specific information quick and easy.
 
Windows and Mac compatable.
 
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Band of Brothers (DVD)

2017 Rohnert Park Panel Discussion with Former Southern Pacific Managers
 
On November 18, 2017, at the annual convention of the SPH&TS at Rohnert Park, California, a group of senior Southern Pacific operating officials came together to tell the story -- in an open forum -- of their experiences during the final decades of the Southern Pacific, particularly from an operating point of view. These men had not worked together for more than 25 years, but had compelling recollections of the Southern Pacific when they were tasked with running a vastly diverse railroad company during periods of tumult and uncertainty.
 
Those making presentations and appearing as panelists were Rollin Bredenberg, general manager; Gary Greblo, assistant general manager; Art Henson, vice president-transportation; Mile Mohan, president; and Mike Ongerth, assistant vice president-operations. The emcee and panel moderator was Bill Fowler, managing director of contracts and joint facilities.
 
Among the topics covered were the many changes in technology, the Phil Anschutz era, the Houston area operational "melt-down" in 1979/1980, the challenges of mountain railroading, and the effects of deregulation in the early 1980s. The DVD run-time is close to two hours.
 
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