Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society

Dedicated to preserving & disseminating the historical record of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Supporters of railfanning, archeology & scale modeling of this great pioneer railroad

Links

Jump to Member Websites | Diesel | Steam | Freight | Passenger | MOW Equip | Depot/Structure/Lineside Equip | Predecessors/Subsidiaries | Narrow Gauge | Railroad Museums | History | Books | Photography | Memorabilia/Artwork | Ex-SP Track Ops | Modeling | Societies

Member Websites

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Topical Links

SP Diesel Locomotives

Nor-Cal SP Connection

John Barnhill’s comprehensive photo roster of SP, SSW and D&RGW diesels, and all-time text roster also featuring many other California roads.

Southern Pacific GP9 5623

This is the website for Howard Wise and Errol Ohman’s beautifully restored passenger GP9, SP 5623. Read about the entire history of this engine, and see pictures of it in action over the course of its life.

David Coscia’s SP Railroad Page

David’s table of SP diesel frame lengths and truck centers.

ALCo World

Rolf Stumpf’s comprehensive ALCo pages include specifications and photos of many of SP’s ALCos, plus an ALCo reference library and sound recordings of ALCos in action. This site is international in coverage.

The Wings

Rolf continues with a new site dedicated to these engines. These new pages have just come into development.

Southern Pacific Model Paint Colors

Rick Blanchard has put together this invaluable resource for modelers and historians.

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SP Steam Locomotives

David Coscia’s SP Railroad Page

David’s list of surviving SP steam locomotives.

Louisiana Steam Train Association

Working to preserve SP 745, an MK-5 Mikado built in SP’s Algiers Shops in New Orleans, Louisiana.

SteamLocomotives.com

A general information site, including information on Los Angeles area steam. Much of the information is organized by wheel arrangement.

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Freight Equipment and Operations

RailGoat

Lee Gautreaux has developed a good deal of information about SP freight equipment, to which this link will take you. Other pages of his Web site (linked elsewhere) will also bring you historical information about the Lafayette Division and its branch lines.

Southern Pacific Model Paint Colors

Rick Blanchard has put together this invaluable resource for modelers and historians.

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SP Passenger Trains and Equipment

Jim Lancaster’s Train Page.

One of the founding members of the Society, Jim is a very knowledgeable and articulate passenger train enthusiast. He has posted a number of historic photographs, some taken in the Los Angeles area, and others throughout the Western states (including other “fallen flags”). His most recent contribution to TRAINLINE was a definitive history of the Shasta Daylight.

Southern Pacific Model Paint Colors

Rick Blanchard has put together this invaluable resource for modelers and historians.

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Maintenance of Way Equipment

SP in the Cascades

Joel Ashcroft’s SP in the Cascades site, covering operation on the Cascade line through Oregon. Also contains information about structures, MOW equipment and locomotives used on this line.

HiRail & Misc MOW Equipment

Jeremy Winkworth provides this glimpse of off-rail MOW equipment.

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SP Depot, Structure and Lineside Equipment

Centerville Depot Museum

Impressively restored and maintained SP Common Standard depot, with links to regional historical information.

Niles Depot

Restored, with an HO scale model railroad downstairs. The site contains the history of the depot, and some good image links.

Historic Goleta Depot

Moved and restored Goleta depot, located west of Santa Barbara on the Coast Division. Lots of history and interesting data to be found here.

Dan’s Wigwag Site

Remember Wig-Wags (invented on the Pacific Electric, by the way)?  Dan Furtado has amassed much information about these anachronisms. Most of those found on his site can be found along former SP lines.

California Central Model Railroad Club in Santa Clara, CA

Owner of the Agnew Depot built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad, later purchased by the Southern Pacific. The depot houses an HO scale model railroad that is 95% complete and features coast, inland, mountain, and desert scenes inspired by locations in California, Oregon, and the Desert Southwest.

South Bay Historical Railroad Society of Santa Clara, CA

Here you will find information about their project to restore and maintain the Santa Clara depot, associated MoW buildings adjacent, and the Santa Clara interlocking tower, as well as information about their scale model railroad in the former South Pacific Coast, former Southern Pacific Santa Clara depot.

SP in the Cascades

Joel Ashcroft’s SP in the Cascades site, covering operation on the Cascade line through Oregon. Also contains information about structures, MOW equipment and locomotives used on this line.

David Coscia’s SP Railroad Page

This will take you to David’s home page, which in turn will link you to CS-22 and CS-23, SSW and SP narrow gauge depot information. Included is a list of surviving depots. There is another link to a list of surviving SP structures.

Northeast Texas Railroad Station & Depot Photo Archive

Michael Ellis provides this extensive archive of historic Texas depots. Many of these are SP depots, and while not all northeast Texas depots are yet covered, there are some fine shots here of those that are.

Southern Pacific Model Paint Colors

Rick Blanchard has put together this invaluable resource for modelers and historians.

Art Fisher’s SPTCO

Photos of depots, bridges, water tanks, freight hice, and other facilities, particularly in Texas and Nevada. Brought to you by Art Fisher.

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SP Predecessors and SP Subsidiaries

Cotton Belt (St. Louis Southwestern)

Historic information about the SSW, a subsidiary of the SP since the early 1930s. This site also has links to the Cotton Belt Railway Historical Society, and the Arkansas Railroad Museum, home of Cotton Belt 4-8-4 819.

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SP Narrow Gauge

Birth of California Narrow Gauge Railroads

Randy Hees has prepared a site with significant information about the South Pacific Coast, the North Pacific Coast, and California car builders.

Slim Rails

This is Rick Blanchard‘s comprehensive narrow gauge site. SP narrow gauge lines may be found here. Following links on this page, you may move on to innumerable other narrow gauge operations, domestic and international.

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Railroad Museums

California Trolley and Railroad Corporation

This group is moving San Jose’s Lenzen Ave. roundhouse, turntable, and College Park tower to a site near the Santa Clara County (CA) Fairgounds. They are undertaking the restoration of 4-6-2 2479. When completed, there will be a total of three operable Pacifics in the Bay Area (no Mikados, though).

Golden Gate Railroad Museum

Home of 4-6-2 SP 2472 and much other preserved SP equipment. What a wonderful job these people have done on both the 2472 and other equipment in their collection. They also operate a “rent-a-locomotive” program.

Niles Canyon Railway of the Pacific Locomotive Association

This museum operates over a portion of the former SP Niles Canyon route, from Niles Junction to Sunol. An extension to Pleasanton is planned. They have equipment from many railroads, including SP and its subsidiaries.

Orange Empire Railway Museum

The largest railway museum in the west, with much SP equipment.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

Operates three venues in San Diego County, Calif.: the 40-acre “Pacific Southwest Railway Museum” in rural Campo, a station on the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Ry.; the “La Mesa Depot Museum” in downtown La Mesa; and the “Southwest Railway Library” research and archive facility at Campo. Trains run weekends at Campo on SD & AE. Numerous SP/NWP/SD & AE steam/diesel locomotives, cars and cabooses. 1894 La Mesa Depot is former office of famed railroad fiction writer and SP brass-pounder, Harry Bedwell. Engineer-For-An-Hour programs; train crew training, including engineer; train rentals.

San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum

SLORRM is located at 1940 Santa Barbara St., San Luis Obispo Ca., in the Historic Railroad District. Our artifact exhibits, Model Railroad and Research Library are in the Southern Pacific Railroad Freight House built in 1894, with our rolling stock on the Display Track. Museum emphasis is: Southern Pacific Railroad, Pacific Coast Railway, and Coast Line railroads, including Santa Maria Valley Railroad, Union Pacific and Amtrak.

Southern Arizona Transportation Museum

Home of 2-6-0 SP 1673 and a working US&S Style B lower quadrant SP semaphore. Located at the old SP depot complex in downtown Tucson.

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SP History

Museum of the City of San Francisco

From the home of the SP, some wonderful coverage of its life in The City. There is also coverage of how the SP helped The City face the results of the 1906 earthquake, and the subsequent propanga issued through its mouthpiece, Sunset Magazine.

Views of Southern Pacific’s Shasta Route and “The Road of a Thousand Wonders”

This is John Mossbarger’s wonderfully extensive coverage of the SP in postcards. Originally dedicated to the Shasta Route, there is now coverage of much of the Pacific Lines. There is also a contemporary Shasta Route album.

A Brief History of Texas Railroads

Briefly tells the history of railroads in Texas with links to several sites.

Shasta Springs – Forgotten Resort

Ken Clark‘s tribute in historic postcards to this famous Dunsmuir location, between Dunsmuir and Mott. Now closed to the public.

California State Railroad Museum

One of the finest railroad museums in the world. In addition to their operating and preserved equipment, they have an enormous reference of SP and general railroad reference materials. Serious scholars as well as the general fan will like this place!

Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum

Documenting the building of the railroad.

Western Trains Database

This is a link to the ESPEE page hosting this list, not to the database itself. This outstanding work is from Bruce Conklin. It is a treasured resource.

Los Angeles River Railroads

Bruce Petty‘s page on the history of the three railroads operating along the mighty (?) waterway. Pictures from 1930-1970 are on the site. as well as a detailed map of the railroads involved.

David Coscia’s SP Railroad Page

Listing of mainlines and branchlines, collected from pre-1941 system maps.

Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation

Blessed to serve as the agents of preservation for numerous important photographic and ephemera collections centered on Southern Californian rail history.

</a href=”http://www.tehachapidepot.com/” target=”_blank”>Tehachapi Depot

The Tehachapi Depot is a Southern Pacific No. 23 depot, the only one still in its original building site. Although ours burned in 2008, it has been rebuilt according to the original design plans (allowing for current building codes). The Depot was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in October 1999.

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Publishers and Sellers of SP Books

Signature Press

Publishers of fine historical and operational studies of Southern Pacific routes, trains and equipment. Anthony Thompson, Robert Church and John Signor, all officers and/or members of the Society, are among the authors and editors of these fine publications.

RailPub.com

Paul Gibson‘s list of back-issue magazines and out-of-print books.

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SP Photography

ESPEE Photo Archive

This is the index page for digital photos available on Richard Percy‘s marvelous ESPEE site.

Robert Morris Photography

Visit Bob Morris for one of the most extensive SP photo collections available for purchase. Bob has been a long-time supplier of fine photographs of depots, steam and diesel locomotives, passenger trains and other items, both for the SP and other Western roads.

Denver Public Library

The negative collection at the Denver Public Library.

Central California Rails

David Epling has provided this site, which contains a large number of pictures of SP (and other) operations in the vicinity of the site of Stockton Tower.

SP in the Cascades

Joel Ashcroft’s SP in the Cascades site, covering operation on the Cascade line through Oregon. Also contains information about structures, MOW equipment and locomotives used on this line.

Sam Reeves Photography

Sam Reeves posts many fine black and white and color photographs of railroad operations in the Santa Clara and Salinas valleys.

Corsicana and the SP Ennis Subdivision

Photo archive both before and after the merger. Operating frequencies are given, and you may view a 1983 Ennis Subdivision timetable.

WA1RKA’s Stockton Tower

John Manter‘s photo archive of activity at Stockton Tower (sob) and environs.

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SP Memorabilia and Artwork

Rod R. Aszman

The studio of Rod R. Aszman, who creates original paintings and limited edition reproductions of his fine artwork. Rod has displayed at several SPH&TS conventions, and his work is in great demand.

John Winfield — Winfield Rail Art

John Winfield is nationally known in the railroad community for his colorful paintings and prints. Depicting locomotives of fallen flags, as well as current roads, in settings that recall the golden age of railroading, he incorporates both the painting and printing processes.

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Operations on Former SP Trackage

Tehachapi Rail Cam

Dunsmuir Rail Cam

Altamont Press

SP Single Track Automatic Block Signalling

Carsten Lundsten‘s extensive coverage of this topic. This is a very valuable reference source and the coverage is quite comprehensive.

SP in the Cascades

Joel Ashcroft’s SP in the Cascades site, covering operation on the Cascade line through Oregon. Also contains information about structures, MOW equipment and locomotives used on this line.

Northwest Rails

Matthew Robbins’ amazingly comprehensive site covering all facets of the SP northwest, including historic photographs. Coverage includes the Modoc, Siskiyou, and area short lines.

Central California Rails

David Epling’s site covering operations in and around the area of Stockton, California, on former SP, WP and AT&SF lines, as well as area shortlines.

Views of Southern Pacific’s Shasta Route and “The Road of a Thousand Wonders”

This is John Mossbarger‘s wonderfully extensive coverage of the SP in postcards. Originally dedicated to the Shasta Route, there is now coverage of much of the Pacific Lines. There is also a contemporary Shasta Route album.

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SP Modeling

David Coscia’s SP Railroad Page

From here, David provides links to prototypically correct HO or N scale models.

David Coscia’s SP Swap Meet Page

Looking to buy or sell an SP model? Try here.

Southern Pacific Model Paint Colors

Rick Blanchard has put together this invaluable resource for modelers and historians.

Golden State Model Railroad Museum

The incomparable design of the Oakland-Sacramento portions of the HO railroad emulates the Cal-P and the Altamont Pass routes, and is an operator’s dream. The N scale models the line from Oakland through the Tehachapis. There is also O scale.

Joe Fugate’s HO Scale Siskiyou Line

Coverage of Joe’s layout and the railroad that it emulates.

California Central Model Railroad Club in Santa Clara, CA

Owner of the Agnew Depot built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad, later purchased by the Southern Pacific. The depot houses an HO scale model railroad that is 95% complete and features coast, inland, mountain, and desert scenes inspired by locations in California, Oregon, and the Desert Southwest.

South Bay Historical Railroad Society

South Bay Historical Railroad Society of Santa Clara, CA. Here you will find information about their scale model railroad in the former South Pacific Coast, former Southern Pacific Santa Clara depot, as well as information about their project to restore and maintain this depot, associated MoW buildings adjacent, and the Santa Clara interlocking tower.

San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Several great layouts. HO scale SP boxcars ave available from the La Mesa Model Railroad Club at this location.

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Related Historical Societies

Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society

The primary emphasis of this organization has been the restoration and operation of 4-8-4 SSW 819, and the maintenance of the Arkansas Railroad Museum. The museum is located in the Cotton Belt yards at the east end of Second Avenue in Pine Bluff, and is open Monday-Saturday 8:30-2:30.

For further information, contact:
Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society
P.O. Box 2044, Pine Bluff, AR.

 

Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society

As its title suggests, this society focuses on the SP’s Northern California former subsidiary. They publish a newsletter and a semiannual magazine called THE NORTHWESTERNER. They are also developing an historical archive.

For further information, contact:
Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society
P.O. Box 667, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0667.

 

Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California

There is no society specific to the Pacific Electric Railway (or any of the other SP subsidiary electric lines, for that matter). However, the Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California has for well over forty years covered the history and operation of electric lines, predominantly in southern California, and their website contains much information about SP electric operations.

Much Pacific Electric (and some SP) equipment is preserved at the Orange Empire Railway Museum. Their monthly publication GAZETTE often contains articles about their PE and other electric and diesel equipment and the railroads over which it operated. The museum is located just south of the city of Perris, California, southeast of Los Angeles. It is open every weekend and rides are offered on PE, LARy, and other equipment as available.

For further information, contact:
Orange Empire Railway Museum
P.O. Box 548, Perris, CA 92572-0548
There is a 24 hour information line at (909) 657-2605.

 

Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Society

This organization concerns itself primarily with the former Carson & Colorado, with occasional references to the South Pacific Coast and the North Pacific Coast.

 

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association

There is no society specific to the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway, but the museum operates its weekend trains on up to 14 miles of SD & AE track between the Mexican border and Miller Creek. Research library holds largest collection of primary SD & A operating records in the world. Among its 80+ exhibits, it owns two steam and two diesel locomotives that ran on the line, including the only existing steam engine owned by the SD & AE (2-8-0#104, ex-SP 2720) and the last existing SP/SD & AE G.E. 70-tonner, #5119. Rolling stock exhibits span from ex-SP of Calif. coach #51 (Gilbert & Bush, 1875) to 1980. Restored SD & A Ry. 1917 Campo depot. Large display building. Gift store. Yard. Enginehouse.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, Inc.
Business office:
4695 Nebo Drive
La Mesa, CA 91941-5259
(619) 465-PSRM

Campo & Library venue:
750 Depot St.
Campo, California 91906
(619) 478-9937

 

Union Pacific Historical Society

There was a time, long ago, when there would have been no need for two organizations. Then, the governmental wisdom of the day saw to it that the SP and the UP went their separate ways. Or did they? Many SP operations were intimately tied to UP operations, even after the Harriman divestiture, and the story of these operations, both passenger and freight, make interesting reading. Many of these stories have been excellently covered in the UPHS’s quarterly publication The Streamliner, which, along with our own Trainline, is certainly one of the finest in the railroad historical society field. Now, history seems to be coming full circle. There are, however, no plans to merge the two societies.

For further information, contact:
Union Pacific Historical Society
P.O. Box 4006, Cheyenne, WY 82003-4006

 

Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society

Subsequent to the failed merger between the SP and the AT&SF, the SP and the D&RGW were merged into one railroad.

For further information, contact:
The Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society
P.O. Box 25114, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-5114

Chicago & North Western Historical Society

As was the case with the UP, SP and C&NW shared certain operations, most notably in the passenger field. The C&NWHS publishes an excellent quarterly magazine which has from time to time contained articles of interest to even the most narrowly focused SP fan. Their archives are maintained at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

For further information, contact:
Chicago & North Western Historical Society
P.O. Box 1436, Elmhurst, IL 60126

 

Milwaukee Road Historical Association

When the joint passenger arrangement between the SP/UP and the C&NW was terminated in 1955, SP’s Overland Route trains (as well as the UP’s) were shifted to the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee Road Historical Society is deeply committed to the preservation of this road’s (checkered) history.

For further information, contact:
Milwaukee Road Historical Association
P.O. Box 307,
Antioch, IL 60002

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