This collection includes some of the corporate records of the Southern Pacific Railroad, its holding company, the Southern Pacific Company and certain of its subsidiaries and successors (such as the Southern Pacific Transportation Company) collected by the CSRM Library & Archives, focusing on financial and operational aspects of its functions from 1860 to 1989.

The Southern Pacific was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1998 and operated in the Western United States. 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. 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, Texas, across New Mexico and through Tucson, to Los Angeles, through most of California, including San Francisco and Sacramento. 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 3,085 miles (4,965 km), bringing total SP/SSW mileage to around 13,508 miles (21,739 km). In 1969, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company was established and took over the Southern Pacific Company.

478.15 Linear Feet

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library staff for details.