Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Southern Pacific Railroad Company
- Abstract:
- This collection comprises the Board Minutes of the Southern Pacific Railroad and its subsidiaries, Mechanical Department plans and specifications of the rolling stock of the Southern Pacific and its subsidiaries, the Valuation Department records documenting financial transactions and value of the rolling stock of the company.
- Extent:
- 2829 Linear Feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Southern Pacific Railroad Company Records, M1010, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Contains board minutes, ledgers, engineering report books, mechanical car books, maps, mechanical specifications, valuation maps, leases, and cash receipts for the Southern Pacific Company and more than 500 other companies acquired by the Southern Pacific Company between 1895 and 1991.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Southern Pacific Railroad was founded in 1865 and was purchased in 1869 by Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins, better known as the Big Four. It was the first railroad to connect Los Angeles to the rest of California and its lines extended as far as New Orleans. In 1901, the Union Pacific Railroad bought 38% of Southern Pacific stock and took control of the company, but the Union Pacific was ultimately forced to divest these shares in 1912 by the U.S. Supreme Court in an anti-trust case. During World War II, the Southern Pacific Co. played a major role in military transportation in the US, transporting personal, and equipment along the west coast. In 1983, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads announced their intentions to merge and organize company into the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation, but the merger was rejected in 1987. In 1996, the Union Pacific acquired Southern Pacific, making Union Pacific the largest railroad in the United States.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Union Pacific Railroad, 1998.
- Arrangement:
-
Due to the size of the collection, each of the seven record groups was catalogued separately. Paging material from each group can be accomplished from the following records:
Record Group 1. Board of Directors Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7621482
Record Group 2. Operating and Maintenance Department Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7621542
Record Group 3. Mechanical Department Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7145586
Record Group 4. Accounting Department Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7621557
Record Group 5. Office of the Secretary Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7622227
Record Group 6. Legal Department Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7622228
Record Group 7. Real Estate Department Records
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7622229
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
A portion of the Mechanical Division drawings are stored off-site; access to these materials may require as much as two weeks. All other materials described in this finding aid are available for use without restriction.
- Terms of access:
-
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Southern Pacific Railroad Company Records, M1010, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Department of Special Collections, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6004, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022