Conditions Governing Access
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Corporate History
Other Finding Aids
Related Collections
Preferred Citation
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Use
Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Central Pacific Railway records
Creator:
Central Pacific Railway Company
Identifier/Call Number: MS 79
Physical Description:
388.5 Linear Feet
377 Boxes + 19 volumes
Date (bulk): 1861-1959
Abstract: The
Central
Pacific
Railroad
Records include documents generated by
Central
Pacific, a
railroad
chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastward from Sacramento, California, to complete the western
part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America in 1869. It includes records from its incorporation in 1861
until 1959, when it was formally merged with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Much of the material in these records documents
the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. It includes accounting records and vouchers for the purchase of building material
and supplies, payrolls of work gangs who built the Transcontinental Railroad, and equipment records for locomotives, passenger
and freight cars that ran on the railroad. This is not a complete record of the company, but provides a good overview of the
company in the nineteenth century.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to research by appointment. Contact Library Staff for details
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The material in this collection was donated to the California State Railroad Museum by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the
Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. The CP station plan book was donated by Arthur D. Haig in 1983 and the
unpaid wages book was donated by Jack Naack in 1983.
Arrangement
MS 79 is arranged into eight series:
Series 1. FINANCIAL RECORDS
Series 2. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT RECORDS
Series 3. LAND DEPARTMENT RECORDS
Series 4. PERSONNEL RECORDS
Series 5. EQUIPMENT RECORDS
Series 6. MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, FORMS AND CORRESPONDENCE
Series 7. TARIFFS
Series 8. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Corporate History
Incorporated in 1861 as the Central Pacific Rail Road,
Central
Pacific was a class 1
railroad
operating in Northern California, Nevada and Utah. On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act, which
provided funding and land grants to
Central
Pacific for the construction of the Western part of the Transcontinental
Railroad
. After breaking ground on January 8, 1963 in Sacramento, California,
Central
Pacific constructed the
railroad
over the Sierra Nevada mountain range and met the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah in 1869, completing the first
Transcontinental Railroad.
In April 1, 1885,
Central
Pacific
Railroad
was leased to the Southern Pacific Company. Its locomotives and rolling stock continued to bear the Central Pacific name
for a few years, but then was replaced with the Southern Pacific logo. In June 1899
Central
Pacific
Railroad
was reorganized as
Central
Pacific Railway a name it kept until it merged with the Southern
Pacific
Railroad
on June 30, 1959.
Other Finding Aids
An index to the Central Pacific vouchers can be found in MS 616 LYNN D. FARRAR PAPERS, RG 1 SOUTHERN PACIFIC HISTORICAL COST
STUDY, Series 3. Other research material. Contact Library Staff for details.
Related Collections
Other Central Pacific land records can be found in MS 789
Central
Pacific Land Company Records, and MS 634 Catellus Development Corporation
Railroad
Land Grant Records
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item],
Central
Pacific
Railroad
Records, MS 79, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
Scope and Contents
The
Central
Pacific
Railroad
Records include documents generated by
Central
Pacific, a
railroad
chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastward from Sacramento, California, to complete the western
part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America in 1869. It includes records from its incorporation in 1861
until 1959, when it was formally merged with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Much of the material in these records documents
the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. It includes accounting records and vouchers for the purchase of building material
and supplies, payrolls of work gangs who built the Transcontinental Railroad, and equipment records for locomotives, passenger
and freight cars that ran on the railroad. This is not a complete record of the company, but provides a good overview of the
company in the nineteenth century.
Conditions Governing Use
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 Librarian. 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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Central
Pacific
Railroad
Company
Railroads--California--History
Transcontinental Railroad
Railroad Locomotives
Railroads--United States--Freight cars