Western Pacific Railroad

Western Pacific redirects here. For the airline company see Western Pacific Airlines.

Western Pacific Railroad

File:Western Pacific Railroad logo, color.jpg
Overview
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Reporting mark	WP
Locale	California, Nevada, and Utah
Dates of operation	1903–1983
Successor	Union Pacific

File:Western Pacific combined.png

"Drumhead" logos such as these often adorned the ends of observation cars on the Western Pacific Railroad.

The Western Pacific Railroad (reporting mark WP) was a Class I railroad in the United States. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP).

History

Founded in 1903, the Western Pacific Railroad was built as a portion of the Gould family's efforts to create a transcontinental railroad in the late 19th and early 20th century.

One of the American West’s most popular railroads, the WP attracted rail enthusiasts from around the world. From 1910 to 1982, its diverse route provided scenic views of the San Francisco Bay Area, the mountain communities of the famous Feather River Route, and the deserts of Nevada and Utah. The Western Pacific originated in 1900 as the Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad. The railroad which would become the Western Pacific was financed and built by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, under the direction of George Jay Gould I, to provide a standard gauge track connection to the Pacific Coast. In 1909, it became the last railroad completed into California.

In 1931, WP opened a second mainline north out of the Feather River Canyon to reach the Great Northern Railway in northern California. This route, called the "Highline", joined the Oakland to Salt Lake City mainline at a junction known as the Keddie Wye. Considered the heart of the railroad, this unique structure featured two steel trestles and a tunnel, all forming a triangle of intersecting track.

A 1930 map of the Western Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad systems.

One of the more well-known aspects of the Western Pacific was its operation of the California Zephyr passenger train, in conjunction with the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The WP handled the "Silver Lady" from Oakland, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Since it competed directly with the long-entrenched and much larger Southern Pacific Railroad, the WP became a company known both for its innovation and for wringing every dollar out of an investment. It was the first large railroad in the West to eliminate steam locomotives in favor of diesels, then kept some of these early diesels running in regular service long after they had been retired elsewhere. It embraced computerized dispatching, concrete crossties and innovative equipment to protect customer shipments, at the same time fielding antique wooden cabooses and rebuilding outmoded freight cars.

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Western Pacific #581, a Baldwin Locomotive Works VO-1000, is seen in a September, 1945 builder's photo.

The Western Pacific owned several connecting short-line railroads. The largest and most well-known was the Sacramento Northern Railway, which at one time reached from San Francisco to Chico, California. Others included the Tidewater Southern Railway and the Deep Creek Railroad.

The Western Pacific was acquired in 1983 by Union Pacific Corporation, the owner of its long-time rival, the Union Pacific Railroad. In July 2005, Union Pacific unveiled a brand new EMD SD70ACe locomotive, Union Pacific 1983, in full Western Pacific colors as part of a new heritage program.

References

• Western Pacific Railroad Historical Society
• WP Lives website; Western Pacific History
• National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History
• Union Pacific Railroad
• Union Pacific Historical Society

See also

• California Zephyr
• Central Pacific Railroad
• Southern Pacific Railroad
• Union Pacific Railroad
• Western Refrigerator Line

External links

• The Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, CA.
• Union Pacific Railroad photo gallery — contains thousands of photographs from as early as 1860 taken by employees of the Union Pacific railroad.
• Union Pacific Railroad 19th Century Stereoview Exhibit at the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum.
• Constructing Deep Creek Railroad
• History of the Sacramento Northern Railway at the Western Railroad Museum official website.
• The Tidewater Southern Railway history pages

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Western Pacific #3009, an EMD GP35, stops for servicing in Stockton, California in 1974.

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Western Pacific #805A, an EMD FP7 locomotive on display in June, 1999 at the Portola Railroad Museum in Portola, California.