Western Pacific Railroad

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Schematic route map of the WP and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad from 1930.
Western Pacific Railway Company's $ 1000 Goldbond dated September 1, 1903
Western Pacific Railroad train in March 1970

The Western Pacific Railroad (abbreviated WP) is a former railroad company in the United States . It operated a main line from Salt Lake City to San Francisco and numerous branch lines in California , some of which belonged to subsidiaries, such as the Sacramento Northern Railway , the Tidewater Southern Railway , the Indian Valley Railroad and the Deep Creek Railroad .

history

The company was founded on March 3, 1903 as the Western Pacific Railway and opened the nearly 1500 kilometers long standard gauge line for freight traffic on December 1, 1909 and for passenger traffic on August 22, 1910. George Gould's Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad held the Majority of shares in the company. The construction cost was $ 78 million, twice as much as planned. As a result, there were no longer enough funds available to purchase branch lines, so that not enough traffic could be acquired to cover the borrowing costs. The Western Pacific Railway therefore had to file for bankruptcy in 1915. In 1916 the company was re-established as Western Pacific Railroad, which acquired the assets of the Western Pacific Railway. The railway company Western Pacific Railroad Company was a complete subsidiary of the also newly established "Western Pacific Railroad Corporation". Owners of preferred bonds of the former Western Pacific Railway were given the right to acquire shares in that company. Western Pacific Railroad Corporation also owned 50% of the shares in Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.

In 1926, the WP came under the control of Arthur C. James , who also held significant shares in Great Northern , Northern Pacific and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy . In order to connect the route of the WP with the network of the Great Northern, a route was built from Keddie Wye to Bieber , which was opened in 1931.

On August 2, 1935, another bankruptcy administration had to be ordered. In the following period the financial situation was reorganized until December 29, 1944.

In 1970 the railway company was converted into a 100% subsidiary of the newly founded Western Pacific Industries . With effect from April 4, 1979, the railway company became independent again as part of a management buy-out . In 1982 the Western Pacific Railroad was taken over by the Union Pacific Railroad together with the Missouri Pacific Railroad .

The most important train in the WP network is the California Zephyr , an express train that runs between Chicago and San Francisco and uses the Western Pacific route from Salt Lake City.

  • Logo of the Western Pacific until 1979

  • Logo of the Western Pacific 1979 to 1982

Corporate management

president

Chairman of the Board

Company headquarters

Until October 1, 1941, the railway company was based in the Mills Building in San Francisco. Then she moved to the 526 Mission Street building.

Web links

Commons : Western Pacific Railroad  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Henry Davidson Walker: Walker's Manual of Far Western Corporations & Securities . 1925, p. 276 ff . ( google.de [accessed on February 12, 2018]).