UP Trackage rights.

[Anonymous]

I am a big fan of the 1950's Union Pacific Railroad and I know that they had trackage rights over ATSF's Cajon pass. Did they have similar rights over Tehachapi pass?[%-)]

[West Coast S]

Southern Pacific was the builder and owner of the line over techachapi. Santa Fe operated via trackage rights. Union Pacifc was not a factor during the 50s on Techachapi or anywhere else in Southern California except for the Los Angles & Salt lake Line and Cajon Pass and owned no trackage nor any trackage right agreements with any carrier to the Central Valley or Northern California .

Dave

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot.[:D]
Still a little confused, if the UP trains didn't continue over Tehachapi pass where did they go? I took look at a 1954 map and the only place I can see is to leave the line at Mojave and head for Benton.[?]

[nanaimo73]

The Union Pacific from Salt Lake City came through Las Vegas and joined the ATSF line at Daggett, 9 miles east of Barstow. UP trains ran on the ATSF through Barstow and over Cajon and through San Bernadino to Riverside. At Riverside the Union Pacific got back on their own rails to Los Angeles. UP never went to Mojave or Tehatchapi .

[West Coast S]

There could have been UP and SF trackage rights if a war emergency order that SP requested was implemented. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, SP would have converted the narrow guage Carson & Colorado to standard guage form Keeler, CA to Tonopah, NV and a connection with the Overland Route if the Donner Pass or Golden State routes were were in danger of invasion.

SP agreed to issue trackage rights should the Santa Fe and UP require a alternate line if subject to similar threat . UP would have used SF from Barstow to Mojave and SP from Mojave to Bakersfield, then up the Jawbone Branch to Keeler, thence to Tonopah and Salt Lake .

By 1943 the threat of invasion was no longer a concearn and SP shelved the plan. The Carson & Colorado continued as a narrow guage operation until abandoned in 1960.

Dave