Hello everyone! For the past few months, I have been working on a map of what I would think the ill-fated Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railway would look like. The map is not finished, but it is finished enough for me to share it. I made it on paint.net. Below is a very long but hopefully insightful explanation of what I mapped and why.
Here is a link to the map since I can't find a way to upload it directly to the post:
https://imgur.com/a/CuwLgFD
Red lines are owned by SPSF. Pink lines are trackage rights.
I started by looking at maps of the modern-day UP and BNSF. If UP kept an ex-SP/SSW line, I would add it to my map. If BNSF kept an ex-ATSF line, I would also add it to my map.
Intermodal would be concentrated on ex-ATSF lines while carload freight would be concentrated on ex-SP lines. The ex-SSW would have seen a mix of both. (For example a Memphis to Los Angeles intermodal train would be routed via the SSW then ATSF. Hopefully the train’s name stays the Blue Streak and not the Super-C! ) I also found that SPSF planned to implement directional running in the San Joaquin Valley.
I then dug around to see if SPSF planned to keep any lines that were sold IRL. I found that the ATSF Parker Branch in Arizona and California was going to be retained. (IRL it was sold to Arizona & California.) Trains traveling between Northern California and the Sunset Route would be routed via the Parker Branch to avoid Beaumont and Cajon Passes in Southern California. (A lot of the info I think I found in Fred Fraily’s recent book on the ATSF.)
One line I had trouble with was the ex-SP/RI Golden State Route. SPSF had no super concrete plans for the line other than it would be downgraded and mostly used for bulk and manifest traffic. Various online forums speculating about the merger seem to think SPSF would have tried to sell it eventually. At one point I considered spinning it off into an MRL-style regional but I decided against it for now.
Then there is the issue of concessions to other railroads. The first SPSF merger attempt included no concessions to other railroads; however, the second attempt did. SPSF struck deals with both UP and the D&RGW. I found an issue of Pacific Rail News that outlined these concessions which I cannot find anymore.
SPSF would grant UP trackage rights from El Paso to Stockton via Colton and along the ex-SP Phoenix Branch. In exchange, SPSF would get a bunch of trackage rights along UP which are shown on the map. They include:
From Big Sandy to El Paso along the ex-T&P. This would cut nearly five hours of run time off of SPSF trains between the Sunset Route and the Cotton Belt.
From Bay City to Placedo in Texas. This would allow SPSF to form a shorter route from Houston to the Mexican Border.
From Chicago to St. Louis along the ex-C&EI.
The D&RGW would lease the Central Pacific from Ogden to Roseville and the Modoc Line from Winnemucca to Klamath Falls. The D&RGW would also get trackage rights from Klamath Falls to Portland and from Roseville to San Francisco and Bakersfield.
I also threw in the ex-Chicago & Alton/Chicago, Missouri & Western since I think SPSF would jump on that when they went under. The Chicago-St. Louis portion was bought by SP IRL while the Kansas City-St. Louis portion was bought by an ATSF-backed regional.
The map is unlabeled for now; however, I hope to fully label it in the future. Any questions, comments, or new information that would help make my SPSF more “realistic” would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Great map! Really appreciate the time invested to develop the "what if".
It looks strange to not see a Northern Tier route (BN) across the top. Looking at the map, one can visualize why the merger was struck down. The SP would have probably been a heavy weight on the Santa Fe. Without the coal coming out of PRB would SFSP survived? Again, great work.
Ed
This merger was denied because it curtailed competition. However, the vast real estate ownership of both, not utilized in railroad operations, was merged and placed under management of a new company created to manage it. Catelus I think was its name.
Catellus was indeed the company set up to manage the SF-SP real estate. Prior to the merger, the SP was noted for taking the long term view in managing its real estate holdings, especially with forests.
Erik_Mag Catellus was indeed the company set up to manage the SF-SP real estate. Prior to the merger, the SP was noted for taking the long term view in managing its real estate holdings, especially with forests.
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