Central Pacific Railroad - Timeline

Timeline

1861

  • June 21, 1861: "Central Pacific Rail Road of California" incorporated; name changed to "Central Pacific Railroad of California" on October 8, 1864, after the Pacific Railway Act amendment passes that summer.

1862

  • July 1, 1862: President Lincoln signs the Pacific Railway Act, which authorized the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific to build a railroad to the Pacific Ocean.

1863

  • January 8, 1863: Ground-breaking ceremonies take place at Sacramento, California, at the foot of "K" Street at the waterfront of the Sacramento River.
  • October 26, 1863: First rail laid at Sacramento.

1864

  • April 26, 1864: Central Pacific opened to Roseville, 18 miles (29 km), where it makes a junction with the California Central Rail Road, operating from Folsom north to Lincoln.
  • June 3, 1864: The first revenue train on the Central Pacific operates between Sacramento and Newcastle, California
  • October 8, 1864: Following passage of the amendment to the Pacific Railroad Act, the company's name is changed to "Central Pacific Railroad of California," a new corporation.

1865

  • May 13, 1865: Central Pacific opened 36 miles (58 km) to Auburn, California.
  • September 1, 1865: Central Pacific opened 54 miles (87 km) to Colfax, California (formerly known as "Illinoistown.")

1866

  • December 3, 1866: Central Pacific opened 92 miles (148 km) to Cisco, California.
  • December 1, 1867: Central Pacific opened to Summit of the Sierra Nevada, 105 miles (169 km).

1869

  • April 28, 1869: Track crews on the Central Pacific lay 10 miles (16 km) of track in one day. This is the longest stretch of track that has been built in one day to date.
  • May 10, 1869: The Central Pacific and Union Pacific tracks meet in Promontory, Utah.
  • May 15, 1869: The first transcontinental trains are run over the new line to Sacramento.
  • November 8, 1869: Central Pacific subsidiaries Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870) and San Francisco Bay Railroad complete the final leg of the route, connecting Sacramento to Oakland.

1870

  • June 23, 1870: Central Pacific is consolidated with the Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870) and San Francisco Bay Railroad Co. to form the "Central Pacific Railroad Co." (of June 1870).
  • August 22, 1870: Central Pacific Railroad Co. is consolidated with the California & Oregon; San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda; and San Joaquin Valley Railroad; to form the "Central Pacific Railroad Co.", a new corporation.

1876

  • April 30, 1876: Operates the California Pacific Railroad between South Vallejo and Sacramento, Calistoga and Marysville until April 1, 1885 (see below).

1877

  • July 16, 1877: Start of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 when railroad workers on strike in Martinsburg, West Virginia, derail and loot a train; United States President Rutherford B. Hayes calls in Federal troops to break the strike.

1883

  • November 18, 1883: A system of one-hour standard time zones for American railroads was first implemented. The zones were named Intercolonial, Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Within one year, 85% of all cities having populations over 10,000, about 200 cities, were using standard time.

1885

  • April 1, 1885: Central Pacific is leased to Southern Pacific.

1888

  • June 30, 1888: Listed by ICC as a "non-operating" subsidiary of Southern Pacific.

1899

  • July 29, 1899: Central Pacific is reorganized as the "Central Pacific Railway".

1959

  • June 30, 1959: Central Pacific is formally merged into the Southern Pacific.

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