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61-472: The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction east of State Route 14 , and north of the Rand Mountains and Randsburg Red Rock Road. Red Rock Canyon State Park lies at the western end of the range. The mountain range is approximately 18 miles (29 km) long. It is 16 mi (26 km) north−northeast of California City , and south of Ridgecrest and Inyokern . Highway 395 crosses

122-498: A tunnel along the truck lanes for southbound I-5 at the interchange. A resulting fire started, soon encompassing the entire tunnel along with 30 other trucks and one passenger vehicle that were in the tunnel at the time. The truck tunnel was closed for several days for structural damage inspections and repairs. SR 14 is an unfinished route, as the definition in the California Streets and Highways Code states that

183-494: A bypass running north and east of the town. The character of the highway changes as it leaves California City with the last interchange located at California City Boulevard. Now a divided highway with at-grade intersections , departs the corridor of the rail main, to follow the crest of the forming Sierra Nevada mountains. The route continues to follow a branch line of the Union Pacific Railroad used as

244-720: A connector for the Trona Railway . The main line of the railroad proceeds towards the Central Valley via Tehachapi Pass . Though SR 14 heads away from the pass, the highway has views of the mountains and the Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm . The scenery also changes, as the highway departs the Mojave Desert and crosses Red Rock Canyon State Park . Traffic counts drop dramatically as the highway becomes more rural, with an AADT of 3,200 vehicles at

305-496: A correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column. Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific ( reporting mark SP ) (or Espee from

366-473: A passenger train and send scores and hundreds to instant death. There are many Southern Pacific locomotives still in revenue service with railroads such as the Union Pacific Railroad , and many older and special locomotives have been donated to parks and museums, or continue operating on scenic or tourist railroads. Most of the engines now in use with Union Pacific have been "patched", where

427-593: A rail connection between San Francisco and San Diego, California . The company was purchased in September 1868 by a group of businessmen known as the Big Four : Charles Crocker , Leland Stanford , Mark Hopkins, Jr. and C. P. Huntington . The Big Four had, in 1861, created the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) It later acquired the Central Pacific Railroad in 1885 through leasing. By 1900,

488-468: A telecommunications network with a state-of-the-art microwave and fiber optic backbone. This telecommunications network became part of Sprint , a company whose name came from the acronym for Southern Pacific Railroad Internal Networking Telephony. The original Southern Pacific Railroad was founded in San Francisco in 1865, by a group of businessmen led by Timothy Phelps with the aim of building

549-620: A tripling of the population of Palmdale by 2030. In response, multiple government agencies have proposed adding more transportation arteries between Los Angeles and the Antelope Valley, as well as expanding the capacity of the existing SR 14 and rail corridors. Several proposals have been made to bypass the Antelope Valley Freeway by boring a tunnel under the San Gabriel Mountains and extending

610-401: A varying toll, adjusted for the time of day, averaging around $ 8 for one-way passage. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964 , based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to

671-543: Is at Interstate 5 (I-5, Golden State Freeway ) in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Granada Hills and Sylmar just immediately to the south of the border of the city of Santa Clarita . SR 14's northern terminus is at U.S. Route 395 (US 395) near Inyokern . Legislatively, the route extends south of I-5 to SR 1 in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles; however, the portion south of

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732-630: The Chumash on the Pacific coast. This Kern County, California -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . California State Route 14 State Route 14 ( SR 14 ) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects Los Angeles to the northern Mojave Desert . The southern portion of the highway is signed as the Antelope Valley Freeway . Its southern terminus

793-831: The Constitution of the United States . The Southern Pacific Railroad was replaced by the Southern Pacific Company and assumed the railroad operations of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1929, Southern Pacific/Texas and New Orleans operated 13,848 route-miles not including Cotton Belt, whose purchase of the Golden State Route circa 1980 nearly doubled its size to 3,085 miles (4,965 km), bringing total SP/SSW mileage to around 13,508 miles (21,739 km). The T&NO

854-538: The Glendale Freeway through it to the Antelope Valley. In 2003, Caltrans published a map showing potential improvements to the transportation infrastructure of southern California. The proposal showed both the unconstructed portion of SR 14 and new routes over or under the mountains to Antelope Valley. In 2005, the idea was advanced as a combination toll tunnel and surface highway. Preliminary studies estimated costs around $ 3 billion and suggested charging

915-517: The Los Angeles – Kern county line at Avenue A, and continues to run north through Rosamond and Mojave . In Rosamond, the highway passes close to Edwards Air Force Base , which was often used as one of the main landing strips for NASA 's Space Shuttle, and as the base for the X-15 and many other air and spacecraft. The freeway portion terminates just south of Mojave, where SR 14 serves as

976-535: The St. Louis Southwestern Railway (Cotton Belt, reporting marks SSW), El Paso and Southwestern Railroad , the Northwestern Pacific Railroad at 328 miles (528 km), the 1,331-mile (2,142 km) Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico , and a variety of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow-gauge routes. The SP was known for its mammoth back shops at Sacramento, California , which was one of

1037-609: The Trona Railway . The Midland Trail was one of the first organized coast-to-coast trails in the United States. In the trail's infancy, its routing changed numerous times. By 1925, the Midland Trail was established along what is modern State Route 168 , joining El Camino Sierra in Big Pine . Other named trails that eventually followed this route included the Theodore Roosevelt highway, and Grand Army of

1098-714: The Union Pacific Railroad . The fork paralleling SR 14 and crossing at Soledad Pass is still a contiguous line, but not used for through freight traffic as a significant portion was sold to the predecessors of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority to become the Antelope Valley Line of the Metrolink commuter rail service. The branch north of Mojave was built when the Southern Pacific acquired

1159-509: The 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake . As a result of the 1994 collapse, this interchange was renamed the "Clarence Wayne Dean Memorial Interchange", honoring a Los Angeles Police Department motorcycle officer killed when he was unable to stop in time and drove off the collapsed flyover ramp from SR 14 south to I-5 south. After both earthquakes, the collapsed portions were rebuilt and surviving portions reinforced. In 2007, two tractor-trailer trucks collided in

1220-630: The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, allowing the combined Rio Grande Industries railroad system to use the Southern Pacific name due to its brand recognition in the railroad industry and with customers of both the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. A long time Southern Pacific subsidiary, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway

1281-399: The Los Angeles area, a portion of modern SR 91 . Between 1963 and 1975, significant portions of US 6/SR 14 were moved to a freeway alignment. The former routing south of Mojave (and the current routing to the north) is still known as Sierra Highway. The first freeway section, from just east of Solemint Junction to Red Rover Mine Road, was completed in 1963. Further portions in

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1342-623: The Pearblossom Highway exit south of Palmdale to its northern terminus at US 395 near Inyokern , SR 14 has been designated the Aerospace Highway. Between Pearblossom Highway and Avenue S, there is a vista point overlooking Lake Palmdale , which features a historic plaque that honors aviation accomplishments including the Space Shuttle , breaking the sound barrier and the speed record. The freeway passes

1403-769: The Republic Highway . SR 14 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and is part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . The southern portion of the freeway, from I-5 to the Avenue D exit near Lancaster , has been designated the Antelope Valley Freeway by

1464-457: The Republic Highway . Parts of modern SR 14 continue to be signed with these names, and north of Los Angeles County is still officially designated "El Camino Sierra / Midland Trail" as well as the aforementioned "Aerospace Highway". US 6 was extended from Greeley, Colorado , to Long Beach, California , on June 21, 1937. Most of this extension used the Midland Trail, although the route entered California from Nevada slightly north of

1525-680: The Ridge Route, with a longer, less steep grade on the descent into the Central Valley. While the Tehachapi Pass portion of this line has remained the same, over time another route was built from Mojave, across the Antelope Valley towards Cajon Pass to cross the San Gabriel Mountains, there merging with another main rail trunk to Los Angeles. The Cajon Pass fork remains the primary freight rail line to connect southern and northern California in use today, now owned and operated by

1586-504: The SP logo on the front is replaced by a Union Pacific shield, and new numbers are applied over the old numbers with a Union Pacific sticker, however some engines remain in Southern Pacific "bloody nose" paint. Over the past couple years, most of the patched units were repainted into the full Union Pacific scheme and as of January 2019, less than ten units remain in their old paint. Among the more notable equipment is: On August 19, 2006, UP unveiled

1647-518: The SP shops there, new shops and yards were built six miles south of the city at Bayshore. The Alhambra Shops in Los Angeles consisted of 10 buildings and employed 1,500 but declined in importance when the Taylor Yard was built in 1930. The SP was the defendant in the landmark 1886 United States Supreme Court case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad , which is often interpreted as having established certain corporate rights under

1708-579: The Sierra Pelona Mountains via Escondido Summit , at an elevation of 3,258 feet (993 m), before descending and passing by Acton to the north. The highway then crests the San Gabriel Mountains via Soledad Pass , at an elevation of 3,209 feet (978 m). The route of the highway through the mountains loosely parallels that of the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line . After cresting both mountain passes,

1769-641: The Southern Pacific Transportation Company to be taken over by the Union Pacific Corporation ; the parent Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly Rio Grande Industries), the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation were also taken over by the Union Pacific Corporation. The Union Pacific Corporation merged the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad,

1830-588: The Southern Pacific system was a major railroad system incorporating many smaller companies, such as the Texas and New Orleans Railroad and Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad . It extended from New Orleans through Texas to El Paso , across New Mexico and through Tucson , to Los Angeles , through most of California , including San Francisco and Sacramento . Central Pacific lines extended east across Nevada to Ogden, Utah , and reached north through Oregon to Portland . Other subsidiaries eventually included

1891-409: The Southern Pacific, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, was founded in 1969 and assumed control of the Southern Pacific system. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company was acquired in 1996 by the Union Pacific Corporation and merged with their Union Pacific Railroad . The Southern Pacific legacy founded hospitals in San Francisco , Tucson , and Houston . In the 1970s, it also founded

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1952-415: The St. Louis Southwestern Railway and the SPCSL Corporation into their Union Pacific Railroad but did not merge the Southern Pacific Transportation Company into the Union Pacific Railroad. Instead, the Union Pacific Corporation merged the Union Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Transportation Company on February 1, 1998; the Southern Pacific Transportation Company became the surviving railroad and at

2013-465: The Sunset Limited. Well known were the Southern Pacific's unique " cab-forward " steam locomotives. These were 4-8-8-2 , 2-8-8-2 , and 4-6-6-2 (rebuilt from 2-6-6-2 ) locomotives set up to run in reverse, with the tender attached to the smokebox end of the locomotive. Southern Pacific had a number of snow sheds in mountain terrain, and locomotive crews nearly asphyxiated from smoke in

2074-587: The bridge over the Santa Clara River, was opened on March 27, 2010. Rapid exurban growth in Santa Clarita, Lancaster, and Palmdale has made the Antelope Valley Freeway one of the most congested in southern California, with average rush hour speeds well below 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). Future predictions call for continued growth along the SR ;14 corridor, including predictions of

2135-556: The cab. After a number of engineers began running their engines in reverse (pushing the tender), Southern Pacific asked Baldwin Locomotive Works to produce cab-forward designs. No other North American railroad ordered cab-forward locomotives. Narrow Gauge Locomotives Until May 1, 1971 (when Amtrak took over long-distance passenger operations in the United States), the Southern Pacific at various times operated

2196-543: The connections. This is the result of a freeway revolt by the residents of Santa Clarita that canceled plans for a freeway extension of SR 126 . While the Via Princessa alignment of SR 126 was canceled, the city of Santa Clarita constructed the Cross Valley Connector (CVC) to connect SR 126 directly to SR 14 via Newhall Ranch Road and Golden Valley Road. The final CVC section,

2257-495: The corridor of modern SR 14 was also in use by the Southern Pacific Railroad . South of Mojave was used for a main line, the corridor north of Mojave follows a branch line. The main line connected Los Angeles with the Central Valley, via Soledad Pass and Tehachapi Pass . While significantly longer than the more direct Ridge Route (east of modern I-5 ), Tehachapi Pass is lower than Tejon Pass along

2318-483: The few in the country equipped to design and build locomotives on a large scale. Sacramento was among the top ten largest shops in the US, occupying 200 acres of land with dozens of buildings and an average employment of 3,000, peaking at 7,000 during World War II. Other major shop sites were located at Ogden, Utah ; Houston, Texas ; and Algiers, New Orleans . After the 1906 earthquake destroyed much of San Francisco, including

2379-429: The following named passenger trains . Trains with names in italicized bold text still operate under Amtrak: The man or men who committed this horrible deed near Glendale may not be anarchists, technically speaking. But if they are sane men, moved by motive, they are such stuff as anarchists are made of. If the typical anarchist conceived that a railroad corporation should be terrorized, he would not scruple to wreck

2440-534: The general alignment of modern SR 14 was called the El Camino Sierra, or Sierra Highway, which extended from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe . A dirt road was completed in the 1910s from what had been a pack trail . The Los Angeles Times declared El Camino Sierra complete in 1931, when the portion from Mojave to the Owens Valley , along modern US 395, was paved. During the late 19th century,

2501-675: The highway descends into the Antelope Valley , a large valley within the Mojave Desert . The highway crosses Angeles Forest Highway and the California Aqueduct in the descent. SR 14 serves as the primary north–south thoroughfare for the communities of Palmdale and Lancaster. Between Palmdale Boulevard ( County Route N2 ) and Avenue D in Lancaster, SR 14 runs concurrently with SR 138 . From

El Paso Mountains - Misplaced Pages Continue

2562-541: The intercanyon areas of Acton to Soledad Pass were completed by 1965. By 1966, the freeway was complete as far north as Avenue P-8 (now Technology Drive) in Palmdale. The freeway was completed to Mojave by 1972. The Newhall Pass interchange , where I-5, Sierra Highway, Foothill Boulevard , San Fernando Road and the southern terminus of SR 14 meet, has been the site of a number of catastrophic incidents. The interchange has partially collapsed twice due to earthquakes:

2623-491: The junction with I-5 has not been constructed. The southern part of the constructed route is a busy commuter freeway serving and connecting the cities of Santa Clarita, Palmdale , and Lancaster to the rest of the Greater Los Angeles area . The northern portion, from Vincent (south of Palmdale) to US 395, is legislatively named the Aerospace Highway, as the highway serves Edwards Air Force Base , once one of

2684-577: The locomotive's smokebox silver (almost white in appearance), with graphite colored sides, for visibility. Some passenger steam locomotives bore the Daylight scheme, named after the trains they hauled, most of which had the word Daylight in the train name. The most famous "Daylight" locomotives were the GS-4 steam locomotives . The most famous Daylight-hauled trains were the Coast Daylight and

2745-479: The main street and runs through the downtown area. To the east of the route is Mojave Air & Space Port , home to the National Test Pilot School and SpaceShipOne , the first privately funded human spaceflight, as well as a vast airplane graveyard ; all are visible from SR 14. SR 58 was formerly routed concurrently with SR 14 through Mojave, before it was rerouted onto

2806-637: The northern terminus. SR 14 continues north toward US 395 in Inyokern , much of its routing as an expressway . Towards its northern terminus, SR 14 runs briefly concurrently with SR 178 . At its northern terminus, SR 14 merges with US 395 as it turns into an expressway heading north to Bishop . As US 395 the route continues to follow the crest of the Sierra Nevada, serving Owens Valley , Mammoth Mountain , Yosemite National Park and Mono Lake . The first road to use

2867-435: The previous route of the Midland Trail, instead passing through Bishop . While being designated US 6, parts of modern SR 14 were upgraded to freeway standards. As part of the 1964 state highway renumbering , US 6 was truncated at Bishop. The portion of US 6 from Inyokern to Los Angeles was designated SR 14. Previously, the SR 14 designation was used for Artesia Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, in

2928-503: The primary landing strips for NASA 's Space Shuttle , as well as the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake that supports military aerospace research, development and testing. This section is rural, following the line between the hot Mojave desert and the forming Sierra Nevada mountain range. Most of SR 14 is loosely paralleled by a rail line originally built by the Southern Pacific Railroad , and

2989-529: The pruning of branch lines. On October 13, 1988, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (including its subsidiary, St. Louis Southwestern Railway) was taken over by Rio Grande Industries , the parent company that controlled the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (reporting marks D&RGW). Rio Grande Industries did not merge the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad together, but transferred direct ownership of

3050-484: The railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States . The system was operated by various companies under the names Southern Pacific Railroad , Southern Pacific Company and Southern Pacific Transportation Company . The original Southern Pacific began in 1865 as a land holding company. The last incarnation of

3111-700: The range near Johannesburg . Black Mountain is the highest point of the range at 5,244 feet (1,598 m). The El Paso Mountains Wilderness Area is within the range, managed by the BLM− Bureau of Land Management . The Last Chance Archaeological District, within the wilderness area, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Kern County, California . Vegetation primarily consists of creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) scrub community, with Joshua trees ( Yucca brevifolia ) on

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3172-476: The road continues northeast and crosses the Sierra Pelona Mountains and western San Gabriel Mountains via the canyon of the seasonal Santa Clara River . The ascent is mostly rugged and rural terrain, with only two small towns along the ascent, first Agua Dulce and later Acton . In Agua Dulce, the freeway forms the southern boundary of Vasquez Rocks Park , a county park. The highway crests

3233-510: The route begins at SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), near Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Between the constructed end and legislative end of SR 14 are the community of Reseda and Topanga State Park . There is no paved road that directly connects these two points, with SR 27 or I-405 being the nearest through roads in this area. The interchange with Sierra Highway at Via Princessa in Santa Clarita has an unusual design, with long flyover ramps for

3294-402: The same time the Union Pacific Corporation renamed the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to Union Pacific Railroad. Thus, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company became, and is still operating as, the current incarnation of the Union Pacific Railroad. Like most railroads, the SP painted most of its steam locomotives black during the 20th century, but after 1945 SP painted the front of

3355-607: The state legislature. The Antelope Valley Freeway begins in the Santa Susana Mountains at the Newhall Pass interchange by splitting from the Golden State Freeway (I-5). This is the busiest portion of the route with an annual average daily traffic (AADT) count of 169,000 vehicles per day. The freeway forms much of the eastern boundary of Santa Clarita along its route. Past Santa Clarita,

3416-399: The unfinished Carson and Colorado Railroad in 1900. The Southern Pacific built a standard gauge connector to the narrow gauge Carson and Colorado line from their main at Mojave. Although plans were to eventually convert this acquired line to standard gauge, most of the line was abandoned before the conversion was complete. The southern portion of this line is still active and connects to

3477-609: The western side of the range. The Burro Schmidt Tunnel , a mining ore transport tunnel dug by hand by William "Burro" H. Schmidt between 1906 and 1938, goes through the El Paso Mountains. Its southern portal overlooks the ghost town of Garlock . The Coso People were early Native American inhabitants of this mountain range. They created extensive carvings in rock within the El Paso and neighboring mountains, and conducted considerable trade with other tribes as distant as

3538-715: Was also marketed under the Southern Pacific name. Along with the addition of the SPCSL Corporation route from Chicago to St. Louis, the former mainline of the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railroad that once belonged to the Alton Railroad , the total length of the D&;RGW/SP/SSW system was 15,959 miles (25,684 km). Rio Grande Industries was later renamed Southern Pacific Rail Corporation . By 1996, years of financial problems had dropped Southern Pacific's mileage to 13,715 miles (22,072 km). The financial problems caused

3599-428: Was fully merged into the SP in 1961. In 1969, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company was established and took over the Southern Pacific Company; this Southern Pacific railroad is the last incarnation and was at times called "Southern Pacific Industries", though "Southern Pacific Industries" is not the official name of the company. By the 1980s, route mileage had dropped to 10,423 miles (16,774 km), mainly due to

3660-401: Was once the primary rail link between Los Angeles and Northern California . While no longer a primary rail line, the southern half of this line is now used for the Antelope Valley Line of the Metrolink commuter rail system. Linked with US 395, this road also connects Los Angeles with such places as Mammoth Mountain , Mono Lake , Yosemite National Park and Reno, Nevada . SR 14

3721-541: Was part of US 6 prior to truncation in 1964, when US 6 was a coast-to-coast route from Long Beach to Provincetown, Massachusetts . The non-freeway segment of SR 14 from Silver Queen Road north of Rosamond to Mojave is known as Sierra Highway , as is the old routing between I-5 and Silver Queen Road where SR 14 has been moved to a newer freeway alignment. Portions of SR 14 remain signed with names associated with US 6, including Midland Trail , Theodore Roosevelt Highway, and Grand Army of

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