48-475: Lang Southern Pacific Station is a former Southern Pacific railway station located in Soledad Canyon near the eastern end of Santa Clarita, California . On September 5, 1876, the first railway to Los Angeles was completed at this site. The Lang Southern Pacific Station was designated a California Historic Landmark (No. 590) on May 22, 1957. On September 5, 1876, Charles Crocker , President of
96-624: A brand new EMD SD70ACe locomotive, Union Pacific 1996 , as part of a new heritage program. It was the final unit in UP's Heritage Series of locomotives, and was painted in a color scheme inspired by the "Daylight" and "Black Widow" schemes. Antelope Valley Line The Antelope Valley Line is a commuter rail line that serves the Northern Los Angeles County area as part of the Metrolink system. The northern segment of
144-605: A hotel at the spot to service the visitors to the nearby mineral springs . Circa 1888, the Lang springs were said to be 10 "white-sulphur" springs described as "clear and cold, with sulphur, magnesia, and iron, in the most agreeable proportions". The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, this connected the East Coast of the United States with San Francisco, but not Los Angeles. The Transcontinental Railroad
192-473: 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
240-593: 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,
288-473: A suite of upgrades to the line that would allow increasing frequencies to half-hourly between Santa Clarita and hourly to Lancaster. The improvements could add two infill stations between Burbank and Union Station, but staff recommend against utilizing multiple units . Metro announced in October 2020 that an environmental impact report is being prepared for a project which would add new double track between
336-468: 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
384-575: Is located near the intersection of San Fernando Boulevard and Hollywood Way, with a free shuttle bus for passengers to the airport terminal located approximately one mile away from the station site. Metrolink tickets holders may also make a free Metro bus connection with Metrolink ticket. In July 2019, additional late evening train service and bi-directional service were being considered. An additional infill station at Vista Canyon in Santa Clarita began construction in 2020. In September 2023,
432-741: Is now next to the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum in Newhall's Heritage Junction. The right of way of the Southern Pacific rail line is still in use as the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line , with Newhall station , Via Princessa station , Vincent Grade/Acton station and Santa Clarita station . Marker on the site, next to the rail line tracks, reads: Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific ( reporting mark SP ) (or Espee from
480-768: 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
528-726: The Palmdale station . On weekends, the Antelope Valley Line is served by 24 Metrolink trains (12 in each direction), evenly spaced throughout the day. Of those trains, 12 travel the entire length of the line from Los Angeles to Lancaster and 12 trains travel only between Los Angeles and the Via Princessa station. All stations are located in Los Angeles County . Metrolink was awarded $ 107 million in 2020 Intercity Rail Capital Program funds to begin
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#1732783387158576-567: The Southern Pacific Company , hammered a golden spike into a railroad tie at this spot. The golden spike was a ceremonial spike that was driven in to celebrate the completion of San Joaquin Valley rail line. The completion of the line connected Los Angeles with San Francisco and First transcontinental railroad line. Four different wood train stations buildings served as the Lang train depot. The original 1873 station
624-535: 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
672-405: The Antelope Valley Line beginning July 1, 2015 as part of a pilot program. The fare pilot program, which will be in place for six months following the program's launch, will include several new ticket pricing options for riders on the Antelope Valley Line. There will be a 25 percent reduction in fares on all ticket types for trips along the corridor from Los Angeles to Lancaster, with the exception of
720-630: 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
768-573: The Metro Board of Directors approved $ 1.6 million in funding to add more midday and evening round trips starting October 23, 2023. The Vista Canyon station opened the same day the expanded timetable went into service, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 20, 2023. On January 9, 2022, a private Cessna 172 crashed onto the tracks of the Antelope Valley Line at Osborne Street in Pacoima after taking off from nearby Whiteman Airport and
816-504: 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
864-577: 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
912-641: 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,
960-588: 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
1008-409: 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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#17327833871581056-490: 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
1104-465: 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
1152-473: The Via Princessa station still uses the same platform built after the earthquake. Saturday service on the Antelope Valley Line has been operating since 1999, Sunday service was added in September 2007. As of August 2013, weekend service has expanded to 6 trains on Saturdays and Sundays. Arrivals at LA Union Station are timed to allow passengers to connect with Amtrak trains and trains on Metrolink's Orange County and San Bernardino lines. Express service
1200-631: The Weekend Day Pass, which will remain at its current $ 10 fare. In addition, a new "station-to-station" fare will be introduced in which riders traveling during off-peak hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) will be able to purchase a one-way ticket to travel between stations for $ 2 per station. This fare is designed to encourage local trips using Metrolink as an additional mobility option complementing local bus service. A new Burbank Airport–North station opened in 2018 to serve Antelope Valley Line passengers traveling to Hollywood Burbank Airport . The station
1248-701: The beginning of service, Metrolink had plans to extend the line north to the Antelope Valley but these plans were expedited by almost ten years following the 1994 Northridge earthquake . The earthquake caused the collapse of the freeway connector of State Route 14 (the Antelope Valley Freeway) onto Interstate 5 (the Golden State Freeway) at the Newhall Pass interchange , forcing all traffic in both directions to use
1296-556: 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
1344-471: The city of Newhall . Newhall purchased part of Rancho San Francisco in 1875 to form the new city. In 1887 the Southern Pacific started to expand and built a line though the Santa Clarita Valley to Ventura . Along the new line, a new town was built called Saugus , the town was named after Saugus, Massachusetts , were Newhall was born. Southern Pacific built two train stations to service
1392-614: The day. Of those trains, 22 travel the entire length of the line from Los Angeles to Lancaster and eight trains short turn , traveling only between Los Angeles and the Vista Canyon station in Santa Clarita. Four of the short turn trains (2 in each direction) are met by Antelope Valley Transit Authority route 790, the North County TRANSporter, a bus route that allows passengers on these trains to travel to
1440-483: 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
1488-429: 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
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1536-508: The line is rural in character because it travels through the sparsely populated Soledad Canyon between Santa Clarita and Palmdale , serving the small community of Acton along the way. Other portions of its route parallel the former US Route 6 , now San Fernando Road and Sierra Highway . This is the only Metrolink line contained entirely within Los Angeles County . The line along the Santa Clara River and into Los Angeles
1584-819: The line was then transferred to the newly-formed Southern California Regional Rail Authority who prepared the route for commuter rail service. Passenger operations began on October 26, 1992 and was called the Santa Clarita Line at the time. It was one of three original lines in the Metrolink system along with the Ventura County and San Bernardino lines. The route initially ran from Los Angeles Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Clarita station , with intermediate stops only at Glendale and Downtown Burbank stations. Since
1632-577: 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
1680-611: The parallel truck route to the east of I-5 that was unaffected by the quake. With funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency the Southern California Regional Rail Authority constructed an emergency extension of the line to Lancaster to help relieve the traffic bottleneck . The U.S. Navy Seabees construction battalion and crews from the L.A. County Public Works Department were able to construct
1728-529: 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
1776-484: 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
1824-402: 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
1872-595: The stations in just a few days, compared to the normal three to six months. Emergency stations in Lancaster and Palmdale were both built in just three days and Metrolink started operating trains one week after the earthquake struck. Over the next five weeks additional emergency stations were added in Sylmar/San Fernando, Vincent Grade/Acton and Santa Clarita (Via Princessa). While most of the emergency stations have since been replaced with permanent stations,
1920-560: The valley: Newhall train station and the Saugus train Station. The Newhall train station is gone. The Saugus train station was in use till the last passenger railroad train service ended in April 1971. Freight rail service stopped in 1979. The Saugus train station closed on November 15, 1978. The Saugus Train Station was saved and moved to a new location on June 24, 1980. The Saugus train station
1968-460: Was added to the line in May 2011. Two express trains operated in the peak commute direction between Palmdale and Los Angeles (one southbound train in the morning, one northbound train in the evening). Express trains were about 18 minutes faster than trains that stop at all stations. Express service was later removed. On April 30, 2015, Metrolink announced it will be offering discounted fares to riders on
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2016-715: 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
2064-600: Was completed at Promontory Point, Utah , in May 1869, with two teams working from west to east and one east to west. Charles Crocker was part of the team on the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad. The western crew was built by the Central Pacific Railroad Company . Central Pacific Railroad Company was managed by Collis Huntington , Mark Hopkins , Leland Stanford , and Charles Crocker. The Southern Pacific Railroad
2112-517: Was completed by Southern Pacific in 1876 as the first railway to connect the city to the national network. The last passenger trains operated over the line in 1971 followed by the final freight train in 1979. In 1992 the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission , predecessor of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority , purchased the right of way from Southern Pacific. Control of
2160-671: Was formed from the Central Pacific purchasing smaller railroad companies in California . Southern Pacific Railroad purchased from Henry Mayo Newhall the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad in 1870. Southern Pacific Railroad purchased shares in Newhall's railroad from the city of San Francisco before the Newall sale. Newhall was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Henry Newhall later formed
2208-428: 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
2256-592: Was replaced with a new station in January 1888. The second Lang Station Depot was not open long, as it caught fire and was burnt down on August 14, 1888. The third station train depot caught fire and was burnt down on October 5, 1906. The fourth station was taken down in 1969, the California Historic Landmark status given on May 22, 1957, did not save the station from demolishing. The Lang station received its name from John Lang. In 1871 Lang built
2304-417: Was then struck by a Metrolink train. The Cessna's pilot was injured in the initial crash, but Los Angeles Police Department officers on the scene were able to help him out of the wreckage before it was hit by the train. No one aboard the train was injured. As of October 23, 2023 , the Antelope Valley Line is served by 30 Metrolink trains (15 in each direction) each weekday, evenly spaced throughout
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