San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad: Caliente to Uvada

San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad: Caliente to Uvada. The People Who Built the “Salt Lake Route”. , San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad: Caliente to Uvada, Beginning of the Railroad , At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, the rail Salt Lake Route between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California, was constructed. Two railroad companies, the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad (ST, LA and SL RR) (incorporated in 1901) that eventurally came under the leadership of Senator William A. Clark, and the Oregon Short Line Company (OSL) (incorporated in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad[UPRR]) that was eventually led by E.H. Harriman, had engaged in fierce competition over rights to the route. Both eager to assert control over the route, the SP, LA and WL RR began building from Los Angeles toward Salt Lake City, while OSL simultaneously started building south from Salt Lake City. One of the most hostly contested portions of the route was around what would eventually become known as Caliente. , , Uvada Caliente Grad: "When they go to sleep, they keep both eyes open" , Both Harriman and Clark claimed the rights to the Clover Valley portion of the route baed on survey mapes filed with the U.S. Land Office. The maps that Clark was using had been filed first in 1896 but were retured for corrections and were never properly refiled. The maps used by Harriman were filed later, in 1899, but had been properly filed and accepted. In April 1901, a bitterly contested legal battle ensure. Both sides attempted to assert dominance by building rail lines and trying to physically force the other off the line, causing constant fear that the other side would take over at any time. This necessitated continuous alertness. The issue remaine tied up in court for years. , , Uvada Cliente Grade: Meadow Valley Wash , The confusion over which line had the right to build near the Utah/Nevada border resulted in both the OSL and the SP, LA and SL RR furiously constructing parallel tracks through Meadow Valley Wash in September 1901. Suddenly, in November 1901, both sides halted work as a truce had been reached. The companies had previously conducted surveys to establish their route through Meadow Valley Wash independently, resulting in plans for two lines that crossed each other 26 times. After the truce, the companies agreed to work together to revise the plans to make two parallel lines through Meadow Valley Wash (Los Angeles Evening Express 1901), but little actual work was completed. The idea of parallel tracks through Meadow Valley Wash was abandoned by July 1903 after the SP, LA, and SL RR agreed to purchase the OSL lines in exchange for SP, LA and SL RR stock (San Fransicso Examiner 1903). , , But even after the resolution of the nuber of tracks through Meadow Valley Wash was reached, it was not smooth sailing. This section of track, subject to severe flooding, was completely washed out in 1907, 1910, and 1938, requiring numerous and expensive repairs. , , SP, LA, and SL Railroad in Caliente , On February 9, 1905, the Salt Lake Route began operating with Caliente as a key stop along the route. The first depot, build in 1905, burned down in 1921. The second depot, which still stands today, was built in 1923. , , The SP, LA and SL changed its name in 1916 to the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (LA&SL). In 1921, the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) acquired LA&SL's interests in the Salt Lake Route and began operating it as part of the UPRR system (Myrick 1963). The line remains in use today. , , The People Who Built the "Salt Lake Route" , At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Salt Lake Route railway between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California, was constructed. Two railroad companies, the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (WP, LA and WL RR) (incorporated in 1901), eventurally led by Senator William A. Clark, and the Oregon Short line Company (incorporated in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad), eventually lead by E.H. Harriman, engaged in a fierce competition over rights to the route. Eager to assert control over the route, the SP, LA and SL RR began building north from Los Angeles toward Salt Lake City, while the Oregon Short Line Company began building south from Salt Lake City, Utah. , , Who Worked on the Railroad? , As the northern and southern sections of the future rail line raced towards each other, they faced labor shortages, which they addressed in unique ways. Railroad work could be dangerous and paid less than other industries, leading new or recent immigrants to the U.S. to fill many of the possitions. Northern railroad workers were predominantly Greek immigrants, along with Austrian, Italian, and Syrian immigrants. Southern railroad workers were mostly Mexican, although some Irish railroad workers are also documented. , , From the North , The Oregon Short Line, which would become a portion of the SP, LA, and SL RR, extending south from Salt Lake City, Utah was primarily constructed by laborers from Greece. Greek immigrants were aggressively recruited to work on the route by the infamous Greek "padrone" (from the Italian word for "patron") Leonidas G. Skliris, a native of Sparta who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1890s and who took up residence in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the early 20th century. , , Skliris, who advertised heavily in both the U.S. and in Greece, charged exorbitant fees to find his patrons work and then required additional monthly payments. Additionally, Skliris formed partnerships with stores that his recruited workers were required to patronize and established ties with steamship operators. The "padrone" system was immensely profitable for Skliris and brutally exploitative of the workers but brought large numbers of Greek workers to Utah to construct the northern portion of what would become the SP. LA and SL RR in the early 1900s. , , From the South , Prior to the railroad's construction, Mexicans formed a large portion of hte labor pool in southern California. Historical records indicate that the SP, LA and SL RR employed Mexican railroad workers as the line was built out of Los Angeles. An account of an incident in Pomona, California, indicates that approximately 50 Mexican railroad workes, or about half of the workers employed to work on the railroad at the time, were arrested and jailed (Los Angeles Times 1901, April 14 p.25). The same fate did not happen to the Irish crews working during the same incident. , , Connecting the Line , Accounts of the rail lines' completion indicate that a "burley Greek laborer" drove the last spike, and that the Greek and Austrian workers from the north and Mexican laborers from the south cheered its completion. , ,