The last incarnation of 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 .

Founded in 1865 by a group of businessmen in San Francisco, the Southern Pacific was created as a rail line from San Francisco to San Diego. By 1883, the line extended all the way to New Orleans.

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (initials: SPTC, SPTCo and SPT) was established in 1969 and absorbed the Southern Pacific Company, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company becomes the last incarnation of the Southern Pacific railroad.

In 1969, Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SPTC) absorbed all the previous corporate names of the railroad. After failed merger attempts with the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in the 1980s, SPTC was sold to Rio Grande Industries, the parent company of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.

Our mission is to provide a digital presentation of the history of the Southern Pacific System from the creation of its first predecessor company in 1853 until its merger with Union Pacific in 1996, through a comprehensive, searchable website.

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company (initials: SPTC, SPTCo and SPT) was established in 1969 and absorbed the Southern Pacific Company, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company becomes the last incarnation of the Southern Pacific railroad.

The Southern Pacific was a 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 …

Jan 24, 2025 · The Southern Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation in 1996. The merged firm represented the largest railroad company in the United States and controlled most of the rail-based shipping in the western two-thirds of the country.

Feb 1, 1996 · The Southern Pacific Transportation Company, commonly called the Southern Pacific, operates several transcontinental railroad routes connecting the Pacific Coast with the gateway cities of Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans.

The venerable Southern Pacific railroad operates a core route of 7,500 miles of railway in 14 of the western United States, its territory forming a broad crescent from Portland, Oregon, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and up through the Midwest.