Shasta & Sunset Routes

Before the mass introduction of automobiles, the railroad was king. For this reason, the late nineteenth century was a time of great expansion and significance for the railroad companies. The Sunset and Shasta Routes, two of the most influential and beautiful routes, were captured in this collection of lantern slides. While these slides may look quite vivid, they were all originally hand-tinted to add color.

By 1880, the Sunset Route expanded eastward from Los Angeles, California to Tucson, Arizona. In 1881, a stub line was added to reach Tombstone, Arizona. Later that year, the line was expanded to El Paso, Texas and officially became known as the Sunset Route. Copper deposits in Southern Arizona were an initial traffic attraction, but by 1894 winter resorts in Tucson, Phoenix and Pasadena soon filled the passenger trains with affluent vacationers. Operating under the control of Union Pacific, heavy traffic still operates from California to Texas on the Sunset Route.

The Shasta Route, however, began more than ten years earlier, when engineers from Central Pacific were hired to survey the lands and determine the best route to unite the California and Oregon Pacific rail lines. They found that the Sacramento River had created a smooth and gentle path, which was perfect for their railway, and production began immediately. Along the way, Central Pacific ran quite a deal of difficulty, including a halting of production in 1882 and 1883, so the ownership of the line transferred to Southern Pacific in 1885. In 1887 the rails were united north from California and south from Oregon. By 1888, express trains ran between Portland, Oregon and Oakland, California in 38 hours. Eventually the line became known as the Shasta Route and was constantly referred to as the “Road of a Thousand Wonders.”

Sources and More Information:

Classic American Railroads by Mike Schafer on Google Books

Union Pacific

American Trails