Rocklin, A Town Built on Granite, by Gary Day, Rocklin and Roseville Today, Rocklin, CA

"Rocklin, A Town Built on Granite," by Gary Day, © Rocklin and Roseville Today, Rocklin, CA. (News Article)

" ... The Central Pacific Railroad started laying rails eastward from Sacramento in early 1863. By early 1864 they had crossed the valley floor and were preparing to ascend the western Sierras. On March 21 that year, the Sacramento Union reported that more than half of the members of the State Legislature and many of their friends 'traveled by train 22 miles to the new granite quarry at the end of the tracks.' They detrained there and children gathered wild flowers while 'grave legislators and solid men' gathered at the quarry rim 'conversing learnedly and geologically' while 'matrons and maidens wandered off among trees and rocky knolls according to their own sweet will.' The name 'Rocklin' didn’t first appear in print until about 3 months later when it was listed as a passenger stop in a railroad timetable. ... According to the Sacramento Union of March 28, 1864 the Central Pacific's first paid freight was three carloads of granite bound for a building project in San Francisco. ... In his book Rocklin, Leonard Davis says that Rocklin's quarries of the 1860’s supplied granite blocks for railroad tunnels and culverts. A biographical sketch from the 1860's tells of Michael Kelly and his 9-year-old son Maurice who delivered Rocklin granite blocks by oxcart for culverts all along the line as far as Auburn. Rocklin quarries also supplied riprap, chunks of waste granite, for hillside rail beds that allowed water to pass easily under the tracks. ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]

Women on the railroad

From: "Larry Mullaly" lmullaly@jeffnet.org

I have tracked US Census Data across Nevada in 1870 but found no sign of women agents on the CP at that time. But Central Pacific Officers, Agencies and Stations lists for the years 1879, 1881, and 1885 show a surprising number of women employed by the railroad as station agents. More remarkable is the fact that many of these women are identified as “miss.” A more complete study might examine the intervening and subsequent years up to the point were agents names were no longer given.

—Larry

---

Western Division:
Oakland, Broadway Depot
       Miss Susie H. Wainwright 1879
       Miss Susie H. Wainwright 1881
       Miss NJ Striker 1885

East Oakland
       Miss M. Butler 1885

Alameda
       Miss MS Jefferson 1879
       Miss MS Jefferson 1881
       Miss M. McCormack 1885

Seminary Park
       Mrs. CT Mills 1885

Banta
       Miss O. Ayers 1885

Florin
       Mrs. LF Eaton 1885

Sacramento Division:
Junction
       Mrs GW Hill 1885

Newcastle
       Mrs DA Rice

Auburn
       Mrs. George Willment 1878
       Mrs. George Willment 1881
       Mrs. George Willment 1885

Truckee Division:
Clinton
       Mrs. ME Burkhalter 1885

Hot Springs
       Mrs BD Cassidy

Tulare Division:
Tipton
       Annie Feary 1879

Visalia Division:
Berenda
       Mrs. Belle Collins (1885)

LA Division:
Lang
       Mrs. HS Austin (1885)

Yuma Division:
Monte
       Mrs DB Tinker 1881
       Mrs DB Tinker 1885

Los Angeles and Independence:
Santa Monica
       Miss Lizzie Austin 1885

Northern Division:
Stockyards
       Miss Grace T. Foster

San Pablo & Tulare:
Bay Point
       Miss DL Jacobs

California Pacific:
Napa Junction
       Mrs. CE Bengsen 1879

Recalling the railroad matchup of the century, by Mark McLaughlin, Sierra Sun, Truckee, CA

"Recalling the railroad matchup of the century," by Mark McLaughlin, © Sierra Sun, Truckee, CA, September 1, 2005. (News Article)

" ... The Central Pacific crews set a record of by laying 10 miles and 56 feet of track in one 12-hour shift, consuming 25,800 ties, 3,520 rails, 28,160 spikes and 14,080 bolts - in one day. ... when a whistle blew to stop. An army officer witnessing the event for Union Pacific said, "Mr. Crocker, I never saw such organization as that. It was just like an army marching over the ground and leaving the track built behind them." ... Each of the eight Irish tracklayers lifted 125 tons of iron in the course of that day's work! Finally, in order to prove the job safe and sound, a locomotive was run over the new track at 40 m.p.h. This accomplishment of ten miles in one day was since exceeded only once, on Aug. 15, 1870, by the Kansas Pacific in Colorado. The new record was just a few hundred feet longer." [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]