Pacific Railroad of Missouri
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The Pacific Railroad (not to be confused with
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
) was a
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
based in
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
. It was a predecessor of both the
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 1849 to extend "from
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
to the western boundary of Missouri and thence to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
." Due to a cholera epidemic in 1849, which was a citywide disaster, and other delays,
groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are ...
did not occur until July 4, 1851.St. Louis Historic Context: Transportation
/ref> The railroad purchased its first steam locomotive from a manufacturer in
Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...
; it arrived at St. Louis by river in August 1852. On December 9, 1852, the Pacific Railroad had its inaugural run, traveling from its depot on Fourteenth Street, along the
Mill Creek Valley Mill Creek Valley was a historic neighborhood located in the central corridor between 20th Street and Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. European settlement began in the 18th century with mills established along ''La Petite Rivière'', ...
, to CheltenhamFrisco Depots: St. Louis County, Missouri
/ref> in about ten minutes. By the following May, it had reached Kirkwood; within months tunnels west of Kirkwood were completed, allowing the line to reach
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
. The Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad was authorized in 1852 and split off at Franklin (renamed Pacific, Missouri, in 1859), as the Southwest Pacific Railroad (later the main line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway) in 1866. Financial difficulties meant that Pacific Railroad did not reach
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, eighteen miles away, until February 1855. Later that year, the line reached
Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...
, the state capital. By July 1858 the Pacific Railroad reached
Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...
, the eastern terminus for the
Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...
, an overland mail service to
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. The combined rail/coach service reduced mail delivery times between St. Louis and San Francisco from about 35 days to less than 25 days. In 1865, it became the first railroad to serve Kansas City, after construction was interrupted by the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. In 1872, the Pacific Railroad was reorganized as the
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
by new investors after a railroad debt crisis.


See also

* List of defunct Kansas railroads * List of defunct Missouri railroads *
Butterfield Overland Mail in California Butterfield may refer to: * Butterfield (surname) * Butterfield Market Places * Butterfield, Dublin, a suburb and townland of Dublin, Ireland * Butterfield Green, Luton, England United States * Butterfield, Minnesota * Butterfield, Missouri ...
*
Butterfield Overland Mail in New Mexico Territory The Butterfield Overland Mail was a transport and mail delivery system that employed stagecoaches that travelled on a specific route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California and which passed through the New Mexico Territory. It w ...
* Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas * Butterfield Overland Mail in Indian Territory * Butterfield Overland Mail in Arkansas and Missouri


References


External links

* {{Authority control Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Predecessors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Railway companies established in 1849 Railway companies disestablished in 1876 1849 establishments in Missouri