Archives West Finding Aid

The Southern Pacific Railroad was founded in San Francisco in 1865. The Southern Pacific line becomes pertinent to Oregon in 1887, when it acquired the Oregon and California Railroad. This line, also known as the "East Side" line, had been surveyed by Simon G. Elliott, a promoter, originally from New Hampshire, and George H. Beldon, a civil engineer from Portland. After a number of setbacks and quarrels, Elliott formed a partnership with Ben Holladay, who had the financial means to pour cash into the East Side Line, racing for control of federal land grants with the West Side Line, which was being built on the west side of the Willamette. Eventually, Holladay sued Elliott for fraud, and the case eventually was heard by the Oregon Supreme Court. Elliott subsequently returned to the East Coast and Holladay moved forward with his railroad expansion in Oregon. In December 1869, the East Side line had been built from East Portland to New Era, several miles north of Canby. In 1870, the West Side line sold its interest to Holladay, and the line eventually ran from Portland to St. Joseph, just northeast of McMinnville, opening in 1872. By December of 1887, the East Side line was completed from New Era to the California border.

The Oregon Short Line Railroad had been operating as a branch of the Transcontinental Railroad during this time. It, along with the West Side Company, were consolidated into the Oregon and California Railroad in 1880. Southern Pacific Railroad gained control of the Oregon and California Railroad in early 1887 and began leasing its lines in July of that year. More recently, the Central and Pacific Railroad has begun operating the Natron line south of Eugene while Union Pacific Railroad (successor to Southern Pacific) continues to operate what was once the East Side Line.