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Pacific provided a special train to bring a party of 56, who special reached Fresno late in the evening, and Central
neared completion, and one Sunday ar1-excursion with
came in style aboard three Silver Palace Sleepings Cars Pacific's fast passenger engine No. 95, an eight wheeler
six cars jammed with passengers made the trip to the and the new Director's car California. The train left
south portal and return. Tracklaying north of the tunnel Oakland Mole on the afternoon of September 4th with 56 built by McKay & Aldus hauled the train over the
relatively level stretch to the division point at Sumner
began at the end of July and soon Newhall was reached. passengers aboard. Representing the "Big Four" was
Train service to San Francisco now began at Keene, high Leland Stanford; Crocker was down at Lang and C.P. (Bakersfield.) Here a brand new, heavy ten-wheel engine
up ih the T ehacbapis near the great loop, and the track Huntington and Mark Hopkins were absent. Included in No. 38, one of ten built by Schenectady that spring for
had passed Tehachapi Summit and the graders were the party were San Francisco's mayor A.J. Bryant, Gen. the Southern Pacific, was attached to the special, then
started out for the meeting point at Lang. A helper engine
already out on the Mojave Desert. On July 27, 1876, McDowell, commander of the Presidio, the editors of all
Crocker announced that Tunnel Nd. 19 in Soledad the San Francisco newspapers and their star reporters. was attached at Caliente, at the foot of the long climb to
Cao yon had been holed through at 223 feet and that this Even M.H. de Young, owner of the Chronicle and not Tehachapi Summit, from where No. 38 made it alone to
Lang.
was the last tunnel that was neede<l to complete the line. noted for his support of the S.P. was present. So were a In the meantime, Governor Downey called the general
The Southern Pacific announced that the rails would be number of prominent businessmen and politicians. The
joined on September 5, 1876 at a point called Lang, 43 committee for the railroad celebration together and
last-minute arrangements were made for the reception
miles: from Los Angeles and 440 miles from San and banquet which would be held at Union Club Hall on
Francisco.
The engine from the North, S .P. No. 38, the evening of the 5th. The Los Angeles Star of
Great plans for the event were in the works in Los
Angeles, and invitations were issued to 40 of the town's photographed after it arrived in the yards at September 3 said that the train with invited guests would
Los Angeles.
most prominent citizens to accompany Supt. E.E. Hewitt
to the ceremony of driving the last spike. For the officials
The Tehachapi loop, as it appeared in the and their invited guests from San Francisco, the Southern
1880s.

Gerald M. Best collection