San Juan Pacific Railway Company
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Product Details
| Company | San Juan Pacific Railway Company |
| Certificate Type | First Mortgage Sinking Fund Gold Bond |
| Date Issued | January 1, 1908 |
| Canceled | No |
| Printer | Union Litho Co. |
| Signatures | Hand signed |
| Notable | NA |
|
Approximate Measurements |
10" (w) by 14 1/2" (h) |
| Product Images | Show the exact certificate you will receive |
| Guaranteed Authentic | Yes |
Historical Context
| The San Juan & Chittenden Railway was incorporated by local businesspeople on May 4, 1907. Construction on the route began almost immediately with the only significant bridge being located immediately south of Chittenden over the Pajaro River. The vast majority of this route was in San Benito County but the line proved to be entirely dependent on its connection to the trackage in Santa Cruz. By the end of August, a standard-gauge track had been built to San Juan Bautista and to the site of the cement plant, and soon after the route was completed, materials were shipped over the line to begin the erection of the plant. Not long after the plant was complete, the railroad rebranded itself as the San Juan Pacific Railway and corporate leadership formally shifted to the San Juan Portland Cement Company, the Palmer Oil Company, and the San Joaquin Valley Western Railroad, although all three had doubtlessly played a role in the company's initial incorporation. The initial rolling stock of the railroad was composed of a single retired Southern Pacific locomotive, 17 boxcars, 8 flatcars, and a single passenger-baggage car. The railroad formally opened to the public on September 1, 1907, less than four months after it had been founded. Unsurprisingly, one immediate problem that the railroad encountered was a negative relationship with the Southern Pacific at Chittenden. Although there were plans to connect the Ocean Shore track at Santa Cruz with the San Juan Pacific track at Chittenden, the Southern Pacific had made this virtually impossible and a junction at Chittenden was required, for which the San Juan Pacific paid dearly. Two transfer tracks installed to the south of the Southern Pacific tracks acted as their holding yard, but the original plan to run the track over or under the Southern Pacific line never came to fruition owing to the failure of the Ocean Shore to connect its lines. Another problem proved to be customers. Much like the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad, the San Juan Pacific was dependent partially on local farmers along the route, but the railroad was completed at the tail-end of the growing season forcing the railroad to wait a year before those profits would be realised. Meanwhile, the cement plant was still being constructed and was not expected to open until early 1908. Thus, passenger service ended up being the railroad's first venture, despite only having a single locomotive and passenger car. In mid-October, the company hired a local coach-driver as the conductor and branded the track "The Old Mission Route" in the hopes that Spanish revivalism and romanticism would draw customers to the isolated and decaying mission. Generally low maintenance costs and public interest in the line kept it alive that first winter. Unfortunately, a financial panic in November 1907 stalled all work on the connecting lines and also stopped construction on the cement plant. Everything hung in the balance. Things went badly for the San Juan Pacific after 1907. Revenue was severely down because of the panic and the cement plant was hardly functioning. Passenger serves ended in May, 1908, freight was infrequent. A harsh winter in early 1910 washed out track near the Pajaro River and it took months to repair them, and then in March 1911, the bridge over the river collapsed in a storm. It was not repaired until July, but by then it was too late. The company ceased all operations in November and was put up for sale in January 1912. For six months, the San Juan Pacific was a dead entity. Then, on May 12, 1912, a new organisation called the California Central Railroad was founded to attempt to rehabilitate the former right-of-way and put it to use. The purchaser was the Old Mission Cement Company, a new corporation that purchased the abandoned San Juan Portland Cement plant and all of its stocks, including those in the San Juan Pacific. This new railroad would not have the grandiose plans of its predecessor (although it would advertise them from time-to-time) and its corporate management would be entirely linked to the fate of the cement company. Only eight miles of track were maintained, that between Chittenden and the cement plant near San Juan Junction. From 1912 to 1916, the railroad was mostly a conveyor of equipment to the plant, which reopened in 1916. From 1916 to 1929, the railroad operated daily, carrying cement, gypsum, oil, sugar beets, and general agricultural goods between the cement plant and the Southern Pacific mainline tracks. This new route leased a Southern Pacific locomotive in 1919 which completely replaced the old engine in 1923. In 1927, an old Ocean Shore locomotive, long since disused, was transferred to the line and replaced the leased Southern Pacific locomotive. The old rolling stock was eventually phased out for borrowed and leased Southern Pacific stock, and it is unclear if the railroad even had a passenger car after the old one was retired in 1919. The Old Mission Cement Plant continued to operate until 1927 when it was taken over the the Portland Cement Company. The Great Depression forced the closure of that latter in late 1929 and the railroad ceased all service December 15, 1930. For the next seven years, the tracks rotted along their route, too expensive and unprofitable to remove but also too expensive to maintain. In December 1937, the old Ocean Shore locomotive ran one last time along the route, where at Chittenden it drove to Gerlach, Nevada, to start a new life. The tracks were illegally removed soon afterwards. The Interstate Commerce Commission officially granted the company the right to abandon the line on December 31, 1943. The cement plant reopened in 1941, but without using the tracks. It continued to operate into the mid-1970s. |
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