Monthly Archives: August 2019

History, Image, Los Angeles County, Railroads, Rivers, Santa Clara River, Santa Clarita, Southern Pacific

Featured Image – 8/20/2019

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On September 5, 1876, the golden spike was driven near Lang, California on the Southern Pacific Railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. That line would bring the sleepy town of Los Angeles into a spotlight that persists to this day. A small train station was built near the site, which served as an access to local mines and ranching. For a time, it also served as a transfer point for a small railroad that ran up nearby Tick Canyon that served a borax mine. By the late 1960’s, the railroads were eliminating many smaller stations as technology was making them obsolete. Lang Station was torn down and the debris was unceremoniously pushed into the river bed of the Santa Clara River. Bits of the station can still be seen today. This photo shows the station and surrounding buildings in 1967. Lang Station was located just east of Santa Clarita near the Antelope Valley Freeway (SR-14) and Soledad Canyon Road interchange.

Lang Station area in 1967. Courtesy – Caltrans
Highways, Ridge Route, Updates, US 6, US 99, Website News

Updates to Highway Logs

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As a way to keep track of the immense amount of data regarding old highways, I created highway logs to store the data. They were originally designed after 1940’s state highway logs from the Division of Highways. I have made them available on this website on my Site Documents page. The logs for US 6 and US 99 have recently been updated and have been uploaded.

History, Image, Kern County, Railroads, Southern Pacific, Trains, Union Pacific, US 466

Featured Image – 8/14/2019

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1909 postcard of the Tehachapi Loop in Kern County along the Southern Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific Railroad)

Completed in 1876, this loop still stands as an engineering marvel and a unique way of keeping the grade steady while climbing over the Tehachapi Mountains between Bakersfield and Mojave.