One of the most momentous occasions to occur in the San Gorgonio Pass happened 150 years ago – the building of the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Destined to become the second transcontinental railroad, the Southern Pacific at this time was hastily constructing a route from Los Angeles to Yuma, trying to subvert any efforts by competing railroads to gain access to California, and hence break the monopoly enjoyed by “The Big Four” – namely, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker and Collis Huntington.

The coming of the Southern Pacific was a much-anticipated event. With a second transcontinental railroad, this one going through the southern United States where it wouldn’t be snowed in, people and goods would be able to come and go from California much quicker.

As such, the newspapers

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