# Pacific Railroad > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pacific_Railroad > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pacific_Railroad.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad > Source revision: 1357221821 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Railway line in Missouri, United States}} {{About|the railroad within Missouri|the transcontinental railroad that was originally known as the "Pacific Railroad"|First transcontinental railroad}} {{Infobox rail | gauge={{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}| | railroad_name = Pacific Railroad | logo_filename = | logo_size = | system_map = | map_caption = | marks = | locale = [Missouri](/source/Missouri) | start_year = [1849](/source/1849_in_rail_transport)[http://www.mopac.org/history_mp.asp MPHS – Missouri Pacific Railroad History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409011728/http://www.mopac.org/history_mp.asp |date=2011-04-09 }} | end_year = [1872](/source/1872_in_rail_transport) | predecessor_line = | successor_line = [Missouri Pacific Railroad](/source/Missouri_Pacific_Railroad),
[St. Louis-San Francisco Railway](/source/St._Louis-San_Francisco_Railway) | length = | hq_city = }} The '''Pacific Railroad''' (not to be confused with [Union Pacific Railroad](/source/Union_Pacific_Railroad)) was a [railroad](/source/railroad) based in [Missouri](/source/Missouri). It was a predecessor of both the [Missouri Pacific Railroad](/source/Missouri_Pacific_Railroad) and [St. Louis-San Francisco Railway](/source/St._Louis-San_Francisco_Railway). Chartered by Missouri in 1849 to extend "from [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis) to the western boundary of Missouri and thence to the [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean)" Due to a [cholera](/source/cholera) epidemic in St. Louis in 1849 and other delays, [groundbreaking](/source/groundbreaking) did not occur until July 4, 1851.[http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/heritage/history/transport.htm St. Louis Historic Context: Transportation] The railroad purchased its first [steam locomotive](/source/steam_locomotive) from a manufacturer in [Taunton, Massachusetts](/source/Taunton%2C_Massachusetts); it arrived at St. Louis by river in August 1852. On December 9, 1852, the Pacific Railroad had its inaugural run, traveling from its depot on Fourteenth Street, along the [Mill Creek Valley](/source/Mill_Creek_Valley), to [Cheltenham](/source/Cheltenham%2C_St._Louis){{Cite web |url=http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/depots/stlouis.cfm |title=Frisco Depots: St. Louis County, Missouri |access-date=2008-02-09 |archive-date=2008-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517055412/http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/depots/stlouis.cfm |url-status=dead }} in about ten minutes. By the following May, it had reached [Kirkwood](/source/Kirkwood%2C_Missouri); within months tunnels west of Kirkwood were completed, allowing the line to reach [Franklin](/source/Pacific%2C_Missouri). The [Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad](/source/Southwest_Branch_of_the_Pacific_Railroad) was authorized in 1852 and split off at Franklin (renamed Pacific, Missouri, in 1859), as the [Southwest Pacific Railroad](/source/Southwest_Pacific_Railroad) (later the main line of the [St. Louis-San Francisco Railway](/source/St._Louis-San_Francisco_Railway)) in 1866. Financial difficulties meant that Pacific Railroad did not reach [Washington](/source/Washington%2C_Missouri), eighteen miles away, until February 1855. On November 1, 1855, an excursion train carrying 600 passengers from St. Louis to celebrate the opening of the railroad to Jefferson City crashed through a temporary bridge over the Gasconade River killing at least 30. This became known as the [Gasconade Bridge train disaster](/source/Gasconade_Bridge_train_disaster). Later that year, the line reached [Jefferson City](/source/Jefferson_City%2C_Missouri), the state capital. By July 1858 the Pacific Railroad reached [Tipton](/source/Tipton%2C_Missouri), the eastern terminus for the [Butterfield Overland Mail](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail), an overland mail service to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco). The combined rail/coach service reduced mail delivery times between St. Louis and San Francisco from about 35 days to less than 25 days. In 1865, it became the first railroad to serve [Kansas City](/source/Kansas_City%2C_Missouri), after construction was interrupted by the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War). In 1872, the Pacific Railroad was reorganized as the [Missouri Pacific Railroad](/source/Missouri_Pacific_Railroad) by new investors after a railroad debt crisis. == See also == *[List of defunct Kansas railroads](/source/List_of_defunct_Kansas_railroads) *[List of defunct Missouri railroads](/source/List_of_defunct_Missouri_railroads) * [Butterfield Overland Mail in California](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail_in_California) * [Butterfield Overland Mail in New Mexico Territory](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail_in_New_Mexico_Territory) * [Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail_in_Texas) * [Butterfield Overland Mail in Indian Territory](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail_in_Indian_Territory) * [Butterfield Overland Mail in Arkansas and Missouri](/source/Butterfield_Overland_Mail_in_Arkansas_and_Missouri) == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{cite web | year=1960 | url=http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/history/100years.cfm | title=100 Years of Service | accessdate=2006-04-20 | archive-date=2008-08-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828060005/https://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/history/100years.cfm | url-status=dead }} {{Authority control}} Category:Defunct Missouri railroads Category:Defunct Kansas railroads Category:Predecessors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Category:Railway companies established in 1849 Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1876 Category:1849 establishments in Missouri --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pacific Railroad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.