With the completion of the transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads in 1869, the men dubbed as the “western railroad barons” decided to join forces and create a monopoly on any rail traffic coming to the West Coast. So, in 1870 Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins created the Southern Pacific Railroad.  

 

These men had very strong, commanding personalities. But, Collis P. Huntington was much stronger and determined that the others. Starting with nothing, Huntington had gone to the California gold fields in 1849, where he shoveled gravel for just one morning… which he considered the most foolishly squandered time of his life. The next day he started selling hardware, and never looked back. 

 

By 1877, the Southern Pacific Railroad controlled 85 percent of California’s rails. From there Huntington and the Southern Pacific looked at creating a transcontinental railroad through the southern part of the United States. With the Texas and Pacific Railroad already on the project, Huntington had to work fast. Marshaling all of his resources, in 1881 the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads united at Deming, New Mexico, creating the second transcontinental railroad. It took two more years, and on February 5, 1883, by gaining control of a number of smaller railroads, the Southern Pacific now had what they called the “Sunset Route” from New Orleans to California.

 

Now with a virtual monopoly over rail service to California, Huntington and his business partners started charging exorbitant shipping rates. With its tentacles creating a stranglehold on much of California’s economy, the Southern Pacific got the nickname of “the Octopus.” This resulted in California became the first state to start regulating the railroads.