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Weekly News May 5, 2014Description
How California Became “American”: Since the time of the Franciscan Missions along the California coast in the late 18th century, Mexico assumed California was simply a northwest extension of its country. With the provincial capital at Monterey, great but often corrupt Hispanic landowners governed most of what is the present State of California. They sometimes had to defend against Indians but were tolerant of a few English-speaking settlers, explorers such as John C. Fremont and passive Russians who had a fort in the north. That was the situation until the mid-1840s.
An outstanding and probably the most benevolent of the landowners of Mexican descent was Mariano Vallejo, whose holdings included several million acres around and north of San Francisco Bay. The government of Mexico, in great turmoil itself, did not govern California well, and the landowners debated whether they should become a part of Spain or that of another European power. Vallejo inserted his considerable political influence on the side of the United States, and because this effort succeeded, he eventually lost most of his fortune and nearly all his land. When the U. S. government sent troops to California to defend the territory, young officers such as Ulysses S. Grant were stationed there and, unofficially at least, had to report to Vallejo.
When gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter’s Mill east of Sacramento in 1848, that changed everything. The lure of quick fortunes brought thousands of prospectors from the east in a wave that was called the Forty-Niners’ Gold Rush. Using a portion of the Oregon Trail and then branching south to cross Utah and the Sierras where the Donner party had perished two years earlier, forts and villages with temporary buildings sprang up everywhere. More permanent possessions had to come by ship around Cape Horn to the natural port of San Francisco, which journey took nearly two months from the East Coast. In less than two years, the City by the Bay had modern hotels with dining delights to match the best hotels in America. Fortunes were being made, not only from gold but from shipping, the cutting of virgin timber, construction, and all businesses that prospered from the rapid expansion. In 1850, it was time for California to become a state.
The “big four” of California’s early entrepreneurs were Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, and Charles Cropper. All built large Victorian mansions on Nob Hill in San Francisco (most were destroyed in the earthquake and fire of 1906). Stanford and Huntington were railroad men, founders of the Central Pacific Railway, and Stanford was one of the early governors of California. They realized the importance of connecting their thriving new state in the West with the rest of the country (Oregon to the north had become a state in 1858) to eliminate the two-month journey around South America. The Pony Express, whose young horseback riders covered the distance between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento in 10 days, carried light mail, but this adventure lasted only 17 months when most expansion was halted to fight the American Civil War.
In the years immediately following the war, construction started on the Union Pacific Railroad, pushing west from Omaha, and the Central Pacific, pushing east from Sacramento. A Chinese crew of “gandy-dancers” laid 10 miles of rail in one day! When the lines met at Promontory Point, Utah, a special ceremony was held there on May 10, 1869, when a golden railroad spike was driven by dignitaries from both railroads, who arrived aboard their respective special trains. Despite herds of buffalo on the tracks and Indian raids on the trains, California now had ready access to eastern markets and vice versa.
In 1850, the population of California was estimated at 92,000. By 1860, it was 400,000, and by 1900 it was 1½ million. When I first visited in 1941, it was about 7½ million. In the census of 1970, it surpassed New York as our most populous state at 20 million, and today it is estimated to contain 40 million people. Through the 19th century and into the 20th, San Francisco was the most important city, but the drier and warmer climate of the Los Angeles basin attracted many new arrivals and business enterprises, and when the movie industry chose Hollywood, greater Los Angeles soon became California’s most populated city. Today it ranks second in population behind New York as our country’s largest city.
Work Report: On Tuesday, April 22, Steve Bryce was in charge, and Ted Kamen, Jerry Lucas, Jeff Kennard, Dave Leon, Brent McDougall, and Tom Marshall attended, plus about 8 more who attended the familiarization and practice session with the AVRR “Diesel” locomotive, taught by Bill Schwoebel. All went very well. Dave Leon and Pete Higgins will operate a train with this locomotive for a school group on 4/23.
On the Model 740, the leak on the pilot line was detected, and Jeff Kennard took home with him the special brass “banjo bolt” fitting to make the repair. Work on the special Model K-type burner nozzles progressed, and their machining is nearly completed. Locomotive #401 was cleaned from its Easter Egg runs on 4/19. On Thursday, April 24, the following 13 volunteers attended: Tim Ward (in charge), Ted Kamen, Jim Personti, Jeff Kennard, Bill Schwoebel, Steve Bryce, Dave Leon, Bob Stransky, Eugene Maute, Gerhard Maute, Paul Kratunis, Mark Russell, and Kelly Williams.
On the Model 735, a new bottom was made for the battery box, a battery was installed, and the electrical system checked out. This car and the Model 87 were prepared for their appearance and rides at “Old Dover Days” on May 3. About six volunteers expect to take part in this event. The pilot banjo bolt for the Model 740, having been repaired, was installed, and all is tight. However, when firing up, it was noticed that the burner ring is not up tight against the bottom of the boiler, so this will have to be fixed before we fire the car again.
The oil was changed in our 2-stage air compressor, and the 3-venturi burner pattern, vaporizers, and nozzles were shipped to Allen Blazick as promised by Tom. The problem with the steering on the Rauch & Lang electric has been corrected by Walter Higgins, and the car is ready for its upcoming use.
On Tuesday evening, April 29, 9 volunteers answered the call, as follows: Dave Leon (in charge), Bob Jordan, Ted Kamen, Dennis Dragon, Richard Bernard, Rose Ann Hoover, Tim Nolan, Jerry Lucas, and Tom Marshall.
The tops were put down for the season on five of our Stanleys. The burner ring from the Model 740 was straightened and fastened in place and deemed ready for installation again. Under the guidance of Bob Jordan, who has volunteered to head up preparation of the northeast end of the garage, this area was cleaned and prepared for patching and painting. The end result will be the moving of the storage bins, now in the old snack bar, to this area for easier access. We have a new volunteer, a black cat, who took up temporary residence in the basement of the shop to fill the job of caretaker for our locomotives stored there. Its term of employment was terminated after two nights’ lodging.
On Thursday, May 1, with the Quarterly Board of Directors meeting taking place in the museum, several volunteers continued work on our numerous projects. While I don’t have a complete list, Tim Ward was in charge with helpers Bob Jordan, Jerry Koss, Ted Kamen, Mark Russell, Jim Personti, Eugene Maute, Gerhard Maute, and Dave Leon. Much work was done on the “improvement corner” supervised by Bob Jordan. An unstable plywood partition was reinforced and a baseboard installed around two sides of the area. Loose pointing was removed along the inside of the stone wall, and several areas were patched. It is believed that the burner was “put up” again on the Model 740.
At times between, the movable portion of the railroad turn-out behind the museum was removed and brought to the shop for repair (it has now been repaired and is almost ready for reinstallation). The gauge, elevation, and condition of ties in this area where the April 12 derailment occurred has been checked over and improved. Tim Nolan spent most of an afternoon cleaning and preparing for paint the walls and ceiling in the northeast corner of the garage.
The Models 87, 76, and 735 were fired up and tested prior to their use on May 2 and 3. The 76 was driven to Wilmington by Steve Bryce on Friday for a DelDot event, and the 87 and 735 were taken to Dover on Saturday to give rides in connection with “Old Dover Days.” It has been reported that 475 people rode in these cars in a 4-hour period, thanks to our FAHP volunteers Dan Citron, Steve Bryce, Ann Bryce, Bob Stransky, Tim Ward, Bill Schwoebel, and Dave Leon.
