Southern Pacific of Mexico
Encyclopedia
The Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico was a railroad subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Company in Mexico
, operating from Nogales, Sonora
, to Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The Sonora Railway Company began construction in 1880 and opened a link to Nogales in 1882; it was a subsidiary of the American "Sante Fe" line and was subsidized by the Mexican government. The Southern Pacific bought the Sonora Railway Company in 1898 and operated it as the "Southern Pacific of Mexico" until 1951.
.svg.png)
The main line ran 260 miles from the Sonoran town of Nogales, just across the border from Arizona, to the city of Guadalajara
, stopping at several northwestern cities and port towns along the way. Owned by the Southern Pacific Company, which operated a highly profitable railroad system north of the border, the SP de Mex transported millions of passengers as well as millions of tons of freight over the years, both within Mexico and across its northern border. Lewis (2007) reports it rarely turned a profit. Lewis contends that SP executives, urged on by the media of the day, operated with a reflexive imperialism that kept the company committed to the railroad long after it ceased to make business sense.
It was sold to the Mexican government in 1951, becoming the Ferrocarril del Pacifico
.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, operating from Nogales, Sonora
Nogales, Sonora
Heroica Nogales , more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and its surrounding municipality on the northern border of the Mexican State of Sonora. The municipality covers an area of 1,675 km², and borders to the north the city of Nogales, Arizona, United States, across the U.S.-Mexico border...
, to Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The Sonora Railway Company began construction in 1880 and opened a link to Nogales in 1882; it was a subsidiary of the American "Sante Fe" line and was subsidized by the Mexican government. The Southern Pacific bought the Sonora Railway Company in 1898 and operated it as the "Southern Pacific of Mexico" until 1951.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
, stopping at several northwestern cities and port towns along the way. Owned by the Southern Pacific Company, which operated a highly profitable railroad system north of the border, the SP de Mex transported millions of passengers as well as millions of tons of freight over the years, both within Mexico and across its northern border. Lewis (2007) reports it rarely turned a profit. Lewis contends that SP executives, urged on by the media of the day, operated with a reflexive imperialism that kept the company committed to the railroad long after it ceased to make business sense.
It was sold to the Mexican government in 1951, becoming the Ferrocarril del Pacifico
Ferrocarril del Pacífico
The Ferrocarril del Pacífico is a former railroad line of Mexico that operated from Benjamín Hill, Sonora to Guadalajara, Jalisco via Mazatlán, Sinaloa. It was absorbed into Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México in 1984....
.