Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico

Southern Pacific Company system in 1918
Overview
Parent company	Southern Pacific Railroad
Reporting mark	SPM
Dates of operation	1911 (1911)–1951 (1951)
Predecessor	Sonora Railway
Successor	Ferrocarril del Pacifico
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Length	1,095 miles (1,762 km)

TheSouthern Pacific Railroad of Mexico (reporting markSPM)^[1] was a railroadsubsidiary of theSouthern Pacific Railroad inMexico, operating fromNogales, Sonora, toMazatlán, Sinaloa. TheSonora Railway was constructed by theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between 1879 and 1882. In 1898 the Santa Fe leased the Sonora Railway to the Southern Pacific in return for the latter railroad's line from Needles to Mojave, California. This arrangement continued until December 1911, when the Southern Pacific purchased both the Sonora Railway and the New Mexico and Arizona. The following June, the Sonora Railway became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad in Mexico.^[2]

The main line ran 1,095 miles from the Sonoran town of Nogales, just across the border from Arizona, to the city ofGuadalajara, stopping at several northwestern cities and port towns along the way.^[3] 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. Daniel Lewis (2007) reports it rarely turned a profit, and 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 theMexican government in 1951, becoming theFerrocarril del Pacifico.^[4]

Until the mid-20th century it operated several local andmixed trains, in addition to the following long distancenight train:^[5]

• El Costeno, #9 northbound, #10 southbound –Nogales –Guadalajara –Mexico City, D.F., with coordinated service with theSouthern Pacific Railroad'sArgonaut train toLos Angeles (#6 eastbound, #5 westbound).

The train was renamed asEl Yaqui, #9 northbound, #10 southbound by 1949, with a bus replacing the section between Tucson and Nogales.^[6] When the SP of Mexico was absorbed into the Ferrocarril de PacificoEl Yaqui took the numbers #1 northbound, #2 southbound.^[7]

• Lewis, Daniel (2007).Iron Horse Imperialism: The Southern Pacific of Mexico, 1880-1951. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.ISBN 978-0-8165-2604-8.
• Signor, John R. and Kirchner, John (1987).The Southern Pacific of Mexico and the West Coast Route. Golden West Press, San Marino, CA.ISBN 0-87095-099-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)online review
• Robert A. Trennert, Jr., "The Southern Pacific Railroad of Mexico,"The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Aug., 1966), pp. 265–284online at JSTOR

• List of Mexican railroads

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• Southern Pacific Railroad
• Defunct railway companies of Mexico
• Railway companies established in 1911
• Railway companies established in 1951
• 1911 establishments in Mexico
• 1951 disestablishments in Mexico
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