FIRST ANNUAL REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY CHARTERED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS. New York: American Railroad Journal Office, 9 Spruce Street, 1856. 23x14.8 cm (octavo), pp. [1-5] 6-71 [72: blank], original tan wrappers printed in black, sewn. First edition. Chartered in Texas in 1852 as the "Texas Western Rail Road Company," the railroad's name was changed to "The Southern Pacific Rail Road Company" by the Texas Legislature in August 1856. The company's charter authorized it to commence a railroad "at a suitable point on the eastern boundary line" of the State, "and thence running, by such course as said Company shall decree and determine to be most suitable, to El Paso, on the Rio Grande." The company's prospects (including generous land grants to be had for each completed mile of track) and projected profits are carefully laid out for its stockholders and prospective investors. The report notes that "when the Railroad shall be completed to El Paso, the travel to and from California will pass upon it." Considerable attention is paid to the role the railroad will play in unlocking the natural resources of the Sonora and Chihuahua districts "now roamed over by the savage, who cannot appreciate, and the Mexican, who is too imbecile to claim and hold them." The company was never financially sound and was mired in litigation from within and without. In 1872 it was merged with the Texas and Pacific Railway Company. The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 to build a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. It had a significant foothold in Texas by the mid 1870s but construction difficulties delayed westward progress. In 1880 the railroad, along with several others, was acquired by American financier Jay Gould, who made them into feeder lines for the Missouri Pacific, which he also controlled. The Texas and Pacific was unable to finance construction to San Diego, and as a result the Southern Pacific was able to build from California to Sierra Blanca, Texas. Railway Economics, p. 327. Sabin 88434. Streeter 399. Mild vertical crease; very good or better. (#167069).
Price: $450.00
... five thousand copies be printed ..." on page [3].