Great afternoon. Train Day in SLO. "Tales from the tunnels, the railroad and the Cuesta Grade"
Good read. The completion of a serpentine railway over the Cuesta Grade (1,520 ft) was a remarkable engineering feat in its day. And the link finally connected rail service between SF and LA. We have a growing train museum here, today was their annual open house. Saw this article reprinted as one of the displays. ~ pinto
Tales from the tunnels, the railroad and the Cuesta Grade
It has been there all our lives.
Most take it for granted, the railroad hugging the west side of Cuesta Grade, snaking just below the ridge top.
It was an engineering marvel of its day.
There was no guarantee that the Southern Pacific line would come to San Luis Obispo.
Facing heavy construction costs, the railroad demanded that local board of trade provide the right of way for the railroad and space for a depot, workshops and warehouse.
One survey had mapped a route that exited the Santa Lucia Range via the Corral de Piedra creek, another through Morro Bay.
It was a case of Southern Pacific saying, "Give us the deed before we build."
In 1893, San Luis Obispo roads were poor, and the best route to San Francisco was via steamer. The railroad was seen as an economic boon, and for many years it would be the largest employer in town.
Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/10/03/2716202/tales-from-the-tunnels-the-railroad.html#storylink=cpy
The rail route -
= new reply since forum marked as read
Much of the work on the Cuesta Grade was done by Chinese immigrants. Ah Louis, a fairly well to do local, operated a mercantile store, provided some "hand shake" loans and community support. ~ pinto
Ah eventually settled in San Luis Obispo, California in 1870, and was working as a cook in a hotel there in 1871. Soon he began to organize work-crews to help construct the Pacific Coast Railroad, delivering 160 Chinese Americans from San Francisco by schooner. In 1877, Ah was awarded two large road construction contracts, including a road from Paso Robles, California to Cambria, California (now the westernmost portion of State Route 46) and the first stages of a road connecting San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles, California (now referred to as Cuesta Grade, a portion of which is still drivable and is labeled off the freeway as "Old Stagecoach Road" and a portion of U.S. Route 101). In 1884, Ah received the contract to construct the four Cuesta Grade tunnels for the Southern Pacific Railroad, requiring the provision of 2,000 laborers and taking ten years to complete.
Seeing a need for the California Central Coast's Chinese community, Ah opened a small oriental mercantile in 1874, the first in San Luis Obispo County, from which he sold goods including rice, rum, and opium (opium use was legal until 1915). The wooden structure was replaced by a sturdy brick building in 1885, made from bricks from his own brickyard which still stands at 800 Palm Street on the corner of Chorro Street in downtown San Luis Obispo, marking where San Luis Obispo's Chinatown once stood. The shop is currently owned by Dr. William Watson, Ah Louis's great-grandson and the ground floor is now open as a gift shop, though now converted into a westernized shop, selling mostly housewares.
The Ah Louis store has been designated as a California State Historical Landmark number 802 by the United States National Parks Service and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ah_Louis
