Lang Southern Pacific Station

Historic site in Los Angeles County, California

Lang Southern Pacific Station

Lang Southern Pacific Station in 1906, the second depot

Location| Near Santa Clarita, California
Coordinates| 34°25′52″N 118°22′45″W﻿ / ﻿34.4310°N 118.3791°W﻿ / 34.4310; -118.3791
Built| 1876

California Historical Landmark

Designated| May 22, 1957
Reference no.| 590

Location of Lang Southern Pacific Station in Santa Clarita

Lang Station

Lang on a map of Los Angeles County published October 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition

General information
Location| Lang's Springs
Owned by| Southern Pacific Railroad
History
Opened| 1876; 149 years ago (1876)
Closed| 1969; 56 years ago (1969)
Services
| Preceding station  | Southern Pacific Railroad | Following station

|
|

Russ

toward Oakland Pier

|  | San Joaquin Valley Line  |  | Humphreys

toward Los Angeles

Lang Southern Pacific Station is a former Southern Pacific railway station located in Soledad Canyon near the eastern end of Santa Clarita, California. On September 5, 1876, the first railway to Los Angeles was completed at this site. The Lang Southern Pacific Station was designated a California Historic Landmark (No. 590) on May 22, 1957.

## History

[edit]

On September 5, 1876, Charles Crocker, President of the Southern Pacific Company, hammered a golden spike into a railroad tie at this spot. The golden spike was a ceremonial spike that was driven in to celebrate the completion of San Joaquin Valley rail line. The completion of the line connected Los Angeles with San Francisco and First transcontinental railroad line. Four different wood train stations buildings served as the Lang train depot. The original 1873 station was replaced with a new station in January 1888. The second Lang Station Depot was not open long, as it caught fire and was burnt down on August 14, 1888. The third station train depot caught fire and was burnt down on October 5, 1906. The fourth station was taken down in 1969, the California Historic Landmark status given on May 22, 1957, did not save the station from demolishing. The Lang station received its name from John Lang. In 1871 Lang built a hotel at the spot to service the visitors to the nearby mineral springs.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Circa 1888, the Lang springs were said to be 10 "white-sulphur" springs described as "clear and cold, with sulphur, magnesia, and iron, in the most agreeable proportions".[7]

The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, this connected the East Coast of the United States with San Francisco, but not Los Angeles. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Point, Utah, in May 1869, with two teams working from west to east and one east to west. Charles Crocker was part of the team on the western part of the Transcontinental Railroad. The western crew was built by the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Central Pacific Railroad Company was managed by Collis Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, and Charles Crocker. The Southern Pacific Railroad was formed from the Central Pacific purchasing smaller railroad companies in California.

Southern Pacific Railroad purchased from Henry Mayo Newhall the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad in 1870. Southern Pacific Railroad purchased shares in Newhall's railroad from the city of San Francisco before the Newall sale. Newhall was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Henry Newhall later formed the city of Newhall. Newhall purchased part of Rancho San Francisco in 1875 to form the new city.

View of William Crocker as he drives a rail spike at the re-enactment of the Southern Pacific Railroad line's completion at Lang Station, September 1926 (CHS-31101.4)

In 1887 the Southern Pacific started to expand and built a line though the Santa Clarita Valley to Ventura. Along the new line, a new town was built called Saugus, the town was named after Saugus, Massachusetts, were Newhall was born. Southern Pacific built two train stations to service the valley: Newhall train station and the Saugus train Station. The Newhall train station is gone. The Saugus train station was in use till the last passenger railroad train service ended in April 1971. Freight rail service stopped in 1979. The Saugus train station closed on November 15, 1978. The Saugus Train Station was saved and moved to a new location on June 24, 1980.[8] The Saugus train station is now next to the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum in Newhall's Heritage Junction.[9][10][11]

The right of way of the Southern Pacific rail line is still in use as the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line, with Newhall station, Via Princessa station, Vincent Grade/Acton station and Santa Clarita station.

Lang Southern Pacific Station marker

## Marker

[edit]

Marker on the site, next to the rail line tracks, reads:[12]

* NO. 590 LANG SOUTHERN PACIFIC STATION – On September 5, 1876, Charles Crocker, President of the Southern Pacific Company, drove a gold spike here to complete his company's San Joaquin Valley line, the first rail connection of Los Angeles with San Francisco and transcontinental lines."
* Located on Lang Station Road was the road crosses the train track, off California State Route 14 and Soledad Canyon Road, near the Santa Clara River.

## See also

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* California Historical Landmarks in Los Angeles County
* List of ranchos of California
* Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California

## References

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1. ^ "CHL # 590 Lang Southern Pacific Station Los Angeles". www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
2. ^ "NO. 590 Lang Southern Pacific Station - California Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
3. ^ "HS3601 |Lang Station 1936". scvhistory.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
4. ^ Lang's, Destruction of the S. P. Depot at. "SP Lang Station Burns Down, 1888". scvhistory.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
5. ^ Pollack, Alan; M.D. "Lang | The Other Great Fire of 1906". www.scvhistory.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
6. ^ "Advertisement for John Lang's Sulphur Springs Hotel, 1886". scvhistory.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
7. ^ Lindley, Walter; Widney, Joseph Pomeroy (1888). California of the South: Its Physical Geography, Climate, Resources, Routes of Travel, and Health-resorts; Being a Complete Guide-book to Southern California. D. Appleton. pp. 188–191.
8. ^ Premako, Josh (October 26, 2015). "15 Things You Don't Know About Santa Clarita Valley (Unless You're From Here)". Thrillist. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
9. ^ "Saugus Train Station". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. January 28, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
10. ^ "The Southern Pacific Railroad: See How the Train Station Functioned as a Stop". Santa Clarita Magazine. December 20, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
11. ^ "About Heritage Junction". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. January 26, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
12. ^ Cal Makers, Lang Southern Pacific Station

* v
* t
* e

Santa Clarita Valley

City|

* Santa Clarita

Neighborhoods|

* Agua Dulce
* Canyon Country
* Sand Canyon
* Castaic
* Newhall
* Saugus
* Stevenson Ranch
* Valencia
* unincorporated
* residential villages
* Val Verde

Public schools|

* Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District
* Castaic Union School District
* Newhall School District
* Saugus Union School District
* Sulphur Springs School District
* William S. Hart Union High School District
* Academy of the Canyons
* Canyon HS
* Castaic HS
* Golden Valley HS
* Hart HS
* Saugus HS
* Valencia HS
* West Ranch HS
* Foothill League

Private schools|

* Santa Clarita Christian School
* Trinity Classical Academy

Colleges and universities|

* California Institute of the Arts
* College of the Canyons
* The Master's University

Points of interest|

* Beale's Cut
* Castaic Junction
* Castaic Lake
* Central Park
* Gibbon Conservation Center
* Golden Oak Ranch
* Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital
* Mentryville
* Newhall Pass
* Pitchess Detention Center
* Placerita Canyon State Park
* Pioneer Oil Refinery
* Santa Clarita Woodlands Park
* Saugus Speedway
* Six Flags Magic Mountain
* Valencia Country Club
* Valencia Town Center
* Vasquez Rocks
* William S. Hart Ranch and Museum

Services|

* Los Angeles County Fire Department
* Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Media|

* KHTS (AM)
* The Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Transportation|

* City of Santa Clarita Transit
* McBean Regional Transit Center
* Metrolink: Antelope Valley Line
* Stations: Newhall
* Santa Clarita
* Via Princessa
* Vista Canyon
* Lang Southern Pacific Station (historic)

History|

* St. Francis Dam disaster
* United Air Lines Flight 34
* Newhall incident
* 1971 San Fernando earthquake
* Twilight Zone accident
* 1994 Northridge earthquake
* 2001 Stevenson Ranch shootout
* Sand Fire
* Rye Fire
* Tick Fire
* Saugus High School shooting

Companies|

* condomman.com
* Honda Racing Corporation USA
* Mechanix Wear
* Newhall Land and Farming Company
* Princess Cruises
* Precision Dynamics Corporation
* Remo
* WayForward

* v
* t
* e

Santa Clara River Watershed

Tributaries|

* Castaic Creek
* Piru Creek
* San Francisquito Creek
* Sespe Creek

Communities|

* Acton
* Agua Dulce
* Bardsdale
* Castaic
* Castaic Junction
* El Rio
* Elizabeth Lake
* Fillmore
* Green Valley
* Lake Hughes
* Oxnard
* Piru
* Sand Canyon
* Santa Clarita
* Santa Paula
* Saticoy
* Stevenson Ranch
* Val Verde
* Valencia
* Ventura

Landmarks|

* Angeles National Forest
* Bouquet Reservoir
* California State Route 126
* Castaic Lake
* Castaic Lake State Recreation Area
* Dry Canyon Reservoir
* Elizabeth Lake
* Hughes Lake
* Lake Piru
* Los Angeles Aqueduct
* Los Padres National Forest
* McGrath State Beach
* Mentryville
* Mint Canyon Formation
* Munz Lakes
* Oxnard Plain
* Placerita Canyon State Park
* Pyramid Dam
* Pyramid Lake
* Rancho Camulos
* Rancho El Rio de Santa Clara o la Colonia
* Rancho San Francisco
* Rancho Santa Clara del Norte
* Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy
* Rancho Sespe
* Santa Clara River Trail
* Santa Clara River Valley
* Santa Clarita Valley
* San Emigdio Mountains
* San Francisquito Canyon
* St. Francis Dam
* San Gabriel Mountains
* Santa Susana Mountains
* Saticoy Oil Field
* Sespe Wilderness
* Sierra Madre Mountains
* Sierra Pelona Ridge
* Six Flags Magic Mountain
* Soledad Canyon
* Topatopa Mountains
* Vasquez Rocks

* v
* t
* e

Metrolink Antelope Valley Line

Stations|

* Lancaster
* Palmdale
* Vincent Grade/Acton
* Vista Canyon
* Via Princessa
* Santa Clarita
* Newhall
* Sylmar/San Fernando
* Sun Valley
* Burbank Airport–North
* Downtown Burbank
* Glendale
* L.A. Union Station

* Los Angeles Metro

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