(The following story by Julian Cavazos appeared on The Arizona Republic website on July 7.)
TUCSON, Ariz. — In the late 1800s, Tucson was isolated and undeveloped, like any frontier town.
But in March 1880, the Southern Pacific Railroad came roaring in and changed everything. As Tucson’s largest employer during the railroad’s best years, Southern Pacific brought more than 1,000 jobs and improved quality of life.
The railroad was Tucson’s single biggest influence during the first half of the 20th century, said Bill Kalt, author of Tucson Was a Railroad Town: The Days of Steam in the Big Burg on the Main Line (2006, Vtd Rail Publishing, $54.50, paperback).
The book explores the history of the Southern Pacific in Tucson and how the railroad transformed a town of about 7,000 residents at the turn of the 20th century to a cosmopolitan city in the 1950s.
Kalt, 60, a Tucson native, remembers hearing trains as a child.
“You could hear them several times a day from way out of the town I grew up,” Kalt said. “I loved the sound of the steam engine chugging along and the whistle blowing.”
Within a month of Southern Pacific arriving, 40 to 60 passengers arrived via the railroad each night, with passenger receipts reaching nearly $5,000 a day, according to Kalt.
Imports and exports came and left faster. Trips to Los Angeles were reduced from five days to less than one day. Traveling costs were reduced by two-thirds. Freight shipments that had once taken three months now arrived in four or five days.
Homes made of better building supplies, including brick and wood, replaced adobe houses. Furniture and fancier clothing improved residents’ quality of life.
“Women could now get hats,” said Virginia Ginn, former registrar of the Arizona State Genealogical Society. “They came shipped across the ocean from Europe to Tucson, especially the ones from Paris.”
By the 1950s, interest in Southern Pacific began to fade. Diesels replaced steam engines. Amtrak took over passenger service, and Union Pacific assumed the freight business. Southern Pacific lost its title as Tucson’s largest employer.
Kalt developed his fascination with trains about 10 years ago. As part of his research, he interviewed former workers and eventually published his book in 2006. It’s available on Kalt’s Web site, tucsonrrtown.com, as well as Alcuin Books, 4242 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, 480-946-1969. It also is at select Borders stores Valley-wide.
Alcuin Books owner Richard Murian said Kalt’s book is one of the best of its kind.
“It’s an incredible book,” Murian said. “He’s come closer than anyone else in capturing the nuances and everyday life of the railroad people.”
Kalt, who’s now working on a book about railroads in the Pacific Northwest, said the stories from former railroad workers still resound in his mind.
“Every time I see trains pass by, I think of one of those stories,” he said. “I think a lot about the engineer and the challenge of controlling the train. I love the hard work men and women worked for the railroad to keep the trains running.”