Category Archives: History

District 6, Famoso, Highways, History, Image, Kern County, Old Alignment, Roads, US 99

Featured Image – 12/4/2020

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Looking toward the current alignment of 99 from the railroad with the original paving north of Famoso

US 99 parallels the Southern Pacific Railroad for a significant portion of its journey across the Great Central Valley. At times, it has to cross those tracks. Many of those crossings were the site of collisions, mostly by people trying to beat the train. They also slowed traffic down quite a bit. In a statewide effort to reduce problems at grade crossings, the State built grade-separations at these locations.

At Famoso, north of Bakersfield, an underpass was built in 1936, which eliminated one of the busier crossing. That structure was eventually replaced by an overpass in 1970. Today, the original crossing partially remains, with paving leading from the freeway to the railroad. The last time a car traversed this paving may well have been over 70 years ago.

US 99 – Famoso – Jct US 466 West
Advocacy, California, Fundraising, History

Save California Landmarks

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There are many historic locations in California. Many of them are marked with plaques. Over time, these have been stolen or otherwise gone missing. A group, called the California Landmark Foundation, is working toward replacing those markers. They are looking for your help.

https://savethelandmarks.org/

California, Highways, History, Roads, US 99

Historic 99 Association?

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I’ve been doing a bit of thinking lately regarding a 99 association here in California. I can’t seem to find one that exists. There are ones for US 6, US 66, the Lincoln Highway, and US 80. US 99, one of the most important roads in California, doesn’t have one. So, I am looking into creating one. Things are very preliminary at this point. The group would help increase awareness of the roads history, work with tourism and business groups to promote the road, work to save historic sections / buildings / bridges. Having a statewide organization would help further these goals.

Do you think there is interest in creating one? Would you like to get involved in any part of the process? Tell us what you think!

History, Image, Los Angeles County, Railroads, Santa Clarita

Featured Image – 10/29/2020 – Magic Mountain Train Station

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Former “Spillikin Corners” train station

Back in the 1970’s, long before it was known as “Six Flags Magic Mountain”, it was simply known as “Magic Mountain” and had an area known as “Spillikin Corners”. At the time, it had a train which ran in a loop, not unlike so many other parks of the era. The train was gone by the 1980’s, and the area is now known for rollercoasters such as “West Coast Racers” and “Apocalypse”. This train platform was adjacent to the path that led between “Apocalypse” and “Roaring Rapids”. Sadly, these last remnants of old Magic Mountain were removed in 2018. The photo shows the last remnants of a platform which last saw use more than 35 years ago, likely longer. Do you have memories or photos of the trains there?

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Highways, History, Middletown, Old Alignment, Roads, San Diego, San Diego County, US 101

Old US 101 in San Diego

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A reader, Mike Evans, recently contacted me regarding curb stamps along old US 101 near Middletown in San Diego. He found something which, to be honest, is most surprising. The City of San Diego had the practice of stamping the street name on the curb near intersections. As these intersections get upgraded with ADA compliant ramps, some of these stamps get lost. This one, however, was still there by virtue of a quirk of fate. Along Pacific Highway, between Palm St and Sassafras St, there is a stamp for “Atlantic St”. This stamp is mid-block, which seems odd at first as this isn’t where they are normally stamped. In this case, the stamp was retained but the intersection wasn’t. At some point, a short section of Quince St intersected Pacific Highway. As this only ran a short distance and was cut off by the railroad tracks, it was fairly easy to abandon and vacate. So, after the city did that, the intersection was erased, but the curb with the name remained.

I was surprised the stamp even existed, as I was under the impression that it would have been obliterated when Pacific Highway was widened in the 1940’s. I do wish to thank Mike Evans for finding this as it is a unique part of San Diego history that wasn’t easy to find. All photos are courtesy of Mike Evans. Additional photos show US 101 between Downtown and just north of Old Town.