San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad

Former train operator, now owned by Union Pacific

Politics & GovernmentExploration & Discovery

San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad — Image via Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia.

Overview

What happened

May 15, 1905, marked the official founding of Las Vegas, a city that would grow from 25 people to over 24,000 by 1940, according to the US Census Bureau.

Date

May 15, 1905

Location

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Key people

Helen J. Stewart

Why it matters

The article’s specific value lies in its focus on the Las Vegas Land and Water Company’s 1905 water rights acquisition and its long term impact on municipal infrastructure, a topic a...

What was San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad?

The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (reporting mark SLR) was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California), via Las Vegas, Nevada. Incorporated in Utah in 1901 as the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, the line was largely the brainchild of William Andrews Clark, a Montana mining baron and United States Senator. Clark enlisted the help of Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, mining magnate and newspaper man, to ensure the success of the line through Utah. Construction of the railroad's main line was completed in 1905. Company shareholders adopted the LA&SL name in 1916.

Original corporate logo of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad

Background and consequences

The railway was also known by its official nickname, "The Salt Lake Route", and was sometimes informally referred to as "The Clark Road". The tracks are still in use by the modern Union Pacific Railroad, as the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Cima, Caliente, Sharp, and Lynndyl Subdivisions. The development of the railway line that became the LA&SL began in 1871 when the Utah Southern Railroad began laying track southward from Salt Lake City.

Newspaper ad with a map of the system, 1904.

Related on thisDay

Las Vegas Founding — May 15, 1905

25 people became 24,000 by 1940 in Las Vegas, Nevada, after its 1905 founding, transforming the US desert landscape into a city

Sources and further reading

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: Las Vegas Founding — May 15, 1905 Wikipedia source

Cite this page

MLA

“San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.” thisDay, thisday.info/history/san-pedro-los-angeles-and-salt-lake-railroad/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/history/san-pedro-los-angeles-and-salt-lake-railroad/

Chicago

“San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/history/san-pedro-los-angeles-and-salt-lake-railroad/.

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