2 replies to this topic

[SkiBachelor]

I presume that everyone knows that the Union Pacific Railroad is the one that founded Sun Valley, ID, but where there other railroads who wanted to get into the ski business too? After reading the recent article in SAM Magazine about White Wolf Ski Area which is next to Squaw Valley, it made me wonder.

Troy Caldwell, the owner of White Wolf purchased the land from Southern Pacific in 1988, which boarders squaw. It makes me wonder if Alex Cushing bought the land that Squaw Valley is currently on from Southern Pacific too? My only guess is that Southern Pacific wanted to create a ski resort where Squaw Valley is currently, but decided not to and sold the property. However, I do know that the land that Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl is located is leased from the Union Pacific railroad, formally leased from Southern Pacific after UP bought SP. But it just seems weird that SP would own a lot of mountainous land which is not even near the railroads and had several hundred acres of it and do nothing with it.

Who knows, I might be totally wrong, but it would be interesting to know why Southern Pacific bought the property in the first place.

[liftmech]

Southern Pacific could have owned land for reasons completely unrelated to skiing. A little history lesson:
When the major transcontinental railroads were being developed, the government actually gave the companies whole sections of land. The railroads could then develop or sell the land to acquire funding for the rail lines (in the West, this usually meant timber sales or mineral prospecting). If you look at a Forest Service map of, say, the Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass areas, you'll see a checkerboard pattern of public and private land. The private land is usually railroad-owned. I believe this is how the U.P.R.R. had the land to develop Sun Valley in the first place, aside from owning the hotel in town.

[Tin Woodsman]

liftmech, on Aug 5 2005, 08:43 AM, said:

Southern Pacific could have owned land for reasons completely unrelated to skiing. A little history lesson:
When the major transcontinental railroads were being developed, the government actually gave the companies whole sections of land. The railroads could then develop or sell the land to acquire funding for the rail lines (in the West, this usually meant timber sales or mineral prospecting). If you look at a Forest Service map of, say, the Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass areas, you'll see a checkerboard pattern of public and private land. The private land is usually railroad-owned. I believe this is how the U.P.R.R. had the land to develop Sun Valley in the first place, aside from owning the hotel in town.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

liftmech is right on target. The govt' granted the railroads massive amounts of land in the 1800's to help get them off the ground and promote the opening of the West. Not surprisingly, much of the land in those grants comprised mountainous terrain. As you may know, there is a SP railroad line running through Donner Pass and continuing on through the Lake Tahoe basin. This is likely the reason they owned White Wolf.