The
Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the
Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of
Portland in 1869. This qualified the Railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad soon changed to
Oregon & California Rail Road Company. In 1887, the line was completed over
Siskiyou Summit, and the
Southern Pacific Railroad assumed control of the railroad, although it was not officially sold to Southern Pacific until January 3, 1927.