Briefly, I wrote about this topic concerning Wendel. Unfortunately, I relied on secondary source material (Myrick, 1962) and paid the price to perpetuate erroneous material. As a penance, I herewith l correct the situation. For starters, a bit of background.

On April 30, 1925 the Southern Pacific agreed to purchase the struggling the NCO railroad.  When the news broke it was reported that the Southern Pacific would convert the NCO narrow gauge to standard. Before this could happen it would have to have meet the approval the Interstate Commerce Commission. It was a lengthy process and in November 1926 the Southern Pacific gained full control of the NCO’s railroad line.

In June 1927, A.E. McKennett, assistant chief engineer of the Southern Pacific arrived on the scene to plot out construction camps between Wendel and Alturas prior to work to commence on the standard gauge of the NCO’s tracks. On July 1, 1927 100 men arrived at Wendel to begin work, followed by an additional 130 men. McKennett stated that by the end of July that between 450-500 men would be employed when  rails started to be laid. He then stated, “New bridges will be built and cuts widened, etc. Mexicans will be used for the track work, while white men will be used for the bridge and other work.”

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