Western Railroad Discussion > The El Camino Real, Coast Line style.

The El Camino Real, "The Kings Highway" was established by the Franciscan Fathers in the late 1770's as they established a string of 21 Spanish Missions from San Diego to Sonoma County. The Missions were about a days ride apart and the trail they founded became a stage coach route in the 1840's. The trail was the main link between the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. When the he S.P was built in segments in the 1870's and 1880's it followed the El Camino Real. When the auto came, the El Camino Real was paved in segments with Portland Cement in 1915 and became U.S. 101. Its no mystery that 101 and the Coast Line are either right next to each other or within a few miles as is the case on Cuesta Grade. That brings us the Mission at San Miguel, at M.P. 204 on the Coast Line. The Mission, established in 1797 in the largest and best preserved of the 21 Missions. It is under restoration by the NPS and private donors. The Coast Line, old US 101 and the Mission are within 75 to 100 feet of each other at this location. Today, southbound Amtrak 11 is traversing the same roadbed as #4449 did back in the 1940's and 1950's.

The first photo shows todays on time southbound Coast Starlight about to pass the restored sanctuary (rectory) this wide-angle shot. Notice the new ballast recently dropped by U.P. from Gilroy to Paso Robles. Carol Voss notes that this Mission is the closet to the Coast mainline.

The second image shows the present mainline in the background next to a historical marker noting the original stretch of of old highway 101 laid with Portland Cement in 1915. This was the original El Camino real trail that became a stage coach route before being converted to a highway.

The final picture shows todays the northbound Coast Starlight #14 passing an abandoned feed and grain company at the north end of San Miguel. Unlike the NWP, the traffic was vanished years ago and is now trucked in.There is another similar structure three blocks south and two more in Paso Robles all which were once rail served and now devoid of the spur that brought feed and grain cars. I Phone pictures and commentary by Mike Pechner.

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Hate to be a buzzkill, but the "string of missions, one day apart" story is a myth, perpetrated by the Southern Pacific. Prior to the advent of the automobile, it was impossible to travel between some of the northern missions in a day.

a6m20 Wrote:
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> Hate to be a buzzkill, but the "string of
> missions, one day apart" story is a myth,
> perpetrated by the Southern Pacific. Prior to the
> advent of the automobile, it was impossible to
> travel between some of the northern missions in a
> day.


From what I understand the one day apart story was invented by AAA.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

We are native Californians and have visited many of the missions over the years. We stopped by this mission at San Miguel a year or so ago and found it to be wonderfully restored and etc. If any of you "out there" who do not live in California and will be traveling here, I would be glad to give you hints about which missions to visit and etc. San Miguel is probably the only mission hard by a railroad line. I may be wrong and will certainly be told ---maybe San Juan Capistrano?? I am a northern Californian so -----:-)
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Mike, that's one thing that makes the Coast Route great. Thanks for the photos and captions.

Hi Carol -- Mission San Juan Capistrano is very near I5 and the ex-ATSF line - perhaps only a few hundred feet. The missions were located in some cases more than a days ride, perhaps two days. They are amazing pieces of history. B

"string of missions, one day apart" story is a myth" Please cite your sources,
I would like to see where your information came from, AAA or the railroad.
Thanks Patrick

Native Californian here. OK walking? riding a horse? pulling a wagon? Sounds like different travel time. One day apart in the old days sounds hard to define. Just enjoy the beauty of the restored missions! This is probably the most pastoral I will ever be! :-)

an abandoned feed and
> grain company at the north end of San Miguel.
> Unlike the NWP, the traffic was vanished years ago
> and is now trucked in.There is another similar
> structure three blocks south and two more in Paso
> Robles all which were once rail served and now
> devoid of the spur that brought feed and grain
> cars. I Phone pictures and commentary by Mike
> Pechner.

There is a large active feed mill in templeton, with an OOS siding right behind it.

The San Gabriel Mission ( San Gabriel CA.) is just a stones throw from the ex-SP now UP Alhambra sub. There is a 40 MPH, head end, speed restriction through the area to supposedly keep down the vibration from the units as they go by. This is also the area where they are starting construction to continue the Alhambra trench through the city of San Gabriel and part of Temple City. -BMT

It's always a thrill to go by Mission San Miguel. Unlike some of its brethren the church dates from its founding, and that's because it was a reasonably successful parish church after secularization. Many of the other mission churches are from the ground up restorations. Unless things have changed, I believe San Luis Rey, located east of Oceanside, was the largest mission. Much of it is original as well.

Nice pictures, Mike!

Well if we want to get all technical, here's a bit more history behind a few of these details.

The Franciscan missions didn't start in San Diego. The first few we're already in place in the Sierra Gorda (today Queretaro state, mexico) before Junipero Serra ever even arrived from Spain. As he expanded the central Mexican churches, he built a series of missions stretching from Jalpan (today Jalpan de Serra) to the northwest, each mission a days apart at walking speed. Junipero Serra was always known for walking.

He was later transferred to the California missions, which already were established in Baja California before he arrived. They were spread out along the peninsula and travel between them was normally done by water. Mission San Diego (de Alcalá) was Serra's first new expansion to the already established California missions. From there he moved further into Alta California, establishing the 21 missions in Spanish territory that we know today as "the California missions".

About the name El Camino Real; during the time of Spanish rule and expansion, any road built by Spanish forces (including the church) was known as a Camino Real (royal road). It was basically the time's equivalent of a federal highway. Official Spanish Caminos Reales extended all across Mexico, including from Mexico City to Serra's nine original missions and on (overland) to California. The Camino Real from Baja California to San Francisco was just one of many Caminos Reales across Spanish territory. After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, the term Camino Real was no longer used.

I understand that it was later US Californians that first applied the name El Camino Real to the streets that were being established and eventually paved along the original trail (although I don't have any source for this last part).

Nate

I lived in SLO for many years and visited the San Miguel Mission several times. I seriously doubt that one could walk from SLO to San Miguel in one day. On horseback, probably. With covered wagons, no way.
Bill Pyper
Salem, OR

My understanding is the Missions were one day apart if you were riding a good horse, like a messenger would. If you were walking 2 or three days. The Missions are 30 to 60 miles apart. In 2011 My wife and I visited all 21 plus the two Assistencias. The Missions were part of Spain's and the Catholic Churches colonization plan for the New World. St. Augustine Fla. and San Antonio Tex are other US examples. The Last one is Mission Sonoma in Williams Sonoma Cal ending almost 300 years of Spanish Catholic Missions. I think there were over 200 of them. Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/13 10:08 by Scoopcat.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and additional information! Mike Pechner

The missions that have been restored are a real treasure. Unfortunately, too many of the 21 historic structures are badly deteriorated and there has never been a secure, stable financing source provided to bring them all up to modern safety standards.

The story of the missions being located one days ride apart is likely false, however if you were raise in California it was the common story that we learned. When you look at the distances and terrain between some of the missions then you qustioned the statement.

It seen that when paving of the route was being done in 1915, the road was not known as U S 101. The system of federal highway numbering did not start until the mid 1920s, with US 101 signs appearing in 1926.

Cliff

I don't think any of the California Missions are more than about 40 miles apart, so, if one travels by horse, the one day travel standard should fit. AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

Interesting photos and narrative in the first post and informative commentary in some of the following posts.

wjpyper Wrote:
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> I lived in SLO for many years and visited the San
> Miguel Mission several times. I seriously doubt
> that one could walk from SLO to San Miguel in one
> day. On horseback, probably. With covered wagons,
> no way.
> Bill Pyper
> Salem, OR


You are correct, Bill. But that was the reason for the church on the Santa Margarita Ranch. It was the stop over point between San Miguel and SLO as the distance, and Cuesta grade, was too much for one day of travel.


V

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