Just north of L.A. is Newhall Pass, which links the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. The original route was difficult to traverse, so in 1853 Henry Clay Wiley (Wiley Canyon Road is named for him) installed a windlass at the summit to help pull wagons with heavy loads to the top.
In 1854, Phineas Banning cut a narrow slot through the summit of the mountain. It was 30-feet deep and greatly eased the task of traveling over the ridge. The approach was very steep and difficult even with this cut. In the following decades, several people would set up businesses to help pull loads over the top with teams of oxen.
In 1861 President Lincoln appointed Edward Beale as Surveyor General of California and Nevada. One of his tasks became to deepen the cut through Fremont Pass (later renamed Newhall Pass) to 90-feet. What a sight this must have been, a cut nary 20 feet wide through the top of a mountain! Beale renamed the cut after himself and it remained in use as a primary route of travel from the L.A. area to the Santa Clarita Valley, Fort Tejon, Bakersfield and beyond.
As the next closest route was through the desert, there was little choice for travelers between these destinations and Beale knew this when he set up a toll booth and collected fees for the next two decades! The cut was difficult to maintain because of erosion and the rough terrain of the area.
In 1902 an Autocar became the first automobile to make the ascent. It was driven by an auto dealer named Ralph Hamlin, who was accompanied by the car's new owner. Like most cars of the era the fuel system was gravity-fed, and the approach to the cut was so steep that the engine could not receive any fuel. So, they made the climb in reverse gear to ensure continuous fuel delivery. As strange as this seems today, it was common practice on steep grades in those days. The ascent was not accomplished quickly, and each time the car would stall, the two men would jump out and chock the wheels with rocks to prevent the Autocar from rolling back down the hill. Beale's Cut would become a popular testing ground for early automobiles, some in later years publicizing how "easily" their cars could make the ascent.
Two years later the route was seeing many more autos making the journey so the approach to the cut was improved to reduce the grade slightly. This was only delaying the inevitable and by 1907 a new route was planned by way of a tunnel through an adjacent hill. This tunnel was completed in 1910 and was named the Newhall Tunnel. It was only 17-feet wide and tall, so it was a bit tight for large trucks to get through. Eventually the entire mountain was cut away to make what is now the Newhall Pass along Sierra Highway.
In the 1990's, a severe storm caused a partial collapse of the cut, filling 60-feet of it with dirt and debris. What remains now is about 30-feet, which is about the same depth as the original cut made by Banning. It is no longer passable by automobile however, as the approach from the South is completely eroded and overgrown.
A bit later I'll post Part II of this entry, showing my visit to the cut yesterday. For now enjoy these historical images. Comments are posted with each photo...
- A photo I believe shows the original 30-foot cut
- The cut in 1872, North side (heading toward Los Angeles)
- The cut in 1872, South side (heading away from Los Angeles)
- A Buick making a run up the grade, reported in Motor Way Magazine, 1906.
- A 1909 Simplex advertisement
- Cal Trans photo of a car passing through the cut in 1937
- cut1937.jpg (180.99 KiB) Viewed 23032 times
- Newhall Tunnel in 1919
- Newhall Tunnel in the 1920's
- early.jpg (61.92 KiB) Viewed 23032 times
- Sunday traffic in Newhall Tunnel, 1920.
- traffic.jpg (41.77 KiB) Viewed 23032 times
- A view of the new road (now Sierra Highway) alongside the old road (now gone) in 1914.
- newhallgrade.jpg (43.22 KiB) Viewed 23032 times
- A view of Beale's Cut in 1937 from Sierra Highway.
- Lines showing where the Newhall Pass would be carved out to what we have today along Sierra Highway.
