The 100-mile rule didn't mean that crew districts had to be 100-miles or less, it simply meant that 100 miles was considered one day pay on whatever pay scale was in use. In the Needles-Barstow run, about 150 miles, the crew would actually be paid for 1 1/2 days pay for each run. The down side was that each crew made less trips per month due to the longer distance.

As far as I have ever heard, Needles to Barstow has always been the standard crew district for freight crews. I believe passenger trains ran Needles to Los Angeles (Amtrak today is Kingman to LA I believe). There is/was a long pool Bakersfield to Needles, but I don't know when it started or if it is still being done.