Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870)
Encyclopedia
The Western Pacific Railroad was formed in December, 1862, by a group led by Timothy Dame and including Charles McLaughlin and Peter Donahue, all associated with the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, to build a railroad from San Jose
north to Vallejo's Mills (mouth of Niles Canyon
, later Niles, now part of Fremont
), east through Niles Canyon, north to Dublin
/Pleasanton
, east through the Livermore Valley
, and over Altamont Pass
to Stockton
, then north to Sacramento
, with the plan that the transcontinental railroad
would follow the Western Pacific to San Jose and then the San Francisco and San Jose to San Francisco. In October, 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad
assigned all the rights of the Pacific Railway Acts
of 1862 and 1864 to the Western Pacific for the route between Sacramento and San Jose, including land grant
s. In 1866, the first twenty miles from San Jose had been completed when funding problems halted construction within Niles Canyon. Part of the difficulty was that federal land grants were not available where Mexican land grants had previously been made.
By 1867 the Central Pacific had decided that the route via San Jose to San Francisco was too long and that it would be better to change to a route using ferryboats from the CPRR's Oakland Pier in Oakland. To reach Oakland a CPRR subsidiary bought the Western Pacific, owned at that time by Charles McLaughlin and William Carr. Construction started again in the spring of 1867 and included a line from Vallejo's Mills toward Oakland. The CPRR briefly considered a shorter route west from Dublin/Pleasanton to the Hayward
/San Leandro
area (a route later built by Bay Area Rapid Transit
), but decided that the grades were too much of a disadvantage compared to the Niles Canyon route. The railroad was completed in 1869 to San Leandro, where it joined the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad
.The first transcontinental train to reach San Francisco Bay
arrived at the SF&A RR's Alameda Pier
on September 6, 1869 and the passengers took the SF&A RR ferryboat to San Francisco. Ford. Two months later the rail connection to the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad
was in place and the transcontinental trains now ran through Oakland to Oakland Pier. In 1870 the Western Pacific Railroad was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad. In 1879, the CPRR shortened its route from Sacramento to Oakland further by putting together a line from Sacramento to Benicia, crossing by very large train ferries
to Port Costa
, and then along the south shore of Carquinez Strait
and San Pablo Bay
to Richmond
, Berkeley
, and Oakland to Oakland Pier. From then on, the Altamont Pass route was a secondary route between the East Bay
and the San Joaquin Valley
.
In 1903 a new Western Pacific Railroad
was formed to build a line between Oakland and Salt Lake City, including a branch to San Jose. Its routes between Sacramento, Oakland, and San Jose closely paralleled the tracks of the original Western Pacific Railroad, then belonging to the Southern Pacific Railroad
. In 1979, the SPRR obtained trackage rights over the Western Pacific Railroad, and then abandoned its own track over Altamont Pass to Niles except for the track through Niles Canyon which was obtained by the Niles Canyon Railway
, a museum railroad. Other sections of the original Western Pacific route, to Stockton and Sacramento, to Oakland, and to San Jose remain as part of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
north to Vallejo's Mills (mouth of Niles Canyon
Niles Canyon
Niles Canyon is a canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area formed by Alameda Creek. The canyon is largely in an unincorporated area of Alameda County, while the western portion of the canyon lies within the city limits of Fremont and Union City...
, later Niles, now part of Fremont
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
), east through Niles Canyon, north to Dublin
Dublin, California
Dublin is a suburban city of the East Bay region of Alameda County, California, United States. Located along the north side of Interstate 580 at the intersection with Interstate 680, roughly east of Hayward, west of Livermore and north of San Jose, it was named after the city of Dublin in...
/Pleasanton
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
, east through the Livermore Valley
Livermore Valley
The Livermore Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Alameda County, California, surrounding the city of Livermore in the Tri-Valley region. Both the AVA and the city are named after Robert Livermore, a landowner whose holdings encompassed the valley. The groundwater basin underlying the...
, and over Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass
Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a mountain pass in the Diablo Range between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California...
to Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
, then north to Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, with the plan that the transcontinental railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
would follow the Western Pacific to San Jose and then the San Francisco and San Jose to San Francisco. In October, 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
assigned all the rights of the Pacific Railway Acts
Pacific Railway Acts
The Pacific Railroad Acts were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of land to railroad companies. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 was the original act...
of 1862 and 1864 to the Western Pacific for the route between Sacramento and San Jose, including land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
s. In 1866, the first twenty miles from San Jose had been completed when funding problems halted construction within Niles Canyon. Part of the difficulty was that federal land grants were not available where Mexican land grants had previously been made.
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
/San Leandro
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
area (a route later built by Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
), but decided that the grades were too much of a disadvantage compared to the Niles Canyon route. The railroad was completed in 1869 to San Leandro, where it joined the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad
San Francisco and Alameda Railroad
In 1863 A. A. Cohen, a prominent San Francisco attorney, together with Charles Minturn, an operator of river steamboats and bay ferries, E. B. Mastick, a prominent Alameda landowner, and others incorporated the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad to provide passenger and freight ferry-train service...
.The first transcontinental train to reach San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
arrived at the SF&A RR's Alameda Pier
Alameda Terminal
Alameda Terminal was a railroad station located in Alameda, California on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.It was built in 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad project and was designated the western terminus of the line.The Pacific Railroad Act...
on September 6, 1869 and the passengers took the SF&A RR ferryboat to San Francisco. Ford. Two months later the rail connection to the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad
San Francisco and Oakland Railroad
The San Francisco and Oakland Railroad was built in 1862 to provide ferry-train service from a San Francisco ferry terminal connecting with railroad service through Oakland. It subsequently was absorbed into the Southern Pacific Railroad . The track in Oakland was electrified in 1911 and extended...
was in place and the transcontinental trains now ran through Oakland to Oakland Pier. In 1870 the Western Pacific Railroad was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad. In 1879, the CPRR shortened its route from Sacramento to Oakland further by putting together a line from Sacramento to Benicia, crossing by very large train ferries
Solano (ferry)
thumb|right|300px|The ferry "Contra Costa", sister ship to "Solano" circa 1917The Solano was a large railroad ferryboat which operated across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California....
to Port Costa
Port Costa, California
Port Costa is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 190 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, and then along the south shore of Carquinez Strait
Carquinez Strait
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
and San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
to Richmond
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and Oakland to Oakland Pier. From then on, the Altamont Pass route was a secondary route between the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
and the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
.
In 1903 a new Western Pacific Railroad
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
was formed to build a line between Oakland and Salt Lake City, including a branch to San Jose. Its routes between Sacramento, Oakland, and San Jose closely paralleled the tracks of the original Western Pacific Railroad, then belonging to the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. In 1979, the SPRR obtained trackage rights over the Western Pacific Railroad, and then abandoned its own track over Altamont Pass to Niles except for the track through Niles Canyon which was obtained by the Niles Canyon Railway
Niles Canyon Railway
The Niles Canyon Railway is a heritage railway running through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, USA. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental...
, a museum railroad. Other sections of the original Western Pacific route, to Stockton and Sacramento, to Oakland, and to San Jose remain as part of the Southern Pacific Railroad.