Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company
Encyclopedia
The Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company began as the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry and Transportation Company, and is a defunct ferry service that provided a water transport link between Point Potrero in Richmond, California
in Contra Costa County
and San Quentin
in Marin County
across the San Pablo Bay before the construction of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
.
, was purchased from Southern Pacific in 1947.
The ferry terminal in Richmond was located on Point Potero with a toll plaza and street car line connection from the Eastshore and Suburban Railway. The ferry also carried inmates to San Quentin Prison.
. El Paso collided with the Southern Pacific ferry Berkeley
on the foggy morning of 30 November 1936, but neither ferry was seriously damaged. El Paso was dismantled for scrap after the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.
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...
in Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
and San Quentin
San Quentin, California
San Quentin is a small unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located west of Point San Quentin, at an elevation of 30 feet ....
in Marin County
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
across the San Pablo Bay before the construction of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
.
History
Richmond-San Francisco Transportation Company was formed to establish a ferry route between those two cities and ordered three ferries for that purpose. Southern Pacific Transportation Company purchased the new company before it began operations and integrated the route into its San Francisco Bay transportation system. The three new ferries were among the most modern on the bay, and saw use on many routes during the peak and declining years of San Francisco Bay ferry service. Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company purchased the ferries in 1938, and Southern Pacific discontinued ferry service to Richmond in 1939. A fourth ferry, Sierra NevadaSierra Nevada (ferry)
Sierra Nevada was a steel-hulled steam-powered passenger ferry operated on San Francisco Bay. The ferry was built for the Western Pacific Railroad as Edward T. Jeffery in 1913 and subsequently renamed Feather River. The ferry offered connecting service to San Francisco for Western Pacific train...
, was purchased from Southern Pacific in 1947.
The ferry terminal in Richmond was located on Point Potero with a toll plaza and street car line connection from the Eastshore and Suburban Railway. The ferry also carried inmates to San Quentin Prison.
El Paso
El Paso (documentation number 224327) was launched on 27 October 1924 and delivered to Southern Pacific on 8 December. She was put into service on Southern Pacific's route between San Francisco and Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. El Paso collided with the Southern Pacific ferry Berkeley
Berkeley (ferryboat)
The Berkeley was one of several ferryboats of the Southern Pacific Railroad that operated on San Francisco Bay between the Oakland Pier and the San Francisco Ferry Building for sixty years...
on the foggy morning of 30 November 1936, but neither ferry was seriously damaged. El Paso was dismantled for scrap after the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.