San Francisco and Alameda Railroad
Encyclopedia
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 to Alameda
, San Leandro
, Hayward
(then called Hayward's) and perhaps farther. System construction began in 1864 on a wharf (Alameda Pier
) at the foot of Pacific Avenue in Alameda and a railroad from there along Pacific Ave. to 4th St., private right-of-way to 5th St., Linnet St. (later Railroad Ave., then Lincoln Ave.) to Alameda station at Park St. with a few intermediate stations including Mastick, east of 8th St., and Encinal, east of Grand St., named after the neighborhood, but also known as Fasskings after the nearby entertainment pavilion. Service began later that year.
Construction continued via private right-of-way between the Oakland Estuary
and San Leandro Bay
, (Alameda was then a peninsula rather than an island) to stations named Fruit Vale (later renamed Fernside
) at Fernside Blvd. and Pearl St. near the present Fruitvale Bridge
, to Simpson's (later renamed Melrose
) near the present 48th Ave. and then, turning southeastward, to Fitch's (later named Fitchburg) near the present 77th Ave., to Jones (later Elmhurst
) near the present 98th Ave. to the Bay side of San Leandro. The track turned sharply left there onto Ward (now West Estudillo) St. to the SF&A San Leandro station at the intersection with the county road. The track then turned sharply to the right to follow the county road (now East 14th St. in San Leandro, Mission Blvd. in Hayward) toward San Jose
. Near Hayward, the track angled to the right on private right-of-way to A St. and Watkins St., following Watkins St. to D St. where a station was built. Service to Hayward started in 1865.
In 1865, Cohen gained control of the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad
also. The Central Pacific Railroad
decided to make Oakland the western terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad
and purchased the SF&O in 1868. In 1869 the CP purchased the SF&A, also, and in 1870 the SF&O and SF&A were merged together and then into the Central Pacific Railroad.
By 1866 the Western Pacific Railroad had built a line from San Jose northwest to Vallejo's Mills (mouth of Niles Canyon
, later Niles and now part of Fremont
) and had laid out the rest of the line through the canyon, through Livermore Valley
, over Altamont Pass
, and on to Stockton
and Sacramento
, before running out of money. A Central Pacific subsidiary then took control of the Western Pacific, finished building the line, and added a line northwest from Vallejo's Mills toward Oakland. It was determined that the SF&A track from Hayward with its sharp turns on Ward St. in San Leandro was unsuitable for main-line trains, so the Western Pacific connection was made on the Bay side of San Leandro, establishing a new San Leandro station there and providing a through route to Alameda Pier. Construction was then started on the connection from Simpson's to the SF&O in San Antonio
. On September 6, 1969, the first transcontinental train to the Bay Area ran through Alameda to Alameda Pier, where the passengers boarded the ferryboat Alameda to San Francisco. A California Historical Landmark
plaque (no. 440) commemorates this event. When the connection to the SF&O was completed in November, the transcontinental trains operated to Oakland Pier instead. Alameda then went back to local train service only.
In 1873 the Central Pacific Railroad made some economy cutbacks. The Alameda train service now used new track north from Fernside station alongside Fruitvale Avenue to a new Fruitvale
station at the junction with the CPRR main line from Oakland south and terminated there. The former SF&A line from San Leandro to Hayward was abandoned, despite the protests from these towns. Track was laid north from Mastick station to a bridge being built across the Oakland Estuary to connect with Alice St. with the tracks continuing along this street to 7th St. so that Alameda trains could continue to Oakland Pier. Alameda Pier (at Pacific Ave.) was no longer used.
In 1887, the Central Pacific Railroad was leased to the Southern Pacific Railroad
. In 1898 the Alice St. bridge and tracks to 7th St. in Oakland were replaced by a bridge to Harrison St. with a track connection to the 1st St. line to Oakland Pier. In 1903 the Oakland Tidal Canal was finished, linking the Oakland Estuary with San Leandro Bay, making Alameda into an island, and requiring the construction of the Fruitvale Bridge. In 1906, some Alameda trains started using the newer Alameda Pier
, originally built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad
, located on the south shore of the Oakland Estuary at the far western end of Alameda.
In 1911 the Southern Pacific Railroad electrified most of its local lines
in the East Bay
. The electrified Alameda line, now called the Lincoln Ave. line, went from Alameda Pier via private right of way to Main St, to the original Pacific Ave. tracks, then to Alameda and Fernside stations, and then to a new loop around the eastern end of Alameda to connect with the Encinal Ave. line, originally built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad.
In 1939, Alameda Pier was abandoned and the Lincoln Ave. line continued beyond Alameda station across the Fruitvale Bridge to a connection with the 7th St. line at the later Fruitvale station. The trains then followed the 7th St. line through Oakland and across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal
. This was an indirect route for passengers from western Alameda. Passenger service was abandoned in January, 1941, and replaced by Key System
buses using a shorter route via a tunnel (Posey Tube), aligned with Harrison St. in Oakland, but freight service continued over most of the route. The last passenger train on this line was an excursion train, pulled by a steam engine, for the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association in April, 1954. Freight service ended in 1960 and the tracks were removed.
used by the SF&A was a river packet named Sophie MacLane, leased from Charles Minturn's company. It soon proved to be too small, so it was returned to Sacramento River
service and Minturn moved the Contra Costa, a ferryboat built for service from San Francisco to the foot of Broadway in Oakland, over to the SF&A route. As business built up, even the Contra Costa became inadequate, so the SF&A had a new ferryboat built. It was completed in 1866, was named Alameda, and was the first double-ended ferryboat on the Bay. After the SF&A was taken over by the Central Pacific Railroad, the Alameda was placed in the pool of CP ferryboats and served in various locations.
Ferries of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
, E. B. Mastick, a prominent Alameda landowner, and others incorporated the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad to provide passenger and freight ferry-train service to Alameda
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
, 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:...
, Hayward
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...
(then called Hayward's) and perhaps farther. System construction began in 1864 on a wharf (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...
) at the foot of Pacific Avenue in Alameda and a railroad from there along Pacific Ave. to 4th St., private right-of-way to 5th St., Linnet St. (later Railroad Ave., then Lincoln Ave.) to Alameda station at Park St. with a few intermediate stations including Mastick, east of 8th St., and Encinal, east of Grand St., named after the neighborhood, but also known as Fasskings after the nearby entertainment pavilion. Service began later that year.
Construction continued via private right-of-way between the Oakland Estuary
Oakland Estuary
The Oakland Estuary is the body of water separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. On its western end it connects to San Francisco Bay, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay.-Crossings:...
and San Leandro Bay
San Leandro Bay
San Leandro Bay is a body of water in the San Francisco Bay. It is connected to the Oakland Estuary today, but was originally separated by land which formerly connected Alameda with Oakland. It is located along the east of the Oakland International Airport and Bay Farm Island. The principal...
, (Alameda was then a peninsula rather than an island) to stations named Fruit Vale (later renamed Fernside
Fernside, Alameda, California
Fernside is a neighborhood of Alameda in Alameda County, California. It lies at an elevation of 13 feet . It was formerly an unincorporated community....
) at Fernside Blvd. and Pearl St. near the present Fruitvale Bridge
Fruitvale Bridge
The Fruitvale Bridge is a small drawbridge that crosses the Oakland Estuary. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda.-Rail Bridge:Immediately adjacent to the Miller-Sweeney road bridge is an out-of service rail bridge...
, to Simpson's (later renamed Melrose
Melrose, Oakland, California
Melrose is a neighborhood in Oakland in Alameda County, California. It lies at an elevation of 39 feet ....
) near the present 48th Ave. and then, turning southeastward, to Fitch's (later named Fitchburg) near the present 77th Ave., to Jones (later Elmhurst
Elmhurst, Oakland, California
Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southernmost part of Oakland, California. Originally a separate town, it was annexed by Oakland in 1909, and today is considered part of East Oakland. It lies at an elevation of 39 feet...
) near the present 98th Ave. to the Bay side of San Leandro. The track turned sharply left there onto Ward (now West Estudillo) St. to the SF&A San Leandro station at the intersection with the county road. The track then turned sharply to the right to follow the county road (now East 14th St. in San Leandro, Mission Blvd. in Hayward) toward San Jose
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...
. Near Hayward, the track angled to the right on private right-of-way to A St. and Watkins St., following Watkins St. to D St. where a station was built. Service to Hayward started in 1865.
In 1865, Cohen gained control of 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...
also. 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...
decided to make Oakland the western terminus of the First 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...
and purchased the SF&O in 1868. In 1869 the CP purchased the SF&A, also, and in 1870 the SF&O and SF&A were merged together and then into the Central Pacific Railroad.
By 1866 the Western Pacific Railroad had built a line from San Jose northwest 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 and 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...
) and had laid out the rest of the line through the canyon, through 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...
, 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...
, and on 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...
and 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...
, before running out of money. A Central Pacific subsidiary then took control of the Western Pacific, finished building the line, and added a line northwest from Vallejo's Mills toward Oakland. It was determined that the SF&A track from Hayward with its sharp turns on Ward St. in San Leandro was unsuitable for main-line trains, so the Western Pacific connection was made on the Bay side of San Leandro, establishing a new San Leandro station there and providing a through route to Alameda Pier. Construction was then started on the connection from Simpson's to the SF&O in San Antonio
San Antonio, Oakland, California
San Antonio is a large district in Oakland, California, encompassing the land east of Lake Merritt to Sausal Creek. It is one of the most diverse areas of the city. It takes its name from Rancho San Antonio, the name of the land as granted to Luís María Peralta by the last Spanish governor of...
. On September 6, 1969, the first transcontinental train to the Bay Area ran through Alameda to Alameda Pier, where the passengers boarded the ferryboat Alameda to San Francisco. A California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
plaque (no. 440) commemorates this event. When the connection to the SF&O was completed in November, the transcontinental trains operated to Oakland Pier instead. Alameda then went back to local train service only.
In 1873 the Central Pacific Railroad made some economy cutbacks. The Alameda train service now used new track north from Fernside station alongside Fruitvale Avenue to a new Fruitvale
Fruitvale, Oakland, California
Fruitvale is a neighborhood in east Oakland, California, in the United States. It is located about two miles southeast of Lake Merritt and is home to Oakland's largest Latino population, with Latinos comprising 49.5% of Fruitvale's population . Fruitvale's ZIP code is 94601...
station at the junction with the CPRR main line from Oakland south and terminated there. The former SF&A line from San Leandro to Hayward was abandoned, despite the protests from these towns. Track was laid north from Mastick station to a bridge being built across the Oakland Estuary to connect with Alice St. with the tracks continuing along this street to 7th St. so that Alameda trains could continue to Oakland Pier. Alameda Pier (at Pacific Ave.) was no longer used.
In 1887, the Central Pacific Railroad was leased 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 1898 the Alice St. bridge and tracks to 7th St. in Oakland were replaced by a bridge to Harrison St. with a track connection to the 1st St. line to Oakland Pier. In 1903 the Oakland Tidal Canal was finished, linking the Oakland Estuary with San Leandro Bay, making Alameda into an island, and requiring the construction of the Fruitvale Bridge. In 1906, some Alameda trains started using the newer Alameda Pier
Alameda Mole
The Alameda Mole was a facility, no longer existing, that served as a transit and transportation artery for ferries landing in the San Francisco East Bay. It was located on the West end of Alameda , and later became part of the Alameda Naval Air Station...
, originally built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad
South Pacific Coast Railroad
The South Pacific Coast Railroad was a narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California and Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco. The railroad was created as the Santa Clara Valley Railroad, founded by local strawberry growers as a way to get their crops...
, located on the south shore of the Oakland Estuary at the far western end of Alameda.
In 1911 the Southern Pacific Railroad electrified most of its local lines
East Bay Electric Lines
The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad which operated a system of electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
in the East Bay
East Bay
-Places:In Canada:*East Bay, Nova Scotia, a small town in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia*East Bay , the east arm of the Bras d'Or Lake located in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton IslandIn the United States:...
. The electrified Alameda line, now called the Lincoln Ave. line, went from Alameda Pier via private right of way to Main St, to the original Pacific Ave. tracks, then to Alameda and Fernside stations, and then to a new loop around the eastern end of Alameda to connect with the Encinal Ave. line, originally built by the South Pacific Coast Railroad.
In 1939, Alameda Pier was abandoned and the Lincoln Ave. line continued beyond Alameda station across the Fruitvale Bridge to a connection with the 7th St. line at the later Fruitvale station. The trains then followed the 7th St. line through Oakland and across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge is a pair of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay of California, in the United States. Forming part of Interstate 80 and of the direct road route between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries approximately 270,000 vehicles per day on its two decks...
to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal, or simply Transbay Terminal, was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, USA, located roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2nd Street...
. This was an indirect route for passengers from western Alameda. Passenger service was abandoned in January, 1941, and replaced by Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
buses using a shorter route via a tunnel (Posey Tube), aligned with Harrison St. in Oakland, but freight service continued over most of the route. The last passenger train on this line was an excursion train, pulled by a steam engine, for the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association in April, 1954. Freight service ended in 1960 and the tracks were removed.
Ferryboats
The first ferryboatFerries of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and...
used by the SF&A was a river packet named Sophie MacLane, leased from Charles Minturn's company. It soon proved to be too small, so it was returned to Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
service and Minturn moved the Contra Costa, a ferryboat built for service from San Francisco to the foot of Broadway in Oakland, over to the SF&A route. As business built up, even the Contra Costa became inadequate, so the SF&A had a new ferryboat built. It was completed in 1866, was named Alameda, and was the first double-ended ferryboat on the Bay. After the SF&A was taken over by the Central Pacific Railroad, the Alameda was placed in the pool of CP ferryboats and served in various locations.
Locomotives
The initial order for locomotives was for two of the 2-2-0 type. They arrived in 1864 and one was named E. B. Mastick and the other was sold to a Southern California railroad. Soon after service was started, it was realized that a more powerful locomotive was needed, so the J. C. Kellogg, a 4-4-0 type, was built by the SF&A. In 1868 another 4-4-0 locomotive was ordered and delivered. It was named the F. D. Atherton and was heavily damaged in the wreck at Simpson's the following year, but was rebuilt. When the Central Pacific Railroad took over the SF&A, other locomotives were brought in and the three SF&A locomotives were sent elsewhere on the CP system.| Name | Builder | Type | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vulcan Iron Works Vulcan Iron Works Since Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and smithery, the name was an obvious choice for an iron foundry or mechanical engineering works in the nineteenth century, both in England, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and in the United States.-England:... , San Francisco |
2-2-0 2-2-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-2-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and no trailing wheels... |
1864 | sold to Los Angeles & San Pedro RR as San Gabriel; destroyed by boiler explosion in 1869 | |
| E.B.Mastick | Vulcan Iron Works, San Francisco | 2-2-0 | 1864 | became Central Pacific RR Oakland shop switcher in 1870; scrapped in 1874 |
| J.G.Kellogg | SF&A shops | 4-4-0 4-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels... |
became California Pacific RR # 176; then Stockton & Copperopolis # 2; then Southern Pacific # 1100; retired 1891 | |
| F.D.Atherton | Grant Locomotive Works Grant Locomotive Works Grant Locomotive Works was a manufacturer of steam railway locomotives from 1867 to 1895, first in Paterson, New Jersey and then in Chicago. The company built approximately 1,888 locomotives.-Predecessors:... |
4-4-0 | 1868 | wrecked in 1869; rebuilt as Central Pacific RR #177 in 1873 |