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Vallejo - Sacramento, Calistoga - Vallejo, Davis - Marysville
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1865
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1876
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The was incorporated in 1865 at
San Francisco, California as the '''California Pacific ''Rail Road'' Company'''. It was renamed the '''California Pacific Railroad ''Extension'' Company''' in the spring of 1869, then renamed the California Pacific Railroad later that same year. The railroad was constructed just months prior to the completion of the
Central Pacific /
Union Pacific Transcontinental Railway .
The railroad ran from Sacramento - Vallejo and thence via passenger ferryboat to San Francisco. It also had a branch from Napa Junction - Calistoga and another from Davis - Marysville.
The Cal-P operated independently from 1865 - 1876. It was then operated by the Central Pacific and was finally sold to the Southern Pacific.
The present day route of the
Amtrak Capitol Corridor follows the original Cal-P line from Sacramento - Suisun/Fairfield.
While the transcontintal railroad was the first railway line to cross the U.S., it wasn't truly a transcontinental line. The first transcontinental railroad terminated short of the Pacific destination of San Francisco, at Sacramento.
The first truly transcontinental railroad was through
Stockton , over
Altamont Pass and thence via
Niles Canyon to the
San Francisco Bay Area , a distance of 140 miles. That line was constructed by Leland Stanford's Central Pacific subsidiary the Western Pacific Railroad Company (of 1862). The route over Altamont was completed in 1869.
This railroad is not the same as the
Western Pacific Railroad (of 1916) that ran to
Salt Lake City via the
Feather River Canyon .
The other route via Stockton - Tracy/Lathrop, thence via Martinez to Oakland was 151 miles.
The Central Pacific was searching for a shorter route to the Bay Area. The recently completed (1868) route of the California Pacific was the shortest route at approximately 90 miles.
In July 1871 the Central Pacific offered to buy the Cal-P but their offer was rejected. Central Pacific announced plans to build a parallel route of the Cal-P but diverging at Suisun via the
Suisun Marsh to
Benicia . The California Pacific, facing financial and expansion difficulties, finally was sold to the Central Pacific in 1876.
The Central Pacific shifted traffic from its mainline through the
American Canyon in favor of a line across the Suisun Marsh to Benicia. The Central Pacific began construction in 1877 and completed the line across the Suisun Marsh to Benicia (17 miles) in 1879. The 17 miles of track took so long to build because of the unstable subgrade through the marsh, requiring tons of crushed rock to stabilize the subgrade. At Benicia the
San Pablo Bay /
Carquinez Strait was crossed by Ferryboat.
The California Pacific commenced construction at South
Vallejo , CA (west of the
Carquinez Bridge ). Grading began on
Christmas Eve ,
1866 and rails began to be laid on 4/10/1868. The railroad was constructed by D.C. Haskin. Two months after grading began the track was completed from Vallejo to
Suisun via Napa Junction (American Canyon, CA) on 6/24/1868. The original route of the Cal-P mainline from Suisun - Vallejo is the resent Route of the
California Northern Railroad between Napa Jct – Suisun and can be seen along portions of California Highway 12.
It is interesting to note that the original Cal-P line ran via Vallejo, and not the present mainline route through the Suisun Marsh between Suisun – Benicia –
Martinez .
- January 3, 1865 is Incorporated .
- January 10, 1865 absorbs the and the '''San Francisco & Marysville Rail Road Company'''.
- December 24, 1866 commenced grading from Vallejo towards Suisun then Davis.
- April 10, 1868 commenced laying of rails.
- June 24, 1868 construction completed Vallejo - Suisun (via Napa Junction).
- July 27, 1868 construction completed Suisun - Elmira.
- August 10, 1868 construction completed Elmira - Dixon .
- August 24, 1868 construction completed Dixon - Davis.
- November 15, 1868 construction completed Davis - Washington (West Sacramento?)
- April 14, 1869 renamed the .
- June 9, 1869 acquires under Foreclosure the .
- December 23, 1869 renamed the .
- January 15, 1870 construction completed Washington (West Sacramento?) - Sacramento and railroad ceases to be operated by builder, D.C. Haskin. Operation by California Pacific begins.
- July 1871 Central Pacific offer to buy railroad but offer is rejected. Central Pacific announces plan to build a line paralleling Cal-P but crossing the Carquinez Strait at Benicia instead of at Vallejo (Cal-P's route).
- December, 1871 flooding damages track between Knight's Landing and Yuba City/Marysville, placing line out of service and causing railroad financial hardship.
- June 30, 1876 the railroad, facing financial difficulties caused by the flooding of December 1871, is sold to the Central Pacific Railroad but continues to be listed as California Pacific.
- May 14, 1877 damaged and abandoned track is removed between Knight's Landing and Yuba City.
- December 6, 1879 Central Pacific completes 17 mile line from Suisun - Benicia and the trial run of the ferry across the Carquinez Strait (1.08 miles) between Benicia - Port Costa begins.
- April 1, 1885 the railroad was leased to and operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad. SP also acquires the , a Subsidiary ''paper railroad'' of the SP.
- 1888 listed in ICC reports as a non-operating subsidiary of Southern Pacific Railroad.
- April 14, 1898 the railroad is sold to the Southern Pacific Railroad.
While the line from West Oakland - Martinez - Suisun was never part of the Cal-P, it is the modern route of
Union Pacific's Martinez Subdivision between West Oakland - Sacramento.
The
Southern Pacific line between Martinez and Sacramento was named the “Cal-P” after the original builder of the line, the California Pacific Railroad.
It is interesting to note that the original Cal-P line ran via Vallejo, and not the present mainline route through the Suisun Marsh between Suisun – Benicia –
Martinez .
- Berkeley Branch RR (1876 – 1888) (Leland Stanford) Shortline (lease by CP 1876 – 1885) SP (1885 – 1888) Consolidated into Northern Ry 1888 (Shell Mound/Emeryville) – Berkeley (8/16/1876)
- Northern Railway Co (Charles Crocker) 1876 – 4/14/1898 SP (Leased to/Operated by CP from 1876 – 1885, by SP 1885 – 1898) 1888 – 1898 Non Op subs of SP.
- August 16, 1876 West Oakland - Shell Mound/Emeryville – Berkeley. West Oakland - Shellmound by Northern Ry and Shellmound to Berkeley (3.84 miles) by the Berkeley Branch Railroad.
- January 9, 1878 Shell Mound/Emeryville - Berkeley – Martinez.
- December 28, 1879 completed Suisun – Benicia (2 years of construction across 17 miles of marsh) and ''Solano'' ferry placed into service.
- 1898 Northern Railway officially sold to Southern Pacific.
- November 1, 1930 Benicia Bridge completed and the ''Solano'' and ''Contra Costa'' ferryboats were retired.
The ''Solano'' and ''Contra Costa'' were the World's Largest Train Ferries and operated between 1879 - 1930. They ferried passenger and freight trains for one mile across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia (Army Point) and Port Costa (known earlier as South Benicia or Bull Valley). The ferryboats were named after the two
Counties served by the ferryboats as Benicia was located in Solano County and
Port Costa was located in Contra Costa County.
The ''Solano'' was 424 feet long and 116 feet wide and were capable of carrying entire passenger trains or a 48-car freight train and locomotive. It was built in Oakland, California in 1878.
The ''Contra Costa'' was built in 1914 due to increased traffic over the line and the need for a second ferryboat. It was slightly larger and wider than the ''Solano''.
Original traffic levels over the line could not justify the large capital expense of a long railroad bridge across the Carquinez Strait. However, by 1927 the two ferries were working at their maximum capacity. On May 31, 1928 the Southern Pacific authorized construction of the railroad bridge at Benicia. The bridge was completed eighteen months later and was formally dedicated on November 1, 1930. The bridge is 5,603 feet long and runs from Suisun Point (Martinez) to Army Point (Benicia).
The opening of the bridge marked the end of the
Ferry service at Benicia. According to historian Jerry Bowen, "(The) ''Solano'' was dismantled and the hull sank and rotted away at Morrow Cove (located at the
California Maritime Academy in Vallejo). The ''Contra Costa'' was dismantled at Oakland and sold for junk."
California Pacific purchased the at on June 9, 1869. The Napa Valley Rail Road (1865-1869) should not be confused with the
Napa Valley Railroad (1987 - Present) that currently operates the ''Napa Valley Wine Train'' over the same route.
The Napa Valley Rail Road originally was built from Suscol, located near Skaggs Island, to Napa - St. Helena -
Calistoga . The track from Suscol - Napa was completed on July 11, 1865. The NVRR reached Oakville on September 15, 1867, St. Helena on February 27, 1868, and arrived at Calistoga on July 31, 1868. The NVRR originally only operated as far as the tidewater at Suscol. Finally, in January 1869 the NVRR built a connection to the Cal-P at Napa Junction. The California Pacific purchased the NVRR in June 1869 when the NVRR was sold under
Foreclosure .
The Cal-P also built a line from
Davis to Yuba City/Marysville. The track was completed from Davis – Knight’s Landing on September 23, 1869. The line reached Yuba City on November 22, 1869, and
Marysville on February 15, 1870. However, in December 1871 there was severe flooding in the
Yolo Bypass causing damage to the line between
Knight’s Landing and
Yuba City . That portion of the line was abandoned and track removal commenced on May 14, 1877.
The line from Davis - Woodland was later operated by the
Southern Pacific . The
California Northern Railroad is the present operator of the Davis-Woodland line.
- 1
- "Solano: The Way it Was; Benicia-Martinez Bridge Makes History" {Link without Title} by Jerry Bowen, The Reporter (Vacaville, California), March 4, 2001, retrieved November 14, 2005.
