(SJVR) is one of several
Short Line railroad companies and is part of the Sunset Division of
RailAmerica . It operates about 207 miles of track primarily on several lines in California's Central Valley/
San Joaquin Valley outside of
Fresno, California and
Bakersfield, California . The SJVR has
Trackage Rights over
Union Pacific (formerly
Southern Pacific ) from Fresno - Goshen Jct - Famoso - Bakersfield - Algoso. The SJVR also operates for the
Tulare Valley Railroad (TVRR) from Calwa to Corcoran and Famoso.
There were two former San Joaquin Valley Railroads. One was owned by Leland Stanford in 1870 to build a 11.3 mile line from Lathrop, California to the Stanislaus River and was consolidated into the
Central Pacific Railroad . The second San Joaquin Valley Railroad operated from 1892 - 1893 between Fresno and Friant over 24.1 miles of track and was sold at
Foreclosure to the Southern Pacific.
In 1991 the SJVR operated the entire former SP line from Fresno to Famoso, but a portion north of Famoso was later abandoned.
SJVR interchanges with the
BNSF Railway at Fresno and Bakersfield and with the Union Pacific at Fresno and Goshen Junction.
SJVR was originally owned by Kyle Railways. In 1992 the SJVR was created to obtain and operate several branch lines from the Southern Pacific. From 1992 - 1997 the SJVR was owned by Kyle Railways. In 1997 SJVR's parent, Kyle Railways, was sold to States Rail. In 2002 SJVR's new parent, States Rail, was purchsaed by RailAmerica. Today the SJVR remains a shortline within the RailAmerica family of railroads.
- Fresno - Exeter - Jovista
- Exeter - Goshen Jct. - Hanford - Huron
- Burrel - Helm - Firebaugh - Ingle
- Oxalis - Mendota - Ingle - Fresno
- Fresno - Pinedale
- Ultra - Ducor
- Famoso - Hollis
- Maltha - Oil Jct - Landco
- Bakersfield - Gosford - Buttonwillow
- Gosford - Taft
- Algoso - Arvin
- Trackage Rights over UP from Fresno - Algoso (Bakersfield) via Goshen Jct.
This mainline route was formerly known as Southern Pacific's "West Valley Line" and at one time extended from Tracy, California and then south through the West side of the San Joaquin Valley (I-5 corridor) via Patterson, Gustine, Newman, Los Banos, Oxalis and then east to Fresno via Ingle and Kerman. California Northern Railroad now operates the northern section of the line from Tracy - Los Banos. SJVR operates the southern section of the line from Oxalis to Fresno and was at one time owned by
Port Railroads, Inc. (PRI; also a Kyle subsidiary) and operated by the SJVR. On
April 24 1996 the PRI was merged into the SJVR. Both the PRI and SJVR were already Kyle Railway subsidiaries. The section of track between Los Banos and Oxalis was abandoned by Southern Pacific in 1993 and the tracks were removed soon after.
The Southern Pacific constructed the track from Tracy to Newman (37 miles) and from Los Banos to Armona (near Fresno) in 1891. Southern Pacific's overnight ''
Owl '' passenger train (#57/58) operated over this line between San Francisco and Los Angeles into the
1960s .
- Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide 5th ed. (Kalmbach Publishing, 1996)
- Mike Walker, SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California/Nevada Post Merger Edition, (Steam Powered Publishing & SPV, 1997) Ownership and detail of rail lines.
