Niles Canyon Railway

Last updated

Niles Canyon Railway
NCRylogoS.jpg
Locale Alameda County, California, USA
Commercial operations
Built by Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870)
Original gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by Alameda County
Operated byPacific Locomotive Association
Reporting mark NICX
Stations2
(plus 1 planned)
Length9.2 mi (14.8 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened1869
Closed1984
Preservation history
1987Lease from County and start of reconstruction
1988Began operation
Headquarters Fremont, California
Website
http://www.ncry.org/
Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District
AreaApproximately 200 acres
Built1865–1869
Architectural styleOther-standard gauge railroad; Other-Warren Truss (bridge); Other-Pratt Truss (bridge); Stick (depot)
NRHP reference No. 10000843
Added to NRHPOctober 13, 2010
Route map

Distance from San Francisco

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29.2 mi
47 km
Niles (Fremont)
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29.5 mi
47.5 km
Niles Junction
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30.6 mi
49.2 km
Merienda (San Jose Jct.)
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SR 84
Niles Canyon Blvd
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Dresser Bridge
over Alameda Creek
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30.9 mi
49.7 km
Dresser
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Farwell Bridge
over Alameda Creek
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SR 84
Niles Canyon Blvd
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31.7 mi
51 km
Farwell
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32.7 mi
52.6 km
Mayborg
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Niles Canyon Rd
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33.6 mi
54.1 km
Estates crossing
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33.7 mi
54.2 km
Brightside crossing
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33.5 mi
53.9 km
Brightside
restoration
yard
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34.9 mi
56.2 km
Farmers crossing
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35.6 mi
57.3 km
Sunol
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35.63 mi
57.34 km
Kilkare Rd
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35.8 mi
57.6 km
Bond St
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37.2 mi
59.9 km
Bonita
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Hearst Siding
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38.3 mi
61.6 km
Verona
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Happy Valley Rd
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Sunol-Pleasanton Rd
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Valley Rd
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Bernal Ave
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40.6 mi
65.3 km
Pleasanton
planned
A passenger train on the Niles Canyon Railway. NCRyTrain2006.jpg
A passenger train on the Niles Canyon Railway.
SP 5623 on the NCRy Sourthern Pacific 5623 GM EMD GP9 diesel electric locomotive.jpg
SP 5623 on the NCRy
Sunol Depot at MP 35.6 Sunol Depot, Niles Canon Railway, Sunol, CA.jpg
Sunol Depot at MP 35.6
Farwell, California, ca1866, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (View of Rail Road and people.) San Jose, California, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg
Farwell, California, ca1866, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views
Farwell Bridge across Alameda Creek, California, ca1866, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views (View of bridge, river, rocks.)San Jose, California, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg
Farwell Bridge across Alameda Creek, California, ca1866, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views

The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment (1866, 1869) through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District. [1] The railroad is operated and maintained by the Pacific Locomotive Association which preserves, restores and operates historic railroad equipment. The NCRy features public excursions with both steam and diesel locomotives along a well-preserved portion of the first transcontinental railroad.

Contents

History

The Niles Canyon Railway operates along a portion of the First transcontinental railroad constructed in the 1860s. The rail line through Niles Canyon was amongst the earliest to be built in California and provided the first rail connection between San Francisco Bay and the rest of the nation.

Construction

The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 authorized the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad to build the transcontinental railroad between the Missouri River and the waters of the Pacific. For various reasons, the Central Pacific Railroad reached an agreement with the first Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870) (not related to the later company of same name) to build the westernmost portion of the line connecting the Central Pacific in Sacramento to San Jose via Stockton and Livermore. Trains could then continue to San Francisco via the San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road which was completed in 1864.

By 1866, the Western Pacific had built 20 miles (32 km) of track north and east from San Jose, reaching halfway into what was then known as Alameda Cañon, to about Farwell near milepost 33. [2] The Western Pacific used 500 Chinese laborers to grade and construct the rail line into the rugged canyon with its tight curves and narrow banks. Construction was then halted because of disagreements between the railroad's contractors and its financiers.

In 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of which had acquired the Western Pacific and Oakland Point in 1868, restarted work on the railroad line through Alameda Cañon in two opposite directions, both using Chinese laborers. In June 1869, J. H. Strobridge and crew began to lay out a new line starting at a point on the 1866 Western Pacific rails in the west end of Alameda Cañon (San Jose Junction at MP 30.6) westward out of the canyon towards Oakland, while Turton, Knox & Ryan dispatched workers to continue the railroad in Alameda Cañon eastward from the point where the 1866 Western Pacific rails abruptly stopped. [3] [4] Four major timber through (Howe) truss bridges were built to cross Alameda Creek and Arroyo de la Laguna Creek. In addition to building wooden bridges and grading the railroad bed, the laborers built culverts, retaining walls, and bridge piers in masonry. [5] By mid-August 1869, the railroad was completed through Alameda Cañon eastward to Pleasanton and into Livermore Valley. [6] [7]

In September 1869, the railroad from Sacramento through Alameda Cañon to the waterfront Alameda Terminal at San Francisco Bay was completed. According to the Daily Alta California, the first Western Pacific train ran from Sacramento through the canyon on September 6, 1869, to a cheering crowd at Alameda Terminal, while a few cars switched off at the San Jose Junction for San Jose and Gilroy. [8] This opening of a transcontinental railroad to the Pacific coast, as envisioned by the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, came four months after the Central Pacific and Union Pacific met at Promontory Summit, Utah. On November 8, 1869, the intended western terminus opened at the Oakland Long Wharf, from which ferries connected to San Francisco. These ferries continued to be the final link for passengers to San Francisco until 1958.

At the mouth of Alameda Cañon was Vallejo Mills and the San Jose Junction (MP 30.6) was located about a mile east, inside the narrow confines of the cañon. In 1870 a connector was built just west of Vallejo Mills on the 1869 Central Pacific line to Oakland, connecting it to the original 1866 Western Pacific line to San Jose. At the junction (MP 29.2) in the valley, Central Pacific added a roundhouse and a train depot, complete with a restaurant and saloon for the convenience of the train passengers transferring there. [9] Meanwhile, in 1869 Central Pacific renamed the station for their railroad attorney and stockholder, Addison Niles, who later became associate justice on the California Supreme Court. Shortly thereafter, the Vallejo Mills settlement around MP 29.2 became known as Niles, which has become since 1956 a district within the city of Fremont. Likewise, Alameda Cañon thereafter became known as Niles Canyon. [10]

Railroad use

When built, the rail line through Niles Canyon was the primary route for overland traffic to and from the San Francisco Bay. A shorter rail line between Oakland and Sacramento was established via the California Pacific Railroad and a train ferry at Benicia by 1879. As a result, the original line became less used due to its longer route and its steep grade over Livermore Pass (known today as Altamont Pass). Passenger and freight trains on the line was reduced to local service only. This secondary status was maintained until the early 20th century when the Southern Pacific Railroad (successor to the Central Pacific) came under the leadership of E. H. Harriman. Freight traffic in and out of San Francisco had become too heavy for the ferries across the bay and across the Carquinez Strait to handle. An all land route via San Jose and Niles Canyon was available, but was overly circuitous. Several major capital improvement projects undertaken during this era, including the completion of the Coast Line and the construction of the Dumbarton Bridge, revitalized the original line through Niles Canyon. Steel bridges replaced the covered timber bridges at Farwell and Dresser and the small railroad town of Niles became an important junction as freight from the San Francisco Peninsula and produce from the Santa Clara and Salinas Valleys traveled through the canyon to points east. Despite these improvements, the few rebuilding programs by the railroad left the Niles Canyon line with many of its original cut-stone bridge abutments, culverts, and retaining walls from the Western Pacific's original right of way. Many of these stonework built by Chinese laborers in the late 1860s can still be seen today. [2] :87

Preservation

The decline in San Francisco's status as a port with the advent of containerization, [11] combined with the movement of produce traffic to the highways once again left the railroad through Niles Canyon with little business. Southern Pacific ceased its operations through the canyon in 1984, and deeded the land to Alameda County; the portion over Altamont Pass was briefly reopened in 1985 for "scab trains" to train management crews ahead of a possible union strike. [12] Commercial rail operations through Niles Canyon now operate on a newer line, which is owned by Union Pacific (formerly Western Pacific) and also used by the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) commuter train.

The Pacific Locomotive Association leased the right of way from the county and began working to reconstruct the track in 1987. The Niles Canyon Railway ran its first passenger train from Sunol on May 21, 1988. Passenger trains once again connected Sunol and Niles starting on April 9, 2006. The organization continues its work to extend and maintain the track along the line; restore its collection of railroad equipment; and operate historic demonstration trains for the benefit of the public. They plan to eventually extend their demonstration train service to Pleasanton, California.

Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District

The railway, its right-of-way, and its associated structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District on October 13, 2010. The railway was determined to be eligible under National Register Criterion C to reflect the engineering significance of the resources as fine examples of historic period railroad design, [1] and under Criterion A to reflect its association with the construction of the Original Transcontinental Railroad and its role as an important freight railway in the early part of the 20th century.

The Period of Significance was identified as spanning from 1865 to 1958. This period was chosen to encompass the commencement of construction of this portion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1865 to the end of its significance as a major transportation corridor after World War II and the final incorporation of the Central Pacific Railroad into the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1958.

The historic district includes 108 contributing resources and 39 non-contributing resources. Contributing resources consist of every object within the railroad's right of way constructed between 1865 and 1958. These include the track itself, the graded roadbed, culverts, bridges, signals, telegraph and signal pole lines, structures, signs, and fences. Non-contributing resources consist of things built or altered since 1958, and include non-historic track, buildings, a gas pipeline, and a fiber optic line. [13]

The primary contributing resources of this Historic District include the following:

Rail excursions

Train of Lights, 2006. Ncrxmastrain.jpg
Train of Lights, 2006.

The railway's 2013 regular scheduled excursions run on the first and third Sundays each month in January–March and September–October; first and third Saturday and Sunday each month, April–August. Several trips are run, generally alternating between steam locomotives and diesel locomotives, with both open and enclosed passenger cars. See the railway's website for exact schedules and for special trains.

Group charters are also available, from a single caboose to an entire train. During the Christmas period, special "Train of Lights" trips run.

Passengers may board at the western end of the line in Fremont, at the Niles station site adjacent to the Union Pacific Coast Line on which Amtrak operates their Capitol Corridor service. The unrelated Niles Depot Museum displays model railroads and railroad artifacts nearby. Passengers may also board at the 1884 Sunol depot, which is the last surviving example of a Southern Pacific standard Combination Depot #7. Future plans for restoration of the historic Sunol Depot include interpretive educational displays.

Railroad equipment

The Pacific Locomotive Association has, as of 2022, 10 steam and 13 diesel locomotives, and over 40 pieces of rolling stock. There have been many visitors over the years. Previously, the Golden Gate Railroad Museum moved its collection from San Francisco to the NCRy in 2007 for storage and limited operations after their home at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was shut down for redevelopment. The Golden Gate Railroad Museum announced their departure from the Niles Canyon Railway in Spring 2015, and moved three locomotives to the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in March 2020. [14] In July 2021, plans were announced to move Southern Pacific steam locomotive 2479, a water tower, a round house and turntable from the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation to the NCRy. [15] [16]

On loan/Visitors

NumberBuilderTypeWorks NumberBuiltImageStatusNotes
No. 7 Baldwin Locomotive Works #334631909
"Skookum" logomotive at Garibaldi, January 2018.jpg
OperationalBuilt for the Little River Railroad (Tennessee) No. 126, later Deep River Logging Co. #7, also known as "The Skookum". On loan from the Roots of Motive Power Museum in Willits, California.
No. 7 Baldwin Locomotive Works #346661910OperationalBuilt for the Black Hills and Northwestern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Mason County Logging Company, later Port of Olympia. Occasional visitor from the Roots of Motive Power Museum in Willits, California.
No. 2 H.K. Porter, Inc. #43901909
Santa Cruz Portland Cement 0-4-0 on Chestnut St.jpg
OperationalBuilt for the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company, later Bechtel Kaiser Rock Company, later Henry J. Kaiser Rock Company. Occasional visitor courtesy of the Pappas family.

Notable steam locomotives

NameStatusTypeBuilderDateLink
Quincy Railroad Co. No. 2Stored 2-6-2 T American Locomotive Company 1924
Robert Dollar Co. No. 3 Operational 2-6-2 T American Locomotive Company 1927
Clover Valley Lumber Company No. 4Operational 2-6-6-2 T Baldwin Locomotive Works 1924
Pickering Lumber Co No. 5Stored3 truck Heisler Heisler Locomotive Works 1913
Pickering Lumber Co No. 12Stored3 truck Shay Lima Locomotive Works 1903
Sierra Railway No. 30Under restoration 2-6-2 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1922
Southern Pacific 1269Stored 0-6-0 Southern Pacific Railroad 1921
Southern Pacific 1744 Under restoration 2-6-0 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1901
Southern Pacific 2479 Under restoration 4-6-2 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1923

Notable diesel locomotives

NameStatusBuilder / ModelDateLink
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 462Stored GE 44-ton switcher 1943
Oakland Terminal Railway 101Stored Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 1948
Southern Pacific 1218Under restoration ALCO S-6 1955
Southern Pacific 1423Operational EMD NW2 1949
Southern Pacific 5472 Operational EMD SD9 1956
Southern Pacific 5623 Operational EMD GP9 "torpedo boat"1955
Southern Pacific 9010 Operational KM ML-4000 1964
U.S. Army 1856Operational FM H-12-44 1953
U.S. Army 7348Operational GE 65-ton switcher 1942
Western Pacific 713Operational EMD GP7 1953
Western Pacific 918DOperational EMD F7 1950
Southern Pacific 1195Operational EMD SW900 1954

Passenger Cars

See also

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Lang Southern Pacific Station is a former Southern Pacific railway station located in Soledad Canyon near the eastern end of Santa Clarita, California. On September 5, 1876 the first railway to Los Angeles was completed at this site. The Lang Southern Pacific Station was designated a California Historic Landmark on May 22, 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Pacific 1744</span> Preserved SP M-6 class 2-6-0 locomotive

Southern Pacific No. 1744 is a preserved American class "M-6" 2-6-0 "Mogul" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Pacific Railroad in November 1901. Originally equipped with Vauclain compound cylinders, it was rebuilt with conventional cylinders in 1912. It operated for many years out of Oakland, California on the Southern Pacific's Western Division and in California's Central Valley where the locomotive and its classmates were fondly called “Valley Mallets” by their crews. The locomotive was made famous in later years by pulling some of the last steam excursions on the SP alongside other steam locomotives, including 4-8-4 4460. In 1959, No. 1744 was donated to the Sons of Utah Pioneers in Corinne, Utah where it remained on static display, until 1980. That year, it was restored by New London Railroad and Village Incorporated to operate on the Heber Valley Railroad in Heber City for the rest of the decade.

References

  1. 1 2 Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District Supplementary Listing Record
  2. 1 2 Luna, Henry; Pacific Locomotive Association (2005). Niles Canyon Railways. San Francisco, CA: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   0-7385-2983-4. Western Pacific became the first railroad into Niles Canyon when their first 20-mile section of track was built from San Jose to a point in the canyon just beyond Farwell, when construction halted.
  3. Henry Root (1869). "Surveyor, Engineer and Inventor, 1845-1912. Chapter 3. Central and Southern Pacific Railroad Work in Oakland, San Francisco and Elsewhere". cprr.org. Retrieved June 21, 2021. commence the final location [of the line] from the junction point on the old Western Pacific line about a mile above the mill to Oakland. The line, at the start, was on steep hillsides and followed generally the line of the wood flume carrying water from Alameda Creek to Vallejo's Mill.
  4. "Again in the field -- the Western Pacific Railroad". cdnc.ucr.edu. Sacramento Daily Union. June 5, 1869. Retrieved June 5, 2019. Turton, Knox &. Ryan have detached a large number of their men from the Livermore Pass vicinity and set them grading and tracklaying on the lower end of the road, commencing twenty miles from San Jose, at the end of the section completed by the former owners of the franchise, and working up Alameda Canyon into Livermore Valley.
  5. "Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District". National Park Service. June 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  6. "Stockton--August 14th". cdnc.ucr.edu. Marysville Daily Appeal 15 August 1869 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  7. "Stockton--August 18th". cdnc.ucr.edu. Marysville Daily Appeal 19 August 1869 — California Digital Newspaper Collection. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  8. "The first through train on the Western Pacific Road: Daily Alta California 7 September 1869". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved June 15, 2018. The trains consisted of three locomotives and twelve first- class cars. One train switched off at Vallejo's Mills, and went on to San José and Gilroy...
  9. "History of the Niles passenger depot". nilesdepot.org. Niles Depot Historical Foundation. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  10. Mosier, Page; Mosier, Dan (1986). Alameda County Place Names. Fremont, California: Mines Road Books.
  11. "Famed San Francisco's Port Obsolete". Reading Eagle . September 19, 1974. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  12. "SP Scab Trains of Altamont, May 1985". YouTube. Steve Sloan. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District -- Nomination Form". September 2009.
  14. "The Dispatcher's Sheet March 2020: 2472 Moves to Schellville" (PDF). ggrm.org. Golden Gate Railroad Museum. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  15. "Historic Locomotive, Railroad Artifacts To Steam Into Fremont". Bay City News. July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  16. Hauf, Chris (July 4, 2021). "Historic Locomotive and Railroad Roundhouse to Move from Santa Clara County to our Niles Canyon Railway". ncry.org. Retrieved July 7, 2021.

37°35′38″N121°53′23″W / 37.59389°N 121.88972°W / 37.59389; -121.88972