The Ocean Shore Railroad was a railroad built between San Francisco and Tunitas Glen, and Swanton and Santa Cruz that operated along the Pacific coastline from 1905 until 1921. The route was originally conceived to be a continuous line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, but the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, financial difficulties, and the advent of the automobile caused the line to never reach its goals, and remain with a Northern and Southern division.
The San Francisco, Santa Cruz & Watsonville Railroad Company
The first attempts to construct a railroad between San Francisco and Santa Cruz began as early as 1870, with the organization of the San Francisco, Santa Cruz, & Watsonville Railroad Company. The railroad was to be funded via public money, however, most records cut off around 1872 so it speculated that two other railroads had taken away the public interest.[1]
San Francisco, San Mateo, & Santa Cruz Railroad
Incorporated in 1875, the railroad was funded by residents of San Mateo County in order to construct a line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz via the Spanish-town (now Half Moon Bay). The railroad hired a surveying team, who published a final report on March 1876 detailing the feasibility. However, it is assumed the railroad went under due to lack of finances, as no other paper traces are found.
San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad Company
Trace of the Ocean Shore rail grade can be clearly seen at top center-right, between shore and road. Martin's Beach in Tunitas, California is at bottom center.
Incorporated in September 1879, the San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad Company was conceived to be a narrow gauge railroad running between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz, the line would have connected with the Santa Cruz Railroad and allowed for the exchange of freight. The San Francisco County Board of Supervisors granted the railroad permission to construct trackage from Fulton and Larking Streets, and down away from the city, however construction was stalled after multiple business owners along the route launched lawsuits.
Said lawsuits took away time and money, as by 1881 the railroad had promised to construct a line to the border of San Mateo County, but in reality had not laid a single rail. Between 1880 and 1881 the railroad attempted to increase revenue by taking out mortgages and distributing stocks. In 1881, the Santa Cruz Railroad had gone bankrupt, which largely cut off a lot of funding for the San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad as some investors had put much of their fortune into the Santa Cruz Railroad too. Plans were redrawn to enter Santa Cruz.
In around January 1881, the railroad was reorganized to become a standard gauge line, and filed for incorporation to construct tracks through Half Moon Bay. Around May 1881, various rumors were circulating around San Francisco in relation to the San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad. These rumors included that the line was going to extend to Santa Barbara, and that it was secretly going to be a part of a new Aitchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad transcontinental route along the coast.
After the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Aitchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad had ended some bitter rivalries in December 1881, on Christmas Eve it was stated that the San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad's multi-state plan (involving the California Central Railway) was merely a ploy to scare the Southern Pacific Railroad into reducing the cost of freight switching at junctions with the Aitchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe. The railroad did, however, intend to construct a line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
The announcement had dire consequences, and in early 1882 the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors voted to delay the acceptance of the franchise to allow the running of the railroad in the city itself. By November 1882, the San Francisco & Ocean Shore Railroad had indefinitely ceased development of the line, and after numerous economic crashes, the line was abandoned without a single track laid.
The railroad was in fact reorganized though into the San Francisco & Santa Cruz Railway, however, the railroad went bankrupt and had to shut down.
San Francisco & West Shore Railway Company
Incorporated in March 1892, the line intended to construct an electricinterurban railway between San Francisco and Santa Cruz via a tunnel at San Pedro Point. The railroad was conceived to carry basically only freight of the coast-side villages.[2] However, for unknown reasons, in November 1892 the Mayor of San Francisco rejected the proposal for the railroad to run its line on 25th Street and Potrero Avenue, which led the railway to frantically reorganize its plans.
The railroad tried to fight the opposition of the plans in San Francisco in the Supreme Court, but failed. In 1894 a government study on the feasibility of the railroad was released, but nothing more was heard, suggesting that the line lost revenue and funding.
Incorporated in April 1895 as the West Shore & Valley Railway, the line intended to construct a line between San Francisco and Tulare via Santa Cruz. The line would have crossed the Diablo Range, which would have been a monumental feat. In July 1895 however, the line was reorganized to form the West Shore Railway Company, whose goals were to build a standard gauge railway line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. The new West Shore Railway was meant to haul freight and passenger service, at a time estimate of two hours and ten minutes between the two cities.
The acquisition of former right of ways and properties of the San Francisco & West Shore Railway was quick, and apparently had already begun construction of a right of way in April 1895. A passenger station would have been built at 25th & Potrero in San Francisco and was financed primarily through business-men in New York.
Due to the reluctance of property owners willing to hand over properties to the railway, construction was largely stalled as the construction costs kept rising. Between 1895 and 1898 there was no work actually done, which was unsetting to the financers. In March 1899, the railroad had stated that they wished to be sold to the Vanderbilt Company, in direct competition to the Southern Pacific. However, the Directors had rejected this last-minute, and the railroad had lost a lot of finances. In December 1899 the railroad's franchise in San Francisco expired, and subsequently, the line had given up all hopes of ever achieving a route and abandoned plans.
Bay & Coast Railway Company
Incorporated in June 1889 to construct a standard gauge line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, the line was a private company and had unknown financers. Due to how the railway would have entered San Francisco on a major street, the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors required that the railway build track by September 1901, as all the other past railroads had failed to do this. The railroad failed to do this, and subsequently, the franchise expired and by February 1902, the line was shut down.[1]
The San Francisco & Southern Railway Company
Route of the Ocean Shore Railroad as envisioned in 1908.
In September 1903, the San Francisco & Southern Railway was formed to construct a line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, via the same route as its predecessors. Funded primarily by investors on the East Coast, the line was required by the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors to construct a section of track immediately in San Francisco. However, most paper-records dropped off around this time, so nothing more is heard about the railway.
Initial railroad plans
Originally incorporated as the Ocean Shore Railway Company on May 18, 1905, the plan was to run a 1500 Volt Alternating-Current double-tracked line between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, operating with interurbans and electric freight motors.[3] Other plans that were originally considered, would have operated the railway under 3300 volts Alternating-Current, utilizing both third rail and overhead catenary wiring.[4] The railway was backed primarily by a group of very successful and wealthy business-men of San Francisco, including future railroad president: J. Downey Harvey. Notable people include: J.A. Folger, and Horace D. Pillsbury.[5]
The railroad would have followed the route of its predecessors along the San Mateo Coast, and would have had a large yard in the center of Santa Cruz.[6] Construction began on September 17, 1905, with the grades being dug out at points in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
Further plans called for subsidiaries such as the Ocean Shore & Eastern, which would have run a line between Santa Cruz to Watsonville where it would have connected with other Ocean Shore Railroad related schemes, such as the Fresno, Coalinga, & Monterey Railroad, which aimed to connect Fresno and Monterey via somewhere around the Pacheco Pass.[7]
Real estate plans all along the coast were also envisioned, such as a massive boardwalk and amusement park at Granada, with cheap affordable housing being found at Montara. El Granada was one of the only towns developed by the Ocean Shore Railroad, with its circular street pattern design.
Ultimately, the ideal of a 1500 volt alternating current double-track line would not come to fruition, and neither would the railroad ever connect San Francisco and Santa Cruz. The plans for the Ocean Shore & Eastern and the other Ocean Shore Railroad subsidiary plans never came to be either due to lack of interest or the financial crash that occurred subsequently after the devastating 1906 Earthquake.
History
In this 1902 USGS map, the Ocean Shore Railroad runs from the north to Tunitas Creek, and from Santa Cruz to the Davenport Area.
Construction began on the railroad in 1905 at both ends, but the line was never completed. The April 18, 1906, earthquake caused major damage and delayed completion of the railroad. A major tunnel was built at Devil's Slide; another tunnel was built near Davenport. There were numerous bridges and trestles along the route. The tracks from San Francisco were completed as far south as Tunitas Creek, south of Half Moon Bay. The tracks north from Santa Cruz were completed as far north as Swanton, north of Davenport. Trackage within the city of San Francisco was electrified, while the rest of the line was operated with steam locomotives, and later, with self-propelled railcars. Despite significant passenger patronage, especially on weekends, the railroad never recovered from losses in the 1906 earthquake and failed to attract enough freight traffic to cover increasing deficits.[5]
A never-built branch would have split from the mainline and run along what is now 19th Avenue, Eucalyptus Drive, 47th Avenue, Rivera Street, and 48th Avenue to Golden Gate Park.[8]
Completion of the Pedro Mountain Road in 1913 provided additional competition to the railroad, particularly since many farmers began using trucks to transport their produce to San Francisco, instead of paying expensive freight charges.[9]
Mainline service was abandoned in 1920. The line north from Santa Cruz was leased to the San Vicente Lumber Company, which continued to use the tracks until 1923. Electrified trackage within the city of San Francisco, which served major industries, was operated for many years, in part by the San Francisco Muni.[5] A segment of the railroad in the southeast section of San Francisco was also operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. This section was in use until the mid-1980s and was the last part of the Ocean Shore in operation.
Following abandonment, the railroad company fought for decades over ownership of their right-of-way, large portions of which they had purchased wholesale rather than as easements. The company reincorporated as the Ocean Shore Railroad Company, Inc., on November 16, 1934, and continues to exist as this legal entity to manage the sales and leasing of various properties the company still owns in San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties.[5]
The station at Montara still exists as a residence at 222 Second Street. Bricks laid out in the word "Montara" can be seen in the pavement in front of the front door.
The Salada Beach Station,(sometimes shortened to Salada), was located near where Paloma Avenue (formerly San Mateo Avenue) crosses Highway 1 in present-day Sharp Park. The station originally sat at the northeast corner of Francisco Way and San Mateo Avenue, until Highway 1 was rerouted along the former railroad right of way through Sharp Park. The station remained vacant until it was demolished in the early 1940s. A Flying A gas station was then built on the site, and it remained until the freeway was built in 1965.
Brighton Beach Station was located at the northwest corner of Francisco Boulevard and Lakeside Avenue. The station stood as a residence until the early 1980s. An apartment complex was built on its location in the early 2000s.
The Farallone City Station was built in 1903 where Seventh Street crosses the Railroad right-of-way (now Highway 1) in Montara. The structure was originally one story but now stands as a two-story residence. The post office stood across the street, but has since been demolished.
The North Granada Station was built in 1900, and stands vacant at 10151 Cabrillo Highway in El Granada. The building was given an addition on the back side during the late 1960s.[11]
The Arleta Park Station was built in 1904 and stands at 920 Railroad Avenue in Half Moon Bay. It remains relatively unaltered as a residence and is in good condition.
The Kelly Street Station is now situated near the Johnston House on the south side of Higgins Canyon Road in Half Moon Bay.
Vallemar Station remains relatively unaltered and is situated at 2125 Coast Highway. It is a restaurant now, and has dioramas and photos of the Ocean Shore Railroad in its interior.
Rockaway Beach Station was located at the southeast corner of Rockaway Beach Avenue (formerly Hewitt Avenue) and Highway 1. The structure was demolished and its lumber was recycled to build part of the home at 635 Rockaway Beach Avenue. The site of the station was later used as the site for a small grocery store, which continued in operation until the structure was demolished to make room for Fassler Avenue in the early 1970s.
Tobin Station is located on San Pedro Point, at the corner of Danmann Avenue and Shelter Cove Road. The former outdoor shelter was enclosed many years ago and is now a private residence. The station went through many name changes including San Pedro Terrace, San Pedro Terrace By-The-Sea and finally Pedro Valley. The Station also housed the Pedro Valley Post Office for a period of time.[12]
After the abandonment of the railroad, the Moss Beach Station stood vacant until the 1930s, when it was then used as a broom factory until its demolition in the late 1940s.[13]
The Edgemar Station was once located at the intersection of Clifton and Waterford Streets in Pacifica, but has been demolished. The old Santa Cruz Depot, which was located at 213 Bay Street, suffered the same fate.
The Granada Station was moved a block from its original location to the corner of Ave Portola and The Alameda.
The Thornton Station was once located at the southwest corner of Skyline Boulevard & John Daly Boulevard on the outskirts of Daly City. The station and auxiliary buildings were demolished in the early 1950s.
Right of way
Portions of the right of way can be seen along the Rockaway headlands and along the railway berm in Pedro Point. The huge cut between Fairway Park and Vallemar was blasted out by railroad engineers.
A small section of the track can be seen today crossing 13th Street in San Francisco in front of Best Buy. From that point, the tracks crossed Harrison Street and ran up 12th Street to the terminal station at Mission Street. Up until just a few years ago the tracks still existed on 12th Street. Going South from Division Street, the line ran down Florida Street to Mariposa Street, where it turned left and ran to Potrero Street. There it turned right and ran down Potrero Street, then to the east of Bayshore, and then following what is Alemany Street today. (Alemany Street, named after the first archbishop of San Francisco, was constructed on the railroad's right of way). Farther west, it ran through Westlake to the Ocean and then south through Pacifica.[14]
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alto and north of Sunnyvale and Los Altos. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by San Mateo County, between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Granada, Foster City, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.
San Mateo County, officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly City and San Mateo. San Mateo County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA MSA, Silicon Valley, and is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, the nine counties bordering San Francisco Bay. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula. San Francisco International Airport is located in the northeastern area of the county and is approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of the city and county limits of San Francisco, even though the airport itself is assigned a San Francisco postal address. The county's built-up areas are mostly suburban, and are home to several corporate campuses.
El Granada is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the coastal area of northern San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 5,481 at the 2020 census. The village is named for the city of Granada, Spain.
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea. Half Moon Bay is known for Mavericks, a big-wave surf location. It is called Half Moon Bay because of its crescent shape.
Montara is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2020 census. Nearby communities include Moss Beach and Princeton-by-the-Sea.
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.
Richmond station is an Amtrak intercity rail and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in downtown Richmond, California. Richmond is the north terminus of BART service on the Orange Line and Red Line; it is a stop for Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, and California Zephyr routes. The accessible station has one island platform for the two BART tracks, with a second island platform serving two of the three tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision for Amtrak trains. It is one of two transfer points between BART and Amtrak, along with Oakland Coliseum station.
The Sacramento Northern Railway was a 183-mile (295 km) electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland, Sacramento, Yuba City, Chico, and Woodland and ran interurban passenger service until 1941 and freight service into the 1960s.
The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) was a 3 ft 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 to market in San Francisco and provide an alternative to the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1876, James Graham Fair, a Comstock Lode silver baron, bought the line and extended it into the Santa Cruz Mountains to capture the significant lumber traffic coming out of the redwood forests. The narrow-gauge line was originally laid with 52-pound-per-yard (26 kg/m) rail on 8-foot (2.44 m) redwood ties; and was later acquired by the Southern Pacific and converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge.
Pedro Mountain Road describes a series of historical road crossings of Pedro Mountain, a promontory ridge located between Montara Mountain and the coastal cliffs of Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, California. This Pedro Mountain headland blocks the easy passage of coastal travelers between the Pedro Valley in Pacifica, California and Montara, California. The most prominent of these Pedro Mountain roads was Coastside Boulevard, the 1914 to 1937 coastal highway 57, which remains in use today as part of the trail network of McNee Ranch State Park.
Montara Mountain, positioned between the unincorporated community of Montara, California, to the southwest and the city of Pacifica, California, to the north, forms the northern spur of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a narrow mountain range running the length of the San Francisco Peninsula that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. Its highest point rises to 1,898 feet (579 m) above sea level. Montara and Pacifica are connected by the Tom Lantos Tunnels, which run through the Mountain.
Purissima is a ghost town in southwestern San Mateo County, California, United States, near the junction of State Route 1 and Verde Road. Purísima means "purest" in Spanish and is most commonly used in Spanish to refer to La Purísima Concepción of the Virgin Mary. Purissima is the name of the town used as the setting for Ross Macdonald's 1958 crime fiction novel 'The Doomsters'.
San Pedro Creek is a perennial stream in the City of Pacifica, San Mateo County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area whose tributaries originate on Sweeney Ridge in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Montara Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains.The creek mainstem flows 2.5 miles (4.0 km) through the San Pedro Valley to its mouth near Shelter Cove of the Pacific Ocean The stream is notable as the 1769 campsite for Gaspar de Portolà before he ascended Sweeney Ridge and discovered San Francisco Bay.
The San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway (SF&SM) was the first electric streetcar company in San Francisco, California. The company was only in business for ten years, starting from 1892 until it was merged into the United Railroads of San Francisco (URR) in 1902.
The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric public transit and freight railway system in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak it had 230 miles (370 km) of track extending from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westside, Santa Monica, and the South Bay towns along Santa Monica Bay.
The Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad (SCMB), or Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line (SCBRL), is a historic railway running through Santa Cruz County, California. It once ran operationally from Davenport to the Watsonville Junction where it connected to the Union Pacific Coast Line. Over the years it has had many splays and connections to other local railroads over, through, and around the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is still active today, including a connection with the Roaring Camp Railroads line that makes regular trips between Felton and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
The Devil's Slide Trail is a hiking trail between Pacifica, California and Montara, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. The trail is a segment in the California Coastal Trail, which stretches from Oregon to Mexico.
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