Riverdale Branch

Last updated
Riverdale Branch
West Side Line
BSicon exlBHF~L.svg
BSicon CONTg@Gq.svg
BSicon exlBHF~R.svg
BSicon ABZq+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
Ingle
BSicon eHST.svg
Tranquility
BSicon eHST.svg
San Joaquin
BSicon eHST.svg
Helm
BSicon exKHSTa.svg
BSicon STR.svg
Burrel
BSicon exHST.svg
Riverdale
BSicon exHST.svg
Hub
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon exKRZ.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
ATSF Lanare Branch
BSicon exABZg+l.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Hardwick
BSicon exHST.svg
Grangeville
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon xABZg+r.svg
BSicon eHST.svg
Armona
BSicon CONTf.svg

The Riverdale Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) was a branch line serving the San Joaquin Valley's agricultural area southwest of Fresno. The 42 mile line ran from a connection with the Southern Pacific's West Side Line at Ingle, California and then ran southeast through Burrel, Riverdale beyond which it also connected to the Caruthers Branch of the SP. From Riverdale it continued Southeast to Hardwick then south to Armona where it connected to SP's Coalinga Branch.

Contents

Construction of the branch line

The Riverdale Branch was built between August 1910 and July 1911 under SP's non-operating subsidiary, the Hanford and Summit Lake Railway. SP operated the line and on October 9, 1917, the line was sold to the SP. SP operated the line as the Riverdale Branch. Grading commenced to the west from Hardwickalong Avenue, crossed thanurned northeastnortheast and t River an or avenue, on August 22, 1910 and rails reached Riverdale one month later. At the other end of the line, construction began at Ingle and built southwest towards Riverdale; by February 1912 5 miles of track was completed between Ingle and Tranquility. The SP then began operating on these two ends of the line. The final and middle section of track, between Tranquility and Riverdale, was completed on April 14, 1912.

The track between Hardwick and Riverdale was abandoned by the SP in 1952. SP later abandoned the track between Riverdale and Burrel. SP sold the 25.2 mile line between Ingle and Burrell to Kyle Railway's subsidiary, Port Railroads (PRI), on March 13, 1994. On April 26, 1996, the PRI was sold by Kyle Railways to the San Joaquin Valley Railroad.

Originally, the Hanford & Summit Lake Railway proposed to build en electric railroad from Hanford through Grangeville and Hardwick and back through Lemoore and Armona with an extension to Laton.

The track between Hardwick and Armona was constructed during a different time period, likely before 1912.

Route

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno County, California</span> County in California, United States

Fresno County, officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armona, California</span> Census-designated place in California, United States

Armona is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kings County, California, United States. Armona is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 239 feet (73 m). It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,156 at the 2010 census. Armona's motto is "Small and Proud".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanford, California</span> City in California, United States

Hanford is the most populous city and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley. The population was 53,967 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amtrak California</span> Caltrans passenger rail services

Amtrak California is a brand name used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Rail for three state-supported Amtrak regional rail routes in California – the Capitol Corridor, the Pacific Surfliner, and the San Joaquins – and their associated connecting network of Amtrak Thruway transportation services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area code 559</span> Telephone code in California

Area code 559 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for the central San Joaquin Valley in central California. The numbering plan area includes the counties of Fresno, Madera, Kings, and Tulare, an area largely coextensive with the Fresno and Visalia-Porterville metropolitan areas. The area code was placed in service in 1998, when its services area was split from that of area code 209.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Joaquin Valley Railroad</span> Central California freight transport company

The San Joaquin Valley Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies and is part of the Western Region Division of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates over about 371 miles (597 km) of owned or leased track primarily on several lines in California's Central Valley/San Joaquin Valley around Fresno and Bakersfield. The SJVR has trackage rights over Union Pacific between Fresno, Goshen, Famoso, Bakersfield and Algoso. The SJVR also operated for the Tulare Valley Railroad (TVRR) from Calwa to Corcoran and Famoso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Northern Railroad</span> Class III line up the western Sacramento Valley

The California Northern Railroad is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. It operates over Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) tracks under a long-term lease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central California Traction Company</span> Class III railroad in San Joaquin County

The Central California Traction Company is a Class III short-line railroad operating in the northern San Joaquin Valley, in San Joaquin County, California. It is owned jointly by the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.

Port Railroads, Inc. was a 105.7-mile (170.1 km) shortline railroad owned by Kyle Railways. PRI was formed on March 13, 1994, to take over two Southern Pacific Railroad lines. One of SP's lines was the West Side Line between Fresno northwest to Oxalis, California and a branch running from Ingle to Burrell. The other line was the SP Buttonwillow Branch from Bakersfield to Buttonwillow, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bay Electric Lines</span> Former local railway services in the San Francisco Bay Area

The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad that operated electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning in 1862, the SP and its predecessors operated local steam-drawn ferry-train passenger service in the East Bay on an expanding system of lines, but in 1902 the Key System started a competing system of electric lines and ferries. The SP then drew up plans to expand and electrify its system of lines and this new service began in 1911. The trains served the cities of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro transporting commuters to and from the large Oakland Pier and SP Alameda Pier. A fleet of ferry boats ran between these piers and the docks of the Ferry Building on the San Francisco Embarcadero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merced station (Amtrak)</span> Railroad station in Merced, California, US

Merced station is an intercity rail station located in Merced, California, United States. The station is served by seven daily round trips of the San Joaquins and is a transfer point between trains and Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS) buses serving Yosemite National Park. Merced station has side platforms adjacent to the tracks of the BNSF Railway Stockton Subdivision.

The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad was originally built as a 3 ft narrow gauge that ran from Bracks Landing to Woodbridge and Lodi and then east to the Sierra Nevada foothill town of Valley Springs. The railroad was incorporated on March 28, 1882 and construction was completed on April 15, 1885. The railroad was built as a common carrier with copper mining being its primary traffic. The track was built using 35/40 lb steel rails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinez station</span> Train station in Martinez, California, US

Martinez station is an Amtrak passenger train station in Martinez, California, United States. Located at the west end of downtown Martinez, the station has one side platform and one island platform, which serve three of the four tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision. It is served by the daily California Zephyr and Coast Starlight long-distance trains, five daily round trips of the San Joaquin corridor service, and fifteen daily round trips of the Capitol Corridor service. Martinez is also served by Amtrak Thruway buses plus County Connection, Tri-Delta Transit, and WestCAT local buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinez Subdivision</span> Union Pacific Railroad section from Roseville to the Bay Area, California

The Martinez subdivision is a Union Pacific railway line which runs from Roseville, California to Oakland, California. It is informally referred to as the Cal-P line, after the original California Pacific Railroad, who constructed the line from Sacramento to Suisun and Fairfield. The line is entirely double-tracked including bridges, and features extensive sidings.

Helm is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located 13 miles (21 km) south of Kerman, at an elevation of 187 feet.

The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Line was the main line of the Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway. It operated between the Santa Fe Bakersfield Station and the Southern Pacific Bakersfield Station. It was the first line in the system, constructed in 1888. It was also the last line to close in the system, in 1942.

Merced station is a proposed California High-Speed Rail station in Merced, California, located in Downtown Merced. The originally proposed site was to have been located at ground level on Martin Luther King Jr. Way near the interchange with Route 99/59, placing it about 7 blocks south from the existing Merced Amtrak station. The station was initially intended to be the northern terminus of the system's Initial Construction Segment. An alternative location for a fully elevated station proposed by the City of Merced and other stakeholders, 8 blocks to the west-northwest along 15th Street, between O Street and R Street was approved after a supplemental environmental review. The high-speed rail line will run on the south side of the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino–Riverside Line</span> Railway line in California

The San Bernardino–Riverside is a former Pacific Electric (PE) interurban railway line in the Inland Empire. Unlike most of the company's services, trains did not travel to Downtown Los Angeles and instead provided a suburban service between San Bernardino and Riverside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresno County Rural Transit Agency</span> Transportation in Fresno County, California, United States

Fresno County Rural Transit Agency (FCRTA) is the primary bus agency providing intra- and inter-city routes for smaller cities and unincorporated rural communities in Fresno County, California since 1979, including Coalinga, Firebaugh, Fowler, Huron, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Orange Cove, Reedley, Sanger, San Joaquin, and Selma. FCRTA riders may transfer to Fresno Area Express service within the county seat of Fresno, and FCRTA has additional transfer points connecting to neighboring agencies in Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties, including Clovis Transit Stageline, Kings Area Regional Transit, and Dinuba Connection.

The Fresno Subdivision is a railroad in California owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Mostly built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1870s, the line traverses the San Joaquin Valley on a northwest to southeast alignment.

References

Template:Attached KML/Riverdale Branch
KML is not from Wikidata