Niles Canyon Railway

The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, USA. The railway is operated 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. The Golden Gate Railroad Museum moved its collection to the NCRy in 2007 where they continue to perform restoration work and host occasional events.

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.

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 (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 into what was then known as Alameda Cañon, when disputes between the railroad's backers and contractors stalled construction. The Central Pacific acquired the moribund Western Pacific as completion of the transcontinental railroad neared. Construction of the Western Pacific was revived by crews building south from Sacramento and over Livermore Pass to connect to the already completed track in Alameda Cañon. The new line was completed from Sacramento to San Jose and a waterfront terminal in Alameda in September 1869. This was just four months after the Central Pacific and Union Pacific met at Promontory Summit, Utah. Soon after, a more substantial terminal was established 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.

During this time, 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 Benicia by 1879. As a result, the original line became less used due to its longer route and its steep grade over Livermore Pass (later known 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 to 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 constructions can still be seen today.

The decline in San Francisco's status as a port with the advent of containerization, 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. 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 Commuter 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.

Rail excursions

The railway runs excursions on Sundays year-round, usually every week during the summer and less frequently during the winter. Several trips are run, generally alternating between steam locomotives and diesel locomotives, with both open and enclosed passenger cars.

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 and Coast Starlight 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 10 steam and 13 diesel locomotives, and over 40 other pieces of rolling stock.

Notable steam locomotives

Name	Status	Type	Builder	Date	Link
Quincy Railroad No. 2	Operational	2-6-2T	American Locomotive Company	1924	[1]
Robert Dollar Co. No. 3	Operational	2-6-2T	American Locomotive Company	1927	[2]
Sierra Railway No. 30	Under restoration	2-6-2	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1922	[3]
Pickering Lumber No. 12	Stored	3T Shay	Lima Locomotive Works	1903	[4]
Clover Valley Lumber No. 4	Stored	2-6-6-2T	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1924	[5]
Pickering Lumber No. 5	Stored	3T Heisler	Heisler Locomotive Works	1913	[6]
Southern Pacific 1269	Stored	0-6-0	Southern Pacific Railroad	1921	[7]
Southern Pacific 2467	On Display and Loan to CSRM	4-6-2	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1921	[8]
Pickering Lumber No. 1	Stored	3-truck Heisler	Heisler Locomotive Works	1913	[9]

Notable diesel locomotives

Name	Status	Builder / Model	Date	Link
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 462	Stored	GE 44-ton switcher	1943	[10]
Oakland Terminal Railway 101	Operational	Baldwin DS-4-4-1000	1948	[11]
Southern Pacific 1218	Under restoration	ALCO S-6	1955	[12]
Southern Pacific 1423	Operational	EMD NW2	1949	[13]
Southern Pacific 5472	Operational	EMD SD9	1956	[14]
Southern Pacific 5623	Operational	EMD GP9 "torpedo boat"	1955	[15]
U.S. Army 1856	Stored	FM H-10-44	1953	[16]
U.S. Army 7348	Under restoration	GE 65-ton switcher	1942	[17]
Western Pacific 713	Operational	EMD GP7	1953	[18]
Western Pacific 918D	Operational	EMD F7	1950	[19]

References

Signor, John (2003). Southern Pacific's Western Division. Signature Press, Wilton, California. ISBN 1-930013-12-4.
Luna, Henry (2005). Niles Canyon Railways. Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco, California. ISBN 0-7385-2983-4.

External links