Muir Trestle

The Muir Trestle, or Alhambra Trestle, is a railway trestle bridge in Martinez, California located within the John Muir National Historic Site. It is owned and operated by BNSF Railway and carries their Stockton Subdivision.

History[edit]

In 1897, for the sum of $10 in gold (equivalent to $366 in 2023), John Muir and Louisa Muir ceded a right of way to the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad.^[1] The agreement describes the land upon which a trestle bridge was to be located:^[1] through a pear orchard.^[2] The span was completed in 1899.^[1] A passenger station was located at the eastern approach.^[3]^[2]

Design[edit]

The trestle is of steel construction resting on concrete piers,^[3] carrying a single set of railroad tracks. It spans 1,600 feet (490 m) in length, 75 feet (23 m) above the Alhambra Valley.^[4]^[3] The western approach feeds directly into the line's 300-foot-long (91 m) Tunnel Number 4.^[5]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c National Park Service. "John Muir and the Alhambra Trestle" (PDF). Sierra Club. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE" (PDF). Boston, Massachusetts. National Park Service. 2005. p. 115. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Bennett, Herbert I. (July 15, 1905). "Extending the Santa Fe Railroad into San Francisco". Scientific American Supplement. Vol. 60, no. 1541.
^ "Railroad Construction: San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley". The Railroad Gazette. Vol. 31, no. 26. 1899. p. 483.
^ Frailey, Fred W.; Bryant Jr., Keith L. (2020). History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. University of Nebraska Press. p. 163. ISBN 9781496222718.

37°59′25″N 122°7′40.5″W / 37.99028°N 122.127917°W / 37.99028; -122.127917

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[trestle-1] National Park Service. "John Muir and the Alhambra Trestle" (PDF). Sierra Club. Retrieved August 5, 2020.

[NPS-2] "CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT FOR JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE" (PDF). Boston, Massachusetts. National Park Service. 2005. p. 115. Retrieved 6 August 2021.

[Bennett-3] Bennett, Herbert I. (July 15, 1905). "Extending the Santa Fe Railroad into San Francisco". Scientific American Supplement. Vol. 60, no. 1541.

[4] "Railroad Construction: San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley". The Railroad Gazette. Vol. 31, no. 26. 1899. p. 483.

[5] Frailey, Fred W.; Bryant Jr., Keith L. (2020). History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. University of Nebraska Press. p. 163. ISBN 9781496222718.

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