The California and Nevada Railroad was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

steam railroad which ran in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in the late 19th century. It was incorporated on March 25, 1884. J.S. Emery was listed as the railroad's president - the present day city of Emeryville is named after him. On March 1, 1885, the track was completed between Oakland and San Pablo via Emeryville. The track to Oak Grove (present day El Sobrante) was completed on January 1, 1887.

California & Mt. Diablo Railroad

The first of the California & Nevada was built by its predecessor, the California & Mt. Diablo Railroad. The California & Mt. Diablo Railroad was organized on March 21, 1881, at Emery's, an unincorporated settlement which later became the city of Emeryville. The

track commenced at 40th Street/ San Pablo Avenue and continued north through present day Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito and terminated in Richmond. The California & Mt. Diablo Railroad proposed to run from a pier on San Francisco Bay in Emeryville, then across central California and across the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

mountains at

Sonora Pass Sonora Pass (el. 9,624 ft. / 2,933 m.) is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is the second-highest pass with a road in California and in the Sierra Nevada. It is lower than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 trav ...

near

Bodie, California Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, California, Bridgepo ...

, and then east to a connection with the

Denver and Rio Grande Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fro ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. The California and Mt. Diablo was sold to the California and Nevada. The California and Nevada reached

San Pablo, California San Pablo (Spanish language, Spanish for "Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current mayor is P ...

, in 1886. It was subsequently extended around the northern end of the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges, and overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la Co ...

and the San Pablo Ridge, then southeastward down the valley drained by San Pablo Creek to

Orinda Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorado ...

, running along what is now the eastern shoreline of

San Pablo Reservoir The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). It is located in the valley of San Pablo Creek, north of Orinda, California, United States, and south of ...

. A shortage of capital and constant problems with washed-out tracks barred further extensions. For most of its duration, the railroad was primarily run for weekend excursions. The railroad reached Orinda (then called "Bryants"), its furthest extent, in November 1891. At this point, it owned and operated of track. On May 29, 1896, and again on July 12, 1899, the railroad was placed into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

. After 1900 the railroad ceased to operate. The railroad was sold at

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

on November 29, 1902.

Oakland & East Side Railroad

The nascent pier into

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

was acquired by

"Borax" Smith Francis Marion Smith (February 2, 1846 – August 27, 1931) was an American miner, business magnate and civic builder in the Mojave Desert, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Oakland, California. He was known nationally and internationally as " ...

who used it as the basis for construction of his massive

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

Key System The Key System (or Key Route) was a privately owned company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany, and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area ...

causeway and ferry pier. On March 7, 1903, the Oakland and East Side Railroad acquired the right-of-way of the California and Nevada on behalf of its parent company, the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

(see "

paper railroad In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business that exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock. In the early days of railroad construction, paper railroads ...

"). Santa Fe wanted the California & Nevada to gain access to Oakland from the Santa Fe's terminal at

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

. The track beyond Richmond (from a point just north of today's El Cerrito Del Norte

BART Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...

Station) to Orinda was abandoned. In 1903, Santa Fe converted the narrow gauge to standard track gauge between Richmond and Oakland. Upon completion of the standardization, on May 16, 1904, the Oakland and East Side Railroad was leased to the Santa Fe. That same day, the first Santa Fe train passed over the line.

Route

*Oakland *Emerys (Emeryville) *Berkeley *Albany *El Cerrito *Richmond *San Pablo *Oak Grove (El Sobrante) *Fargos *Orinda Park *Bryant

The right-of-way today

The track from San Pablo to Orinda follows much of the route of the

San Pablo Dam Road San Pablo Dam Road is a major arterial road linking San Pablo and Orinda, California in the United States, which connects San Pablo Avenue and Interstate 80 with Highway 24,

through El Sobrante. The Santa Fe line between Richmond and Oakland was abandoned by the Santa Fe in the early 1980s when the Santa Fe obtained trackage rights into Oakland via Southern Pacific Railroad's parallel line to the west – it was subsequently converted into the

Richmond Greenway The Richmond Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle path in Richmond, California.Ohlone Greenway The Ohlone Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle path in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The path is named for the Native Americans in the United States, Native American Ohlone, who live in th ...

runs along the original California & Nevada right-of-way between El Cerrito Del Norte Station and Albany. A bicycle path follows the course of the tracks while a

aerial line runs along the western edge, within the old right-of way. In fact, for a few years, BART and Santa Fe trains ran simultaneously there.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Pacific Coast Narrow Gauge: California & Nevada Railroad
* John Hall

{{DEFAULTSORT:California Nevada Railroad Defunct California railroads 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Narrow-gauge railroads in California Predecessors of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway History of Alameda County, California History of Contra Costa County, California History of the San Francisco Bay Area Railway companies established in 1884 Railway companies disestablished in 1902 Closed railway lines in the United States