The Northern Railway was a

non-operating subsidiary 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 ...

of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

during the 19th century, created primarily as a device to consolidate the management of a number of smaller subsidiary railroads. The initial railroad opened in 1876 from

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, United States. Located approximately northwest of Sacramento, it is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population continues to grow every year, with a growth ra ...

, to

Williams Williams may refer to: People * Williams (surname), a surname English in origin, but popular in Wales, 3rd most common in the United Kingdom * Williams Nwaneri, American football player Places Astronomy * Williams (lunar crater) * Williams ...

; and extended to

Willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

in 1878, and to Tehama in 1882. In 1877, a line of the Northern Railway was built between

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

and Martinez. On May 15, 1888, the Northern Railway was consolidated with the Winters and Ukiah Railway; Woodland, Capay, and Clear Lake Railroad; West Side and Mendocino Railroad;

Vaca Valley and Clear Lake Railroad The Vaca Valley and Clear Lake Railroad was a standard gauge railroad that operated at Vacaville, California in the late 19th century. The Vaca Valley Railroad was incorporated on April 12, 1869, to run a branch from the mainline of the Californi ...

;

San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad The San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad (or ''Rail Road'') was originally built as a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge that ran from Bracks Landing (10.6 miles west of Woodbridge on the San Joaquin Delta, on the Brack Tract on the east side o ...

(narrow gauge);

Sacramento and Placerville Railroad Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 popul ...

;

Shingle Springs and Placerville Railroad Shingle(s) may refer to: Construction *Roof shingles or wall shingles, including: **Wood shingle ***Shake (shingle), a wooden shingle that is split from a bolt, with a more rustic appearance than a sawed shingle ***Quercus imbricaria, or shingle ...

;

Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad The Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad was completed in 1888 from a terminal rail yard in Santa Rosa, California, through the Valley of the Moon to Sonoma, and then south through Schellville and east across the northern San Francisco Bay wetlan ...

;

Amador Branch Railroad Amador may refer to: People *Amador (name) Places *Amador County, California *Amador City, California *Amador, Panama *Lake Amador, a reservoir *Amador Valley, Alameda County, California *Dougherty, Alameda County, California, formerly called A ...

; and

Berkeley Branch Railroad The Berkeley Branch Railroad was a long branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) from a junction in what later became Emeryville called " Shellmound" to what soon became downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the new University of Califo ...

, forming the Northern Railway Company. It was merged into the

system in 1898.

Sources

Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company Defunct California railroads Railway companies established in 1871 Railway companies disestablished in 1898 {{California-transport-stub