Ocean Shore Railroad
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The Ocean Shore Railroad was intended to be built from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, California via a route along the Pacific coastline.
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[edit] History
Construction began in 1905 at both ends, but the line was never completed. The April 18, 1906, earthquake caused major damage and delayed completion of the railroad. A major tunnel was built at Devil's Slide; another tunnel was built near Davenport. There were numerous bridges and trestles along the route. The tracks from San Francisco were completed as far south as Tunitas Creek, south of Half Moon Bay, California. The tracks north from Santa Cruz were completed as far north as Swanton, north of Davenport. Trackage within the city of San Francisco was electrified, while the rest of the line was operated with steam locomotives, and later, with self-propelled railcars. Despite significant passenger patronage, especially on weekends, the railroad never recovered from losses in the 1906 earthquake and failed to attract enough freight traffic to cover increasing deficits.[1]
Completion of the Pedro Mountain Road in 1914 provided additional competition to the railroad, particularly since many farmers began using trucks to transport their produce to San Francisco, instead of paying expensive freight charges.[2]
Mainline service was abandoned in 1921. The line north from Santa Cruz was operated for several more years by the Santa Cruz Lumber Company; electrified trackage within the city of San Francisco, which served major industries, was operated for many years, in part by the San Francisco Muni.[3]
[edit] Remnants
Portions of the right of way can be seen along the Rockaway headlands and along the railway berm in Pedro Point. The huge cut between Fairway Park and Vallemar was blasted out by railroad engineers. Three railroad stations still stand. One is camouflaged as the ERA Dolphin Real Estate office at the corner of Manor Drive and Oceana Blvd. One is now the Vallemar Station Grill, located at 2125 Coast Highway. The third is Tobin Station on San Pedro Point (corner of Danman Avenue and Shelter Cove Road). The former outdoor shelter was enclosed many years ago and is now a private residence.[4] A hotel built next to the tracks in Montara, California has been greatly remodeled and remains in business as a bed and breakfast inn.[5]
A small section of the track can be seen today crossing Division Street in San Francisco in front of Best Buy. From that point the tracks crossed Harrison Street and ran up 12th Street to the terminal station at Mission Street. Up until just a few years ago the tracks still existed on 12th Street. Going South from Division Street, the line ran down Florida Street to Mariposa Street, where it turned left and ran to Potrero Street. There it turned right and ran down Potrero Sreet, then to the east of Bayshore and then following what is Alemany Street today. (Alemany Street, named after the first archbiship of San Francisco, was constructed on the railroad's right of way). Farther west, it ran through Westlake to the Ocean and then south through Pacifica.[6]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Jack R. Wagner, The Last Whistle: Ocean Shore Railroad (Berkeley:Howell-North Books, 1974)
- ^ San Mateo County Historical Society
- ^ Jack R. Wagner
- ^ June Langhoff, The Ocean Shore Railroad (2001: City of Pacifica)
- ^ Eyewitness account by Robert E. Nylund
- ^ John Redmond
[edit] External links
- http://www.oceanshorerailroad.com -- Car 1409 Reconstruction Project, in Pacifica, California
