South Pacific Coast Railroad
California / Common Carrier / South Pacific Coast Railroad
The 36 inch gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad was incorporated on March 20, 1876.[1] It operated until May 21, 1887 when it and it's various leased lines were consolidated into the South Pacific Coast Railway.[2] The SPCRwy stock was sold and transferred to Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Collis Huntington on August 1, 1887[3] . These gentlemen then leased the SPCRwy to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. The information on this page is for the independent 1876-1887 South Pacific Coast Railroad.
History
By John F. Hall
After the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad was completed in 1864[4] the citizens of San Jose and Santa Clara began to complain about the railroad's monopolistic freight rates. They talked about building a competing railroad between San Jose and Alviso connecting with steamers to San Francisco.[5] Numerous attempts at building such a railroad were discussed. Then in October 1875 the Santa Clara Valley Railroad was incorporated to operate between Dumbarton Point and Santa Cruz, via Santa Clara and San Jose, with branches to Saratoga and New Almaden.[6] Grading was started and a 3 foot narrow gauge locomotive and rolling stock were ordered. Not all the property owners along the right of way were willing to sell their property without a fight.[7] Lawsuits were filed and injunctions were requested against building bridges across some of the sloughs.[8] Winter rains hit hard and the newly graded roadbed began to dissolve. A massive slide on the Santa Cruz & Felton railroad stopped the shipment of ties for the SCV.[9] None of these incidents would have been fatal if the cash had held out. But an attempt to mortgage the railroad and issue bonds failed.
In February 1876 as bankruptcy was imminent Alfred E. Davis became the Treasurer of the SCV and personally paid the outstanding bills acquiring most of the assets of the SCV.[10][11] On March 20, 1876 The South Pacific Coast Railroad was incorporated[1] with A. E. Davis, as President, holding 99.4% of the subscribed stock.[12] Fellow directors, each holding the minimum one share required by corporation law, were: Edward Barron a capitalist and President of the Consolidated Virginia Mines who had known A. E. Davis since the 1850's when both were butchers in San Francisco; Seth Cook, a capitalist with a mining background; Joseph Clark, an attorney who became the Vice President of the railroad; George W. Kidd, a Stockton banker who participated as a one share director in numerous incorporations; J. Barr Robertson, a Director of the Newark Land Company and the Director of the Californian Land Investment Co. of London; and Cary Peebles, a farmer and long time advocate of the SCVRR and its predecessors.
The SPC was incorporated to build a railroad between Dumbarton Point and Santa Cruz with branches to Saratoga and New Almaden. As it turned out the Dumbarton Point terminus was probably a ruse to keep the Southern Pacific Railroad in the dark about the SPC's real ambition. In May 1877 the Bay & Coast Railroad was incorporated by A. E. Davis to operate between Alameda Point and Newark; creating on paper a complete railroad between Alameda and Santa Cruz.[13] However, the SPC never made it to Santa Cruz. It reached as far as Big Trees where it connected to the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad, incorporated in November 1874.[14] The SC&F was acquired by A. E. Davis through the auction purchase of stock that had delinquent payment of assessments. He also purchased additional stock from current holders.[15] Many of the original stockholders of the SC&F had become disillusioned with the company because of poor dividends and numerous assessments to pay for the repairs of landslides and washouts incurred during the railroad's first years. The threat of the SPC running a parallel railroad down the eastern side of the San Lorenzo River canyon depressed the stock even further.[16] With A. E. Davis holding the controlling interest in the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad[17] it became a leased line of the SPC. The other leased lines were: Bay & Coast Railroad, Oakland Township Railroad, San Francisco & Colorado River Railroad, Felton & Pescadero Railroad, and the Almaden Branch Railroad.
During construction of the SPC up the Los Gatos Creek Canyon it became clear that the cost to build the railroad through the Santa Cruz mountains was going to significantly exceed the estimates. A. E. Davis needed cash. He obtained the interest of two business acquaintances, James C. Flood and James G. Fair who were both flush with cash from earnings in the Consolidated Virginia Mines. A. E. Davis increased his holdings in the SPC and then sold Flood and Fair equal amounts. Flood and Fair each held a three eights interest in the SPC with Davis holding a one fourth interest.[18] No one man was in control of the SPC. However Davis had the advantage as he held the controlling interest in the SC&F and the B&C.[19][20] The possibility of Fair and Flood combining their shares to take control was remote as they disliked each other.
Construction proceeded and the South Pacific Coast Railroad and its leased lines were opened to service May 15, 1880 between San Francisco, via ferry to Alameda Point, and Santa Cruz[21] A total of ten tunnels were dug between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. Eight were dug by the South Pacific Coast contractors and two by Santa Cruz and Felton Railroad contractors. In 1880, when the SPCRR opened between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, eight tunnels were in use. Of the other two, one collapsed shortly after construction and the other was abandoned after a new lower, straighter, and larger tunnel was dug.
Powered by mostly 3 foot gauge Baldwin locomotives with freight and passenger cars from Carter Bros., Jackson and Sharp, and others, the 80.6 mile railroad served its area well moving people and freight including: forest products; lime; paper; sugar; bricks; oil; beer; gravel; hay; vegetables; bitumen; and explosives. Branch lines were constructed to Centerville, Boulder Creek, New Almaden, and Oakland with a number of short spurs serving various industries.
| Thomas Carter | Apr 1876[22] - Aug 1880[23] | Construction Superintendent[22] and General Contractor[24] |
| Frank W. Bowen | Aug 1880[23] - Sep 1881[25] | Resigned to become Vice-President of the Excelsior Powder Co.[26] |
| Albert. H. Fracker | Sep 1881[25] - Oct 1883[27] | Asked to Resign[28] |
| George Revett | Oct 1883[27] - Jan 1884[29] | Resigned after argument with A. E. Davis[28] |
| Alfred E. Davis | Jan 1884[29] - Mar 1884[30] | Filled in until Luther Fillmore arrived.[31] |
| Luther Fillmore | Mar 1884[30] - Jun 1887 | Continued as the Superintendent of the SPCRwy |
On March 15, 1884 a new Alameda ferry terminal was opened 2.5 miles out into San Francisco Bay shortening the travel time by 15 minutes.[32] This 2.5 mile extension was all that was built of the San Francisco & Colorado River Railroad. The SF&CR was the fourth attempt to extend the SPC out of Oakland and over the East Bay Range to the Central Valley and beyond.
In the fall of 1885 the SPC was attempting to obtain a franchise from the City of Oakland allowing the use of steam power on Telegraph Avenue which would then allow the SF&CR to tunnel the East Bay Hills and continue East.[33] James Fair, having just personally purchased the Oakland Railroad, a horse powered street car line along Telegraph Avenue,[34] was extremely frustrated with the progress of the franchise and decided to take control of the SPC. A two month long negotiation with James Flood resulted in James Fair becoming the controlling stockholder of the SPC in December 1885 [35]. He became President of the railroad relegating Alfred Davis to Vice President and General Manager and modifying the executive staff. George H. Waggoner, A. E. Davis' nephew-in-law, was replaced with both Charles S. Neal, James Fair's stockbroker and secretary, and Varney S. Gaskill, the son of politically powerful Rollin C. Gaskill, an Oakland based Wells Fargo & Company executive.[36] The Board of Directors was changed to: James G. Fair, President; Alfred E. Davis, Vice President and General Manager; Charles S. Neal, Secretary; L. B. Bentley, the General Manager of the James Fair owned Pacific Rolling Mills; Squire V. Mooney, Manager of John A. Roebling Son's Co; James L. Flood, son of James C. Flood; and Seth Cook.[37] However, after over a year of franchise negotiations, steam power was only extended to Fourteenth and Franklin streets in downtown Oakland.
As the frustrations continued James Fair began negotiations with the officials of the Southern Pacific Company for a possible purchase of the South Pacific Coast Railroad and its leased lines.[38] The SP wanted to remove the competition which was by now carrying significant traffic. C. P. Huntington was willing to pay $1,500,000 in SP stock but J. G. Fair wanted $4,000,000 in cash.[39] Had the SF&CR been able to penetrate the East Bay Hills a ready buyer was standing by. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, wanted a railroad and ferry terminal near Oakland.[40] But the SPC could not get the franchise from the city of Oakland to build east.
In November 1886 the newspapers announced that the SPC was sold to the SP for $6,000,000 but the transfer was not complete.[41] An inventory of the SPC assets would need to be completed and the papers drawn up. Prior to the transfer, the South Pacific Coast Railroad and its leased lines were all combined into one corporation, the South Pacific Coast Railway.[17] Then in June 1887, when the transfer was expected to be completed, a dispute arose over the details of the mortgage.[42]
The purchase of the SPC was to be paid for with 50 year bonds at 4% interest per annum secured by a mortgage of all the assets of the railroad. The mortgage would be paid off out of the future earnings of the South Pacific Coast Railway. In other words, Leland Stanford, C. P. Huntington, and Charles Crocker would pay nothing for the stock of the SPCRwy and then lease the railroad to the Southern Pacific Railroad who would pay off the mortgage and interest to the broker, The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company. To make it even sweeter Stanford, Huntington, and Crocker received a total of $500,000 worth of bonds leaving $5,500,000 in bonds for James Fair and the other stockholders of the SPCRwy.[41] The largest original stockholders of the SPCRwy were: James G. Fair (74.7%); Charles S. Neal (16.7%); and Alfred E. Davis (8.2%).[17] James Fair himself would also receive $2,000,000 in cash for his personally owned Oakland Street railroads.[43]
However, C. P. Huntington did not initially agree to language in the mortgage. Huntington's idea was that when the SP obtained the SPCRwy the Alameda Ferry Terminal would be abandoned and all ferry service would be through the SP's Oakland Mole. James Fair and fellow stockholders felt that this would depress the value of the Bonds and make it difficult to sell them at a future date. To prevent this the mortgage included a clause stating that that the SP agreed to maintain all SPCRwy service including ferries at the same level as at the time of execution of the mortgage. If it was not maintained for the full 50 years the principal sum of the bonds would become immediately due and payable.[43]
Finally Huntington capitulated and the South Pacific Coast Railway was transferred to Leland Stanford, C. P. Huntington, and Charles Crocker July 31, 1887.[44] The irony of all this was that James Fair was unable to sell his SPCRwy bonds during his lifetime and instead used them as collateral for various loans.[45] But, narrow gauge enthusiasts have Mr. Fair to thank for the long life of the narrow gauge South Pacific Coast. Had Huntington prevailed the Alameda ferry system would certainly have been abandoned and the remainder of the system either quickly standard gauged or abandoned. Instead there was almost 20 additional years of narrow gauge railroading on the South Pacific Coast Railway.
Portions of the original alignment are still in use today. The Union Pacific operates the sections of track from San Leandro to San Jose and San Jose to Vasona Junction near Campbell. The Santa Cruz, Big Trees & Pacific Railway operates the segment of the line from Felton to Santa Cruz.
Reference Material Available Online
Leased Lines
- Railroads leased to and operated by the South Pacific Coast Railroad.
Rosters
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Locomotive Roster compiled by John F. Hall
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Passenger Car Roster
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Freight Car Roster
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Ferryboat Roster compiled by John F. Hall
- Tunnels of the South Pacific Coast Railroad 1878-1887 compiled by John F. Hall
Trackage
- South Pacific Coast Track Status Timeline by John F. Hall.
- A timeline of track life, including: construction, service dates and gauge changes.
Operations
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Passenger Operations
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Freight Operations
- South Pacific Coast Railroad Freight Ferry Operations
Photographs
- Collected South Pacific Coast Railroad Photographs.
- Images collected from private collections, libraries and historical societies.
Maps
Color Cards
- Color swatches using PMS color representing the paint layers found on the carbody.
Organizations
- Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources.
- Dedicated to the preservation of equipment built by the Carter Brothers and other car builders of the west coast.
Further Reading
MacGregor, Bruce A., South Pacific Coast, Howell-North 1968
MacGregor, Bruce A., Narrow Gauge Portrait South Pacific Coast, Glenwood 1975
MacGregor and Truesdale, A Centennial South Pacific Coast, Pruett 1982
MacGregor, Bruce A., The Birth of California Narrow Gauge, Stanford 2003
MacGregor, Bruce, The Centennial History of Newark, Newark Days 1976
Holmes, Norman W., Prune Country Railroading, Shade Tree 1985
Hamman, Rick, California Central Coast Railways, Pruett 1980
Shaw, Fisher, Highland, Oil Lamps and Iron Ponies, Bay Books 1949
Ford, Robert S., Red Trains in the East Bay, Interurban 1977
McCaleb, Charles S., Surf, Sand & Streetcars, Interurban 1977
Harlan, George H., Ferryboats, Howell-North 1967
Robinson, Lisa, The San Lorenzo Valley Flume, San Lorenzo Valley Museum, 2011
Bruntz, George G., History of Los Gatos, Valley 1971
Whaley, Derek R., Santa Cruz Trains, Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Whaley, 2017
Elliott, W. W., Santa Cruz County California Illustrations with Historical Sketch, Elliott 1879
Thompson & West, Historical Atlas Map of Santa Clara County, 1876
Thompson & West, Historical Atlas Map of Alameda County, 1878
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Proffatt, John; The Law of Private Corporations, 1876, pages 208-210
- ↑ Daily Alta California, May 26, 1887, page 6
- ↑ Daily Alta California, August 2, 1887, page 2
- ↑ Sacramento Daily Union January 20, 1864, page 4
- ↑ Sacramento Daily Union February 18, 1865, page 2
- ↑ Sacramento Daily Record-Union October 7, 1875, page 3
- ↑ Daily Alta California December, 4 1875, page 1
- ↑ Daily Alta California December 23, 1875, page 1
- ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel November 20, 1875, page 3
- ↑ San Jose Daily Mercury February 13, 1876, page 3
- ↑ Letter to J. M. Walker from J. Barr Robertson March 6, 1876 (Bancroft Library)
- ↑ Report of the Board of Commissioners of Transportation to the Legislature of the State of California, December 1877, Appendix No. 1, page 210
- ↑ Sacramento Daily Record-Union May 3, 1877, page 3
- ↑ San Jose Daily Mercury November 11, 1874, page 3
- ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel June 7, 1879, page 3
- ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel March 22, 1879, page 3
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Daily Alta California May 25, 1887, page 2
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle December 22, 1885, page 5
- ↑ Oakland Daily Evening Tribune December 22, 1885, page 3
- ↑ Oakland Daily Evening Tribune August 17, 1877, page 3
- ↑ Daily Alta California May 15, 1880, page 1
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Oakland Daily Evening Tribune April 29, 1876, page 3
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Oakland Daily Evening Tribune August 19, 1880, page 3
- ↑ Oakland Evening Tribune April 29, 1876, page 3
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Santa Cruz Sentinel August 13, 1881, page 3
- ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel September 3, 1881, page3
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Oakland Daily Evening Tribune September 7, 1883, page 3
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 San Francisco Chronicle January 24, 1884, page 3
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 San Francisco Chronicle January 23, 1884, page 2
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Daily Alta California February 28, 1884, page 4
- ↑ Oakland Daily Tribune February 18, 1884, page 2
- ↑ Daily Alta California March 15, 1884, page 1
- ↑ Oakland Daily Evening Tribune November 11, 1885, page 3
- ↑ Daily Alta California August 20, 1885, page 4
- ↑ Daily Alta California December 22, 1885, page 2
- ↑ Oakland Daily Evening Tribune January 2, 1886, page 1
- ↑ Manual of the Railroad of the United States for 1886, by Henry V. Poor, page 332 and 928
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle September 26, 1886, page 5
- ↑ Santa Cruz Daily Surf October 18, 1886, page 3
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle November 9, 1885, page 2
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Daily Alta California November 25, 1886, page 1
- ↑ Alameda Semi-Weekly Argus June 18, 1887, page 2
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 Oakland Daily Evening Tribune July 14, 1887, page 3
- ↑ Daily Alta California July 31, 1887, page 1
- ↑ Los Angeles Herald June 12, 1895, page 2