Locomotives of the Ferries & Cliff House Railway

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California / Transit / Ferries & Cliff House Railway / Locomotive Roster


Compiled by John F. Hall

The ordering and construction of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway locomotives was confusing and the Baldwin Records Indices have errors that have lead to speculation of additional locomotives. On August 20, 1887 the Baldwin Specification Books[1] recorded two orders for the Park & Cliff House Railway. This is the branch to Golden Gate Park. The first order is for locomotives 3 thru 6 in Volume 14, page 70 of the specifications. The second order is for locomotives 1 and 2 in Volume 14, page 71 of the specifications. These six locomotives were built in this order with locomotives 1 and 2 arriving two months after locomotives 3 thru 6. Then on August 3, 1888 locomotives 7 and 8 for the Ferries and Cliff House Railway were ordered in Volume 14, page 241 of the specifications. The confusion is also increased by errors that show up in Indies of the Baldwin Records. The Specifications Index includes a Park & Cliff House Railway entry in volume 14, page 72. The is not a F&CH locomotive. It is a specification for a Pioneering Mining & Manufacturing locomotive. A second error is in the Construction Number Index[2] where construction numbers 9065 and 9073 are incorrectly labeled as locomotives 8 and 9 instead of their correct numbers 1 and 2. This confusion was probably because of locomotives 1-2 were built after 3-6 with the indexer assuming they followed Nos. 3 thru 6 and the incorrectly labeled PM&M locomotive. Further confusion occurred again in the Construction Number Index[3] with locomotives 7 and 8. The notes indicate 0-4-2 locomotives with 48" drivers instead of the correct notation of 2-4-2 with 45" drivers as stated on the specification sheet.


Locomotives of the Ferries & Cliff House Railway
No. Whyte Builder C/N[4] Order Date[1] Build Date[4] Class[1] Cyl.[1] Drv.[1] Wt.[1] Notes[5]
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1 2-4-2T Baldwin 9065 Aug 1887 Feb 1888 8-20¼C 13x18 45" 28 tons To San Jose & Alum Rock Co. No. 3; To San Jose & Santa Clara Electric Co.; To Diamond & Caldor Rwy. No. 1 1903.
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2 2-4-2T Baldwin 9073 Aug 1887 Feb 1888 8-20¼C 13x18 45" 28 tons To Glynn & Peterson Lumber Co. 1903, Del Mar Landing, Ca.; To L. E. White Lumber, Point Arena, CA
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3 2-4-2T Baldwin 8955 Aug 1887 Dec 1887 8-14¼C 10x16 41" 18 tons To Marsh Lumber Co., Loyalton, Ca.
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4 2-4-2T Baldwin 8961 Aug 1887 Dec 1887 8-14¼C 10x16 41" 18 tons To Butler Ballast Co. No. 4; To Friend & Terry Lumber Co. No. 4; To Red River Lumber Co No. 4 Bella Vista, Ca.
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5 2-4-2T Baldwin 8973 Aug 1887 Dec 1887 8-14¼C 10x16 41" 18 tons To Government of Hawaii No. 5, 1903; To Oahu Railway & Land Co. No. 5, retired 1923
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6 2-4-2T Baldwin 8974 Aug 1887 Dec 1887 8-14¼C 10x16 41" 18 tons To Hawaiian Dredging Co. No. 5, 1899
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7 2-4-2T Baldwin 9756 Aug 1888 Jan 1889 8-22¼C 14x18 45" 35 tons To Friend & Terry Lumber Co. No. 7; To Red River Lumber Co. No.7, near Bella Vista, Ca
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8 2-4-2T Baldwin 9763 Aug 1888 Jan 1889 8-22¼C 14x18 45" 35 tons To Armstrong, Morrison Co. 1906; To Clayburn Brick & Tile Co.; To Dolly Varden Mines Co. Alice Arm, British Columbia


  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Baldwin Locomotive Works Engine Specifications, 1869-1938, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
  2. Baldwin Locomotive Works Construction Numbers Index for nos. 5000 to 9999, page 142 DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
  3. Baldwin Locomotive Works Construction Numbers Index for nos. 5000 to 9999, page 166 DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
  4. 4.0 4.1 Baldwin Locomotive Works Construction Numbers Index, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
  5. Rice, Walter, and Echeverría Emiliano. When Steam Ran on the Streets of San Francisco: The Story of Passenger Steam Trains on San Francisco Streets. Forty Fort PA: Harold E. Cox, 2002, page 51.