San Francisco and Oakland Railroad
| Locale | Northern California |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1862–1870 |
| Successor | Central Pacific Railroad |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The San Francisco and Oakland Railroad (SF&O) was built in 1862 to provide ferry-train service from a San Francisco ferry terminal connecting with railroad service through Oakland. It subsequently was absorbed into the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). The track in Oakland was electrified in 1911 and extended across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 1939. Service was abandoned in 1941.
The San Francisco and Oakland Railroad (and Ferry Co.) was formed under the leadership of Rodman Gibbons and other Oakland people in order to provide transportation to Oakland by means of a ferry from San Francisco to a pier at Oakland Point where passengers could take a train into Oakland. Service began in 1862 along 7th St. to a station in downtown Oakland at Broadway.
Traffic increased steadily so an extension of the line was planned. In 1864 the track was extended across a bridge over Indian Creek Slough, the outlet to Lake Merritt, then along private right-of-way adjacent to San Antonio Creek (Oakland Estuary) to the Commerce St. Wharf (foot of 14th Ave) in San Antonio.
The cost of the extension and of building a new larger ferry boat caused Gibbons and his associates to lose control of the company. In 1865 control of the SF&O passed to A. A. Cohen, president of the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad (SF&A). The Central Pacific Railroad (CP) decided to make Oakland the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad and therefore purchased the SF&O in 1868. In 1869 they also purchased the SF&A, and in 1870 they merged the two local railroads together and then into the Central Pacific.
The Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870) had surveyed a line from San Jose via Niles Canyon and Altamont Pass to Sacramento, but ran out of money after laying track from San Jose to Niles. A CP subsidiary then purchased the line and completed it, adding a line from Niles toward Oakland. In 1869 this line was first connected to the SF&A and then to the SF&O. On the morning of November 8, 1869, the first transcontinental train to use the expanded ferry terminal at Oakland Point traversed the SF&O and the Western Pacific Railroad to get to Sacramento and continue east on the Central Pacific Railroad. The city of Oakland held a large celebration later in the day to greet the first westbound transcontinental train.
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