While local geography and the Southern Pacific Railroad’s fierce defense of its “home turf” weren’t conducive to railroad line proliferation on the Peninsula, a number of small branches and short-haul lines (along with a small handful of longer-haul lines) nevertheless shared it with SP’s mainline and its cut-offs. Northern California’s other two “big names,” Santa Fe and Western Pacific, also maintained industrial trackage within the City proper.
A few notes about this list:
- Coverage of “pure” street railways (i.e. railways characterized by primarily single-car operation along city streets, including cable railways) is limited to a handful which deserve special mention. Multiple other resources exist documenting San Francisco’s vast streetcar and cable car network.
- There is not enough room (or possibly extant data) for an all-time catalog of individual tracks and freight spurs. To be listed here as a distinct line, a stretch of railroad must meet or have at some point met at least one of the following criteria:
- Distinguished in some way from adjacent lines by the operator(s), e.g. appears in timetables as a distinct line or route
- Operated independently from adjacent lines
- (If paralleling/replacing/reviving another route) rests atop a distinct right-of-way or markedly different alignment from the original
- The list of operators may be partially “condensed” in the case of particularly messy company histories, such as the Market Street Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Main Lines and Interurbans
San Francisco – San Jose Railroad
San Francisco – San Jose
(Surviving: Daly City – San Bruno, San Bruno – San Jose)
Also known as: Peninsula Corridor*, Monterey Line, Coast Line, Peninsula Subdivision
(San Bruno – San Francisco after 1907: Ocean View Line, Daly City Branch, San Bruno Branch)
Constructed: 1863-1864
Dates of operation: 1864-present
Operators: San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road (1863-1870), Southern Pacific Railroad (1870-1996), California Department of Transportation (passenger, 1980-1992), Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (passenger, 1992-present), Union Pacific Railroad (freight, 1996-present), Bay Area Rapid Transit District (passenger, 1996-present)
*The modern term “Peninsula Corridor” includes the Bayshore Cutoff (see below) instead of the original segment from San Bruno to San Francisco, which was cut in the Forties and later partially reused by BART.
Bayshore Cutoff
San Bruno – San Francisco
Also known as: Bay Shore Railway, Coast Line, Peninsula Corridor, Peninsula Subdivision
Constructed: 1904-1907
Dates of operation: 1907-present
Operators: Southern Pacific Railroad (1907-1996), California Department of Transportation (1980-1992), Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (passenger, 1992-present), Union Pacific Railroad (freight, 1996-present)
Dumbarton Cutoff
Newark – Redwood Junction, Redwood City
Also known as: Dumbarton Line, Dumbarton Rail Corridor
Constructed: 1907-1910
Dates of operation: 1910-1982 (as through line), 1982-20?? (as spur serving remaining industries)
Operators*: Southern Pacific Railroad (1910-1996), Union Pacific Railroad (1996-20??)
*Required by stipulation of its construction to be open through toll to trains from all railroads. Evidence has not come forth that any other railroad operated its own trains over it, with the possible exception of Western Pacific during World War I. Right-of-way owned by San Mateo County Transit District since 1994; remaining extant tracks are idle except for switching moves at Redwood Junction.
Mayfield Cutoff
Mayfield (Palo Alto) – Vasona
(Surviving: Permanente Junction – Vasona)
Also known as: Permanente Branch
Constructed: 1906-1908
Dates of operation: 1908-1960? (full line), 1960?-present (as branch)
Operators: Southern Pacific Railroad (1908-1996), Peninsular Railway (191?-19??), Union Pacific Railroad (1996-present)
Ocean Shore Railroad
San Francisco – Santa Cruz (planned)
San Francisco – Tunitas (north end as actually completed)
Also known as: Ocean Shore Northern Division
Constructed: 1905-1907
Dates of operation: 1907?-1920
Operators: Ocean Shore Railroad
Bridge Railway
Emeryville – Transbay Terminal, San Francisco
Also known as: N/A
Constructed: 193?-1939
Dates of operation: 1939-1958
Operators: Interurban Electric Railway (1939-1941), Sacramento Northern Railway (1939-1941), Key System (1939-1958)
San Francisco & San Mateo Railway
San Francisco – San Mateo
Also known as: 40 ‘San Mateo’ line
Constructed: 1891-1902
Dates of operation: 1892-1949
Operators: San Francisco & San Mateo Electric Railway (1892-1902), Market Street Railway Company (1902-1944) San Francisco Municipal Railway (1944-1949)
BART Peninsula line*
Oakland – Daly City**
(Via Ocean View Line and Peninsula Corridor**) Daly City – San Francisco International Airport – Millbrae
Also known as: SFO Extension (south of Colma)
Constructed: 19??-2003
Dates of operation: 197?-present
Operators: Bay Area Rapid Transit District
*Not an official name. BART does not appear to have names for its individual stretches of railroad, referring instead to the services that run on them… which created a conundrum when figuring out what to call it here, because no less than four lines currently operate over the route that branches off at Oakland and terminates at Millbrae/SFO.
**While the line begins roughly following the Ocean View Line at Glen Park, its alignment differs significantly between Glen Park and Daly City. From San Bruno southwards, the line is immediately adjacent to the Peninsula Corridor except for the short branch to the airport.
Branches
Lakemer Branch
Daly City – Lake Merced, San Francisco
Temporary extension: Lake Merced, San Francisco – P&O Junction (Golden Gate Park), San Francisco
Also known as:
Constructed: 18??
Dates of operation:
Operators: Southern Pacific Railroad
Ingleside Branch
Daly City – Ingleside Race Track, San Francisco
Also known as:
Constructed: 189?
Dates of operation: 189?-190?
Operators: Southern Pacific Railroad
Baden Branch
Baden – South San Francisco – San Bruno
Also known as: “The passenger main” (unofficially)
Constructed: 1891-1892?
Dates of operation: 1892-1907 (original “loop”), 1907-1942 (loop via Bayshore Cutoff), 1942-1971 (as dead-end branch from South San Francisco), 1971-c.2010 (all remaining trackage)
Operators: Southern Pacific Railroad
Short-haul Freight Lines
State Belt District A
Mission Bay, San Francisco – Presidio, San Francisco
Also known as: Belt Line, Belt Railroad, San Francisco Belt
Constructed: 1890-????
Dates of operation: 1891-1991*
Operators: Board of State Harbor Commissioners (1887-1969), Port of San Francisco (as San Francisco Belt, 1969-1973), Kyle Railways (as San Francisco Belt, 1973-1991*)
*1991 was when the tracks were formally abandoned. All freight customers had vanished by the mid-Eighties and the line sat mostly idle after that.
Illinois Street joint line
China Basin, San Francisco – Bay View, San Francisco
(Surviving: Islais Creek, San Francisco – Bay View, San Francisco)
Also known as: Quint Street Lead
Constructed: 190?-19?? (to Islais Creek), 1915? (across Islais Creek)
Dates of operation: 190?-1984? (north of Islais Creek), 1915?-present (south of Islais Creek)
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (1902?-1984), Southern Pacific Railroad (19??-1996), Union Pacific Railroad (1996-present)
Western Pacific “main line”
Potrero Point, San Francisco – 7th & Brannan terminal, San Francisco
Also known as: N/A
Constructed: 1907-1909?
Dates of operation: 1909?-1986
Operators: Western Pacific Railroad (1909?-1982), Union Pacific Railroad (1982-1986)
Redwood Harbor line
Staumbaugh-Heller, Redwood City – Redwood Harbor, Redwood City
Also known as: Redwood Harbor Lead, Chestnut Street Lead
Constructed: 1914-191?
Dates of operation: 191?-present
Operators: Redwood Harbor Company (191?-19??), Southern Pacific Railroad (19??-1996), Union Pacific Railroad (1996-present)
San Francisco Bay Railroad
Pier 96, San Francisco – Pier 80, San Francisco
Also known as: San Francisco Belt Railroad
Constructed: 19??
Dates of operation: 19??-present
Operators: Kyle Railways/Port of San Francisco (as San Francisco Belt Railroad, 19??-1993), LB Railco/San Francisco Bay Railroad (c.1992-present)
South San Francisco Belt
Oyster Point, South San Francisco
Also known as: South San Francisco Land & Improvement Company Railway
Constructed: c. 1891
Dates of operation: 1891-present
Operators: South San Francisco Land & Improvement Company (1???-1907), Western Meat Company (1907-1940), Southern Pacific Railroad (1940-1996), Union Pacific Railroad (1996-present)
U.S. Navy Drydock Railroad
Bayview, San Francisco – Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco
Also known as: N/A
Constructed: c. 1940
Dates of operation: 1940?-1974?, 1990-2005
Operators: U.S. Navy (1940?-1974?), Golden Gate Railroad Museum (1990-2005)
Short-haul Transit Lines
Market Street Railroad
Ferry Building, San Francisco – 25th & Valencia, Mission District, San Francisco
(Surviving: Market & Steuart, San Francisco – Market & Valencia, San Francisco)
Also known as: 9 ‘Valencia’ line, F ‘Market’ line
Constructed: 1859-1860
Dates of operation: 1860-present
Operators: Market Street Railway Company (1860-1944), San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road (Valencia Street only, 1866-1870), Southern Pacific Railroad (Valencia Street only, 1870-1872), San Francisco Municipal Railway (1944-present)
Potrero & Bay View Railroad
SoMa, San Francisco – Bayview, San Francisco
(Sections rebuilt: China Basin, San Francisco – Bayview, San Francisco)
Also known as: 16 ‘Third-Kearny” line, 29 ‘Kearny-Broadway-Six Mile House’ line, T ‘Third Street’ line (as rebuilt)
Constructed: 1865-1867 (0riginal), 2007 (rebuilt)
Dates of operation: 1867?-1941 (original), 2007-present (rebuilt)
Operators: Potrero & Bay View Railroad (1867?-1895?), Market Street Railway Company (1895?-1941), San Francisco Municipal Railway (2007-present)
Park & Ocean Railroad
Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco – Ocean Beach, San Francisco
Also known as: 7 ‘Haight-Ocean’ line
Constructed: 1883?
Dates of operation: 1883-1948
Operators: Park & Ocean Railroad (1883-1916?), Market Street Railway Company (1916?-1944), San Francisco Municipal Railway (1944-1948)
Cliff House Railroad
Presidio Heights, San Francisco – Sutro Heights, San Francisco
Also known as: Cliff House & Ferries Railroad, Ferries & Cliff House Railroad, 1 ‘California’ line
Constructed: 1885-1888
Dates of operation: 1888-1949*
Operators: Cliff House and Ferries Railway Company (1888-1902), Market Street Railway Company (1902-1944), San Francisco Municipal Railway (1944-1949)
*The famous section along the cliffside from Sea Cliff to Sutro Heights only operated until 1925, when it was destroyed by a landslide and rerouted over city streets instead of being rebuilt.
Captive Operations
Some industries along the Peninsula operated spurs or tracks on their own facilities. The complete list of all of these “captive” railways is unknown, but a few are provided below.
Leslie Salt
Redwood City
Function: Harvesting salt from evaporation ponds
Operated: 19??-2001
Interchanged with: None (isolated tramway)
S. H. Frank & Co.
Redwood City
Function: Intra-facility movements
Operated: 18??-1959?
Interchanged with: None (isolated tramway)
Union Iron Works
Central Basin, San Francisco
Function: Intra-facility movements
Operated: ????
Interchanged with: Southern Pacific
U.S. Army – Fort Mason
Marina, San Francisco
Function: Receiving and sorting railcars
Operated: c.1910-c.1965
Interchanged with: State Belt
U.S. Army – Presidio
Presidio of San Francisco
Function: Receiving and sorting railcars
Operated: ????
Interchanged with: State Belt
U.S. Army – Crissy Air Field
Presidio of San Francisco
Function: Receiving and sorting railcars
Operated: 1919?-19??
Interchanged with: State Belt
Non-Peninsula Railroads
These railroads weren’t on the Peninsula – so why are they mentioned here? We felt that these railroads deserved mention because either the disjunct land they laid on (such as islands) or else the railroads themselves were under Peninsular jurisdiction.
Hetch Hetchy Railroad
Hetch Hetchy Junction – Hetch Hetchy Dam Site (Tuolumne County, CA)
Constructed: 1915-1917
Dates of operation: 1917-1949
Operators: City & County of San Francisco (1917-1935), Sierra Railway of California (1935-1949)
Farallon Midland
Southeast Farallon Island (San Francisco)
Constructed: 1877
Dates of operation: 1877 – present
Operators: U. S. Lighthouse Service (1877-1939), U. S. Coast Guard (1939-1965?), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1969-present)
“Treasure Island Railway”
Treasure Island (San Francisco)
Constructed: 193?
Dates of operation: ????
Operators: A. D. Schader