[This page is a long-term work in progress. Much research remains to be done in order to catalog the exhaustive list of railroad companies and transit agencies that did business on the Peninsula.]
The number of railroad companies and/or transit agencies in the City and on the Peninsula was (and is) different from the number of railroad lines, not only because some organizations operated multiple lines, but also because some lines were operated by multiple organizations. Some railroad companies owned or operated no lines on the Peninsula but nonetheless maintained a presence there. Others proposed lines that never came to be.
This list is intended to cover the full gamut of railroad companies and agencies that have done business on the San Francisco Peninsula in some form or another. “Doing business on the Peninsula” is herein considered to be one or more of the following within said area:
- Possessing a railroad right-of-way
- Managing or having formal ownership over the operation of a train service
- Having offices, ticketing stations, or other facilities
- (If satisfying one of the above in the greater Bay Area) Operating connecting ferry, barge, or bus service to the San Francisco Peninsula
Note that this does not necessarily include operators under contract, such as Kyle Railways (operated the San Francisco Belt under contract from 1973-1993) and Veolia (operated Caltrain under contract from 2011?-????). Private industry-owned operations that are “captive” to a single property are also excluded. Certain other steps have been taken to condense the list into something more manageable, such as consolidating companies which were direct linear successors.
| Name | Established | Local Predecessor(s) | Successor(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway | 1859 | San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railway Company | Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway | Barged cars from Richmond beginning in 1900. Initially ran cars from the foot of Spear Street to a freight terminal at Spear & Harrison, later operated a slip and yard in China Basin. |
| Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) | — | N/A | ||
| Board of State Harbor Commissioners (Belt Line Railroad, State Belt Railroad of California) | 18?? | — | Port of San Francisco | |
| California Dept. of Transportation (CalTrans) Amtrak California | Southern Pacific Transportation Company | Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board | Managed CalTrain 1980-1992?. | |
| California Street Cable Railroad Company | 187? | — | San Francisco Municipal Railway | |
| California Street Railway | ||||
| Central Pacific Railroad | 1861 | — | Southern Pacific Company | May or may not have had formal ownership of SPCo. freight ferry service/infrastructure in San Francisco. Also operated passenger ferries. |
| Central Railroad Company | 1863? | |||
| City Railroad Company | ||||
| Clay Street Hill Railroad Company | Cliff House and Ferries Railway Company | |||
| Cliff House and Ferries Railway Company | 18?? | — | Market Street Railway | Owned and operated the Powell Street Railway and the Cliff House steam railroad. |
| Folsom Street Railroad | 1861? | — | North Beach & Mission Railroad Company | |
| Freight Railroad | 1861? | — | North Beach & Mission Railroad Company | |
| Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railroad Company | 1878 | — | San Francisco Municipal Railway | |
| Interurban Electric Railway | 193? | See notes | — | Spun off by SP to operate its East Bay electric lines. Operated over Bay Bridge until 1941. |
| Market Street Railroad Market Street Cable Railway Company Market Street Railway Company | 1857 | — | United Railroads of San Francisco (1902), San Francisco Municipal Railway (1944) | |
| National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak) | 1971? | Southern Pacific Transportation Company | N/A | Generally ticketing offices only, but technically operated Caltrain under contract 1992?-2011?. |
| North Beach & Mission Railroad | 1862 | Folsom Street Railroad, Freight Railroad | ? | |
| North Pacific Coast Railroad | 1871 | North Shore Railroad | Barged cars from Sausalito to San Francisco. | |
| North Shore Railroad | 1902 | North Pacific Coast Railroad | Northwestern Pacific Railroad | |
| Northwestern Pacific Railroad | 1906? | San Francisco & North Pacific Railroad, North Shore Railroad | Southern Pacific Transportation Company | Joint AT&SF-SP ownership until 1929, fully-owned SP subsidiary afterwards. |
| Ocean Shore Electric Railway Ocean Shore Railroad Company | 1905? | Western Pacific Railroad (industrial trackage only) | ||
| Omnibus Railroad Omnibus Railroad & Cable Company | 1861 | Market Street Railway | ||
| Park & Ocean Railroad | 18?? | United Railroads of San Francisco | Subsidiary(?) of the Market Street Cable Railway Company. | |
| Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain) | 1992? | CalTrans | Owns the Peninsula Corridor and manages Caltrain. | |
| Peninsular Railroad Company | 19?? | — | SP-affiliated South Bay interurban. Operated into Palo Alto via Mayfield Cutoff. Extension into San Mateo County planned but never realized. | |
| Port of San Francisco (San Francisco Belt Railroad) | 1969? | Board of State Harbor Commissioners | (See notes) | Kyle operated under contract. Might still own SFBR trackage and/or locomotives. |
| Potrero and Bay View Railroad Company | 1867? | — | Market Street Railway Company | |
| Presidio & Ferries Railway Company | — | San Francisco Municipal Railway | ||
| Redwood Harbor Company | 191? | — | See notes | Appears to have operated trains at or around Redwood Harbor for some time, owning (or leasing?) at least one locomotive as of 1920. Not much else is known; presumably was replaced by Southern Pacific and/or the Port of Redwood City. |
| Sacramento Northern Railroad | 1928? | San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad | — | Operated over the Bay Bridge 1939-1941. |
| San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) | 1912 | Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railroad Company, Presidio & Ferries Railway Company | N/A | |
| San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Railway San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Consolidated Railway San Francisco-Oakland Terminal Railway Key System Transit Company | 1903? | — | AC Transit | Ferry only until 1939, over Bay Bridge 1939-1958. |
| LB Railco, Inc. San Francisco Bay Railroad Company | c. 2000 | Port of San Francisco [see notes] | See notes | Affiliated with Waste Solutions Group, now a part of Republic Services. Port may still own the ex-Belt locomotives and track. |
| San Francisco & North Pacific Railroad | 18?? | N/A | Northwestern Pacific Railroad | Barged cars from Tiburon. |
| San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Railway Company | 1895 | — | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway | Was already under Santa Fe control when it reached San Francisco. Uncertain if it was still an operating subsidiary by then. |
| San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road Company | 1860 | — | Southern Pacific Railroad | |
| San Francisco & San Mateo Electric Railway | — | United Railroads of San Francisco | ||
| Southern Pacific Company Southern Pacific Transportation Company | 1885 | Southern Pacific Railroad, Central Pacific Railroad | Union Pacific Railroad | Original companies retained as non-operating subsidiaries until 1950s. |
| Southern Pacific Railroad | 1865 | San Francisco & San Jose Rail Road Company | Southern Pacific Company | |
| South Pacific Coast Railroad | 1876 | [?] | Southern Pacific Company | Barged cars from Alameda to waterfront near Ferry Bldg., operated a small team yard with horses. San Francisco operations later subsumed by the State Belt. |
| Sutter Street Railroad | 187? | United Railroads of San Francisco | ||
| Union Pacific Railroad | 18?? | Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Western Pacific Railroad | N/A | Ticket offices in SF and joint trains operated with SP to Oakland Mole, but otherwise absent from Northern California until acquiring WP in 1982. |
| United Railroads of San Francisco | 1902 | Market Street Railway Company, San Francisco & San Mateo Electric Railway, Park & Ocean Railroad | Market Street Railway Company (see notes) | M.S.Ry. existed within the U.R.R. corporate tree and absorbed U.R.R. from within after bankruptcy in 1921. |
| Western Pacific Railroad | 1903? | N/A | Union Pacific Railroad | Barged cars from Alameda to 25th St; ran trains from there to 7th & Brannan. |
Paper Railroads
These railroad companies were incorporated for the sole purpose of financing extensions or branches to other railroads. They neither owned nor operated any track or equipment, and were typically absorbed into their parent companies as soon as all bonds had been paid.
| Name | Parent Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bay Shore Railway | Southern Pacific Company | For construction of the Bayshore Cutoff. |
| Central California Railway | Southern Pacific Company | For construction of the Dumbarton Cutoff. |
| Coast Line Railway | Southern Pacific Company | Nominally intended to construct from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, but actual track constructed was restricted to Santa Cruz County. |
| Santa Fe Terminal Company(?) | Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway | Incorporated to establish terminal facilities in San Francisco for its parent. Had a single locomotive during its short existence but was a paper railroad in all other respects. |
Dud Companies
These railroad companies were “on paper only” in a different sense: the railroads that they intended to build and/or operate either never materialized, or only did so after the company had been absorbed by another (or went belly-up).
| Name | Established/Proposed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bay and Coast Railway Company | 1899 | Not to be confused with the earlier East Bay company of the same name. Planned a line from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, but never got enough funds to do so. Eventually usurped in this task (over the owner’s protest) by the Ocean Shore Railway Company. |
| Narrow-Gauge Railroad Company | See [https://www.santacruztrains.com/2017/06/railroads-early-coast-railroad-companies.html]. | |
| Pacific & Atlantic Railroad Company | 1851 | Quite possibly the earliest proposal for a railroad on the Peninsula. Failed to raise enough funds. Similar route later used by SF&SJRR and the Bayshore Cutoff. |
| San Francisco & San Jose Railroad Company (original) | 1859 | Slammed in the press as an “attempted fraud” after asking for $900,000 in stock purchases. Dissolved in June 1860. Second, successful company of this name was incorporated in August of that year. |