California Railroading and Railfanning Through "The Golden State"

California railroading is, in a nutshell, entirely in a class of its own. While the state was late in being accessed by the nation’s ever growing rail grid (it’s first railroad did not appear until the 1850s although much of this is due to the then territory’s obscurity, until the Gold Rush of the 1840s changed everything) compared to states like New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania all of whom had over 300 miles of trackage by 1840. Of course, it did not take long for California to catch up! After the Gold Rush and completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, California’s rail network exploded to over 2,000 miles by 1880 and today remains one of the top railroading states in the country with key main lines crisscrossing the state carrying both passengers, daily commuters, and plenty of freight.

California railroading has its official beginnings in 1856 when the Sacramento Valley Railroad completed its 22-mile line connecting Sacramento with Folsom, California. However, it was the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 between the Central Pacific (which would become part of the Southern Pacific) and Union Pacific that actually kicked off the state’s explosion of railroads and more importantly, its economy, as people began flocking to California in droves.

By 1880, eleven years after the completion of the transcontinental line California railroading held a staggering 2,185 route miles! Today, the state holds over 6,000 miles of trackage with much of it concentrated around the state’s ten largest cities (the rest of which mostly fans outward north, south, east, and west in the way of key main lines). For a more in-depth look at Arkansas's rail mileage over the years please refer to the table below.

By the early 20th century California was booming and so were its railroads. In all the state would find itself home to some of the most legendary and celebrated Class I railroads of all time. These include names like Union Pacific (still operating), Western Pacific, Santa Fe, Great Northern, and Southern Pacific. Of all these classic systems, the Southern Pacific stands far above the rest as it completely dominated California. The “Espee” is as synonymous with the Golden State as the Pennsylvania Railroad is with the State of Pennsylvania.

The Espee served every large market in the state and likewise moved about every type of freight imaginable heading east. Some of this included things like perishables from the San Joaquin Valley, a once massive operation that provided significant profits for the SP but today is little more than abandoned spur lines and buildings dotting the valley where the railroad used to load and ice its cargo (the service died upon SP’s poor service in the late 1970s which today, while making a small comeback, still almost exclusively relies on trucks to move fresh goods such as lettuce, carrots, and cabbage).

Other traffic included merchandise, intermodal, and automotive parts. While the former two are still bustling, automotive parts are another traffic source that has mostly dried up particularly in the once industrialized booming and bustling San Francisco bay area. At one time Southern Pacific dispatched several trains a day in and out of the city. However, by the 1970s this traffic began to disappear as plants in the area closed. Today, San Francisco is completely devoid of almost all freight rail service and all that remains is commuter and light rail operations.

Even the Southern Pacific itself is gone. A once extremely dominate and profitable large western railroad, the Espee began to lose its way in the 1970s and by the 1980s was a mere shell of its former self. The Denver & Rio Grande Western eventually purchased it in 1988, which assumed the Southern Pacific name. In 1996 both of these venerable railroads disappeared into the Union Pacific fold.

Although the SP disappeared in the 1990s it left behind and is famous for several California railroading landmarks. These include its two famous main lines, the Overland Route connecting northern California with Ogden, Utah and its Sunset Route, connecting most of southern California with much of the Southwest and Deep South. From point to point the Sunset Route connects New Orleans with Los Angeles! In all the Southern Pacific would grow to a system of over 15,000 miles in length, almost twice the size of the Union Pacific prior to the merger movement. The SP is also noted for its Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada Range and Tehachapi Loop near Tehachapi, California.

For all of its prestige in relation to California the Southern Pacific, of course, was not the only well-known railroad operating in the state. The Western Pacific was another famed railroad to be found within California’s borders. The smallest of California’s classic large systems, its Feather River Canyon main line between Reno and Sacramento (in all it connected the Bay Area with Salt Lake City, Utah) is arguably the state’s most beautiful route and it is still operated today by Union Pacific as an important main line.

Prior to the merger movement the Union Pacific did not have much presence in California although its main line connecting Salt Lake City and Los Angeles did provide the railroad with important sources of traffic and continues to do so even today.

Last, but certainly not least, was the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. It was the Southern Pacific’s main competition in California and the Southwest as the two railroads competed for much of the same traffic. The legendary Santa Fe system was massive stretching from Chicago to western Louisiana, as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles, although its Californian routes were never quite as strategic as the Espee’s. The Santa Fe’s most well known California railroading landmark is Cajon Pass in the San Bernardino mountain range in the southern part of the state. The ATSF is also celebrated for its many mission-style depots and stations it built in the Southwest, including California. Today, Santa Fe’s lines in the Golden State are operated by its successor the BNSF Railway.

California railroading, however, also includes much more than just the large Class I systems, as dozens of smaller systems dot the state. Some of these include the Amador Foothills Railroad, California Northern Railroad, Carrizo Gorge Railway, Central California Traction, McCloud Railway, Modesto & Empire Traction, Modoc Northern Railroad, Oakland Terminal Railway, Pacific Harbor Line, Quincy Railroad, Richmond Pacific Railroad, San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad, San Joaquin Valley Railroad, Sierra Railroad, Stockton Terminal & Eastern Railroad, Trona Railway, Ventura County Railroad, and the Yolo Shortline.

Freight railroading aside, if you are a vacationer looking for places to visit or just a railfan who loves trains, California railroading includes several museums and tourist lines. Some of the state’s most recognized museums and tourist railroads include the California State Railroad Museum (an enormously popular museum well known throughout the country, not just in California) located in the former Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops, California Western Railroad (The Skunk Train), Napa Valley Wine Train, Niles Canyon Railway, Pacific Southwest Railroad Museum, Western Pacific Railroad Museum, Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, and the Western Railway Museum just to name a few.

Other non-freight railroading includes California’s ever-growing commuter, transit, and light rail systems. The state is a leader in commuter rail and one reason behind this is its attempt to find ways to reduce its large amounts of carbon monoxide emissions, mostly from highway traffic. The state’s commuter rail system includes the CalTrain (the Bay Area), Metrolink (Southern California), and Altamont Commuter Express (serving the Central valley and the Silicon valley). Of course, the state is also home to plenty of local services like Amtrak’s Surfliner and Capitol Corridor operations part of the passenger carrier’s and state’s Amtrak California services as well as San Francisco’s famous trolley system.

In all there is so much California railroading to experience and see that my advice is to simply find what interests you the most and start there first! Whether it is the famous engineering marvels like Tehachapi and Cajon or railroad museums like CSRM and the famous Napa Valley Wine Train, there really is something for everyone in California. Most importantly, whatever you might decide to do first, if and when you visit the Golden State, just remember to have fun!