A little over 20 years ago I had the opportunity to spent one Sunday each month volunteering as a docent on the Niles Canyon Railway. The following is the historical presentation that I wrote and delivered as we traveled through the canyon. Sit back, get comfortable and I hope that you enjoy this 2001 virtual trip from Sunol to Niles aboard the 75 year old Niles Canyon Railway mikeM 200 motor car. Please note that this document is 12 pages long!
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On behalf of the Pacific Locomotive Association, we would like to welcome you aboard the Niles Canyon Railway. We have about 10 minutes before we will be departing the Sunol depot. Before we begin our journey through historic Niles Canyon to Niles, here are a few important safety announcements:
There are no restrooms on this railcar and our trip takes just over an hour. There are port-o-potties located at the west end of the depot parking lot. You have time to make a stop, just let our brakeman know that you are leaving the train and we promise not to leave without you!
There is no smoking at anytime. Food and beverages are OK, just be sure to take your trash with you when you leave the train.
Please let us know if you want to open a window. You are riding on antique equipment and the windows are very heavy and tricky to operate.
For your safety, no running please, and please keep your arms and hands inside the railcar.
Please stay alert and use the handrails when ever possible. Our car may jerk when we start out, changes speed, and stop.
In the unlikely event of an EMERGENCY, please listen for
instructions from uniformed train personnel.
Today you will be experiencing a trip on the Niles Canyon Railway, an operating railroad museum owned and operated by the members and volunteers of the Pacific Locomotive Association, and supported by you, our riders. We are pleased that you on board today and invite you to enjoy a glimpse of what it was like in the early days of railroading in Northern California. We are going to be telling you a little about the history of this area and of the railroad as we travel down to Niles.
You are riding in Rail Motor Car M-200, built in 1926 for the Longview, Portland and Northern Railway. It was acquired by the Trona Railway that operated in the Mojave Desert, and then by the California Western Railway between Willits and Fort Bragg in Northern California. Passengers and neighbors thought the exhaust fumes smelled like a skunk…hence the name “Skunk car”. The PLA started using this car for revenue service in 1988.
Sunol
The area that we are just leaving was inhabited by Ohlone Native Americans in the centuries preceding the awarding of a Spanish land grant in the mid-1860’s. By the turn of the century, Sunol was a booming resort town with four hotels, restaurants, saloons and two train stations. The Sunol depot where you purchased your tickets was built in the 1880’s and was in use by the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1941. This is the last remaining SP combination depot. The Pacific Locomotive Association moved the depot to it’s present location as is in the process of restoring it to it’s original condition.
Niles Canyon
Today we are going to be traveling through historic Niles Canyon along the banks of Alameda Creek. The original Western Pacific Railroad Company started construction of a railroad in San Jose in that was planned to reach all the way to Sacramento. By 1866 they had completed just 20 miles of track and had entered what was then called Alameda Creek Canyon. About this time the Central Pacific Railroad was pushing towards Promontory Point in Utah to Link up with the Union Pacific to complete the Transcontinental Railroad with Sacramento as the Western Terminus. The Central Pacific Railroad executives recognized that it would be inconvenient and not acceptable that travel to Oakland/San Francisco and the Pacific ocean would need to be completed by steam ship down the Sacramento River. In order to have a true East/West rail link the Central Pacific Railroad purchased The Western Pacific Railroad and completed laying tracks through Niles Canyon 4 months after the golden spike had been driven in Utah. Technically, the transcontinental railroad was completed here in Niles Canyon in 1869. Eventually the Central Pacific became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Over the years, Southern Pacific concentrated it’s resources on a more direct main line through Benicia, across the Benicia iron railroad bridge into Martinez.
In 1984, more than 115 years after the rail line was completed, the Southern Pacific Railroad ended operations through the canyon, pulled up all the tracks, and turned the right-away over to Alameda County. About this same time, the PLA learned that it’s agreement with the Castro Point Railway & Terminal Company would not be extended and entered into an agreement with the county in 1987 to rebuild the line as a tourist railroad. Volunteers began re-laying the track reaching Brightside on May 21st, 1988. The Niles Canyon Railroad now reaches all they way to the Niles District in Fremont, and we are laying rails eastward toward Pleasanton. As we travel through the canyon today we will parallel highway 84 and Alameda Creek. Watch for the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad that use this route for freight operations as well as the for the ACE commuter trains. If you look carefully you may be able to see one of the two tunnels that it uses as it passes through the canyon. Watch for the old cement aqueduct that was used by the Spring Water Company to bring water through the canyon from Calaveras Dam for the City of San Francisco. Also watch for the remnants of the transcontinental telegraph line that parallels our route. The “square” poles date from 1869 and were built simultaneously with the transcontinental railroad to send messages back and forth between the railhead and the supply points along the line.
Brightside
We are now entering the area known as Brightside. This was the location of a whistle stop on the Southern Pacific line and was named Brightside because of it’s location on the “sunny” side of the canyon.. In the early 1900’s Brightside was a popular picnic spot for those eager to escape the big cities of San Francisco and Oakland on weekends and during the summer. This area had a baseball diamond, picnic tables, horseshoe pits and swimming in Alameda Creek. A dance hall and hunting lodge still remain high up on the hill and out of sight.
The organization that became the Pacific Locomotive Association was formed in 1961 by 6 Bay Area railroad enthusiasts. They originally focused on conducting fan trips on area shortline and industrial railroads. From 1961 to 1967 the organization acquired 4 locomotives and various pieces of rolling stock and in 1967 made arrangements with the Castro Point Railway & Terminal Company, just north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, to operate and store their growing collection. Today, Brightside is the location of the Pacific Locomotive Association’s storage and maintenance facility and this is now where the rolling stock of the Niles Canyon Railway is maintained, repaired, and restored. The large metal building in the center of the yards is our locomotive shop. The Niles Canyon Railway currently has no direct connections to outside railroads and every piece of equipment we operate has been trucked to this location!
The PLA owns 10 steam locomotives. 3 of them are here on the Niles Railway and the others are stored in Fremont and at the Oakland Army base, and 10 internal combustion engine locomotives as well as dozens of pieces of historical passenger and freight cars.
We will be exiting the main line briefly to allow the train from Niles to pass.
Our collection is constantly changing, but while we wait take a look for some of these historic pieces:
Southern Pacific #1269, a 0-6-0, built in the Southern Pacific Shops in Sacramento in 1921, is awaiting restoration.
Robert Dollar #3, A 2-6-2 65 ton steam locomotive built in 1927 awaiting rebuilding to meet new standards
Quincy Railroad #2, An Alco 55 ton steam locomotive that we operate on the first and third Sunday of each month. The Quincy has recently completed rebuilding in our locomotive shops by our volunteer members.
There are several internal combustion locomotives in the yard including our Santa Catalina #103 built by Plymouth in 1929 and Santa Fe 462 built by General Electric in 1943
We have a number of passenger and freight cars in the yard including:
Southern Pacific Business Car #121 “Western”. The dark olive green Southern Pacific car is a special “business” car built by the Pullman Company in 1903 and is one of the more historically important pieces of rolling stock in our collection. In addition to being nearly 100 years old, it was used to carry executives and dignitaries around the country. Three US presidents have ridden in this car and after President Harding died in San Francisco in 1923, his body was carried back to Washington DC aboard this car.
Directly in front of the Business Car is a large light blue car. This is our 82ft. Southern Pacific heavyweight dining car 10040 built by the Pullman Company in 1926. It’s currently being restored to it’s former splendor and we hope to begin using it for special catered meal events in the near future.
Niles Canyon Picnic Grounds
The railroad has brought many people to Niles Canyon through the years seeking escape from the pressures of daily life, to relax at several picnic and campgrounds and to frolic in Alameda Creek as it meanders nearly 40 miles from it’s watershed to San Francisco Bay. As many as 5000 people a day came here and de-trained at railroad stops throughout the canyon and visited long vanished sites like Sims Place, Brightside, Stonybrook, Joyland, Idlewild, and The Spot. For just $12 a month, a family of 4 (and servants) could purchase a monthly pass for unlimited travel between San Francisco and Sunol.
Movie Making
Scenic Niles Canyon has been the location of many films through out the years. Scenes from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm were shot at the Little Brown Church in Sunol, The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company shot dozens of westerns in the canyon and film crews have been here in recent years to capture the unique scenery.
The Spot
Across the creek from here was the location of a tent city during the building of the railroad and was later a popular picnic area called “The Spot”. This area is now the location of a siding where we store some equipment including one of the first locomotives to be built by the Southern Pacific locomotive shops in Sacramento. Because of it’s historical value, it’s being traded to the California State Railroad museum where it will be restored and displayed.
Farwell Bridge
We are about to pass over Alameda Creek on the Farwell bridge. The original bridge built in 1866 was a 488 ft. long wooden truss bridge that was later enclosed in 1870. The “new” bridge that we are crossing today is a steel bridge that was built in 1896…106 years ago! (look for the “builders plate” as we cross).
Joywell Park
Another popular park and picnic grounds was Joywell park located here since the 1870’s. John Phillip Sousa’s band once played here. This area is now owned by The East Bay Regional Park District who have plans to ultimately rebuild the park.
Mission Clay Works
Look on the left side of the train, away from the creek, for the remnants of the Mission Clay Works. A factory was built here in 1905 and it’s brick beehive kilns were used to produce bricks that we used to help rebuild San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake and fire. In 1920 they began making clay pipe and the facility was closed the facility in 1992. Scenes from the movie “Bicentennial Man”, staring Robin Williams, were shot here several years ago.
Dresser Bridge
A 380 ft. wooden Howe Truss bridge was built here in 1886 and was damaged by the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. It was replaced by this steel bridge built by Andrew Carnegie’s American Bridge Company.
Joaquin Murrietta’s Rancho
On the left side of the train beyond Alameda Creek, look for four palm tree’s. According to local lore, these mark the location of Joaquin Murrieta’s Niles Canyon adobe. Joaquin was a famous bandito during the gold rush days. Most of Joaquin’s criminal activity took place in the sierra foothills and he was reported shot by Marshall’s in the San Joaquin Valley, however the story goes that he lived here in the canyon for 20 years after his reported death.
Spring Valley Water Company
Water from Alameda Creek was diverted to San Francisco as early as 1886. A dam in this general location was constructed by the Spring Valley Water Company and water was transported by 2-16” pipes under the Southern end of San Francisco Bay to Crystal Springs Reservoir on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Vallejo Mills
Jose de Vallejo, brother of General Vallejo, was given a land grant of nearly 18,000 acres reaching north from Mission San Jose (about 3 miles south of here) that included this location at the mouth of the canyon. He built a water powered flour mill in 1841. It was one of the few mills in this region for several decades and attracted customers from miles around. Through the years spare rooms, a café, and bar were built and later a hotel and store. Vallejo Mill’s was once the center of activity but today only the stone foundation remains. You may be able to see the stone foundation just before we pass over the Mission Blvd. bridge to the left of the train, enclosed by a chain link fence.
Mission Blvd. Bridge
We are now passing over Mission Blvd., a main North/South thoroughfare in Fremont and entering the Niles District. CalTrans is in the process of widening Mission Blvd. and will be replacing all of the railroad bridges so in a few months our access to Niles will be halted for several years while a new Niles Canyon Railway bridge is built.
Niles District
The Central Pacific Railroad constructed a freight terminal at Vallejo Mills at the west end of Alameda Creek Canyon in the early 1870’s. Local residents, in their enthusiasm over the completion of the railroad petitioned the state to change the name of the village to “Niles” in honor of an attorney for the Central Pacific Railroad, Addison C. Niles. In 1877, the railroad began selling lots for commercial development opposite the Depot along what is now know as Niles Blvd. The depot was moved to Mission Blvd. as part of a small railroad park and houses a museum and model railroad club. It’s open year-round on the first and third Sunday’s of each month.
Essanay
In 1912 a production company of 42 artists and helpers from the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company from Chicago scouted suitable sites in Northern California looking for a location with a moderate climate and varied scenery to shoot westerns. They choose the sleepy village of Niles and immediately went to work. At first, the single reel features were shot in front of a backdrop at Mortimer’s barn on Second Street. Processing of nitrate film was done in a Essanay baggage car parking on a siding across the street from town. Film prints were shipped all over the country to waiting audiences in theatres and nickelodeons. The western stock company cranked out a western every week with Max Anderson in the starring role of Broncho Billy. In 1913 a permanent studio was constructed at the west end of town. The completed facility included stages lit by glass skylights, projection rooms, administrative offices, back lot, and residences for key employees. Charlie Chaplin, with the promise of production control and a salary of $1250 a week left Southern California’s Keystone Company and signed with Essanay. He made 14 films for Essanay including 5 shot here at the Niles studio and up Niles Canyon. The most memorable of these was “The Tramp” co-staring Edna Perviance. For a brief time, Niles was the center of film making in California. Without prior notice in 1916, the Essanay home office in Chicago ordered the Niles studio closed. The vacant studio building remained until the 1930’s when it was torn down. All that remains are several of the cottages on Second Street, a few dozen of the 130 Broncho Billy films that were made here, and an annual Essanay Film Festival held here in Niles.
Another early business located in Niles was the California Nursery Company that started here in 1884 because of the rich soil and the proximity to Alameda Creek. Primary products were ornamental and commercial fruit trees that were sold through mail order to over 100,000 customers worldwide. The California Nursery Company provided much of the landscaping for the 1915 Pan Pacific Exposition in San Francisco (Now the Palace of Fine Arts)
End of the Line
We will be returning to Sunol in a few minutes. Unfortunately we cannot depart the train at this time. The Union Pacific tracks parallel to us are active rails for freight and Amtrak service and there are no passenger crossings. The Pacific Locomotive Association and the Niles Business Development Staff are working to complete plans which will allow our passengers to de-train and visit Niles in the future. There are also plans to move the original depot back to it’s original location and develop a railroad park that would include a Niles Canyon Railway museum and roundhouse.
On behalf of the Pacific Locomotive Association and the Niles Canyon Railway, we want to thank you for riding with us today and we hope that you enjoyed you trip. Please come back and see us again. We are currently operating the first 3 Sundays of each month including steam train service on the first and third Sundays. We also have special events during the year including our very popular “Polar Express” trains that run at night on several weeks during the holiday season when our train is decorated with thousands of lights. You can also rent our caboose for private parties or even charter the train for business, club or family events.
You may want to stop by the Caboose (Depot) Gift Shop before leaving today and pick up a reminder of today’s visit, and Pick up a brochure at the depot if you want to learn more about the Niles Canyon Railway or look us up on the internet at www.ncry.org
Thanks for coming and please use caution when leaving the train.
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