Sunol Train Depot - Sunol, CA
Posted by: 
saopaulo1
N 37° 35.648 W 121° 53.327
10S E 598098 N 4161364
Historic train depot still used for recreational train rides.
Waymark Code: WM5GTZ
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2009
Views: 15
"The history of trains in Niles Canyon dates back to the building of the original transcontinental railroad. The first Western Pacific Railroad Company (formed in 1862) started construction in San Jose towards Sacramento. It built twenty miles of track that reached into Alameda Creek canyon in 1866. Its first passenger excursion entered the canyon on October 2 of that year. Construction was halted shortly thereafter, however, because of disagreements between the railroad’s contractors and its financiers.
Steam locomotives pulled trains through Niles Canyon for eighty years before diesels took over in the 1950’s. In 1984, after twelve decades of railroading in the canyon, the Southern Pacific ceased operating trains on the right-of-way, pulled up the tracks, and deeded the land to Alameda County.
The Pacific Locomotive Association entered into an agreement with the County and began rebuilding the rail line in 1987. Association volunteers worked for over a year on the first part of the track reconstruction between Sunol and Brightside. On May 21, 1988, almost 122 years after the first Western Pacific excursion, the Pacific Locomotive Association brought railroad passenger operations back to life in Niles Canyon.
Presently, the Pacific Locomotive Association’s Niles Canyon Railway provides historic train ride experiences to the public year round from the 1880’s depot in Sunol and from Niles Station in Fremont, California." (
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