Coast Line (Union Pacific Railroad)

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Coast Line
standard gauge
Electrification25 kV AC at 60 Hz overhead line (San Jose-San Francisco; Caltrain and California High-Speed Rail; Caltrain beginning in 2024 and CAHSR beginning in 2029-2033)

The Coast Line is a

Washington D.C. and Boston, which in turn hosts two of Amtrak's busiest routes being the Acela and the Northeast Regional
.

History

Predecessors

The

Atlantic & Pacific Railroad. SP had built to Tres Pinos by 1873, however they abandoned efforts to continue the line to Coalinga, instead choosing a route from Lathrop.[2]
[3]

By 1871, SP had completed a line south from San Jose through

Newhall, Saugus, and Santa Paula to Santa Barbara.[3][4]

By 1894, SP had extended the line south over the Cuesta Pass from Templeton to San Luis Obispo.[5] The work continued south to Guadalupe in 1895 and Surf in 1896.[3] The 80-mile (130 km) gap between Surf and Santa Barbara was closed with the last spike driven on December 28, 1900.[6]

Southbound Coast Daylight, at Auzerais Street in San Jose in April 1970

The first version of the Coast Line, via

Southern Pacific Railroad on December 31, 1900.[7][8]

The work between

Rincon sea-level road
for automobile traffic to travel this formerly impassible section of coastline.

Work on the

Bernal Cut to branch status. In 1935 the new line around downtown San Jose opened[e] and thereafter was the main line.[13]

In the golden era of passenger service, SP trains on the San Francisco leg of this route ran from the

16th Street Station
in Oakland.

Looking south at the junction of the Coast Subdivision (left) and Peninsula Corridor (right), Santa Clara (2022)

Current lines

The line has several subdivisions.[14] Ownership is currently split into three segments:

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board purchased the line on the

trackage rights
along those lines which continue to be held by the company's successor, Union Pacific.

Service

Freight

Union Pacific and Helm Leasing Company
engines at South San Francisco, April 2014

Union Pacific freight trains run on the route, although the Fresno Subdivision through the San Joaquin Valley is the preferred north–south California route due to having easier grades and curves.[16] The freight trains are typically local freights, empty bare-table and autorack trains. The line sees varying freight activity across its length. As of 2003, the line between Niles and San Jose saw four freight trains per day, the segment between San Jose and Watsonville saw 13 freight trains per day, between Watsonville and San Luis Obispo saw 7, San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara saw 9, and 16 south of Santa Barbara to Los Angeles.[17]

Passenger

Coast Starlight crossing the Santa Ynez River, July 2019

The Coast Line is used by commuter, regional, and inter-city passenger trains:

The southern part of the Coast Line is the northern portion of the 351-mile-long (565 km) LOSSAN Rail Corridor between

Los Angeles County, the Great Park development will provide for a route through the community of Valencia.[20]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coast Line (UP).
Notes
  1. ^ Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.
  2. ^ 34°11′10″N 118°19′16″W / 34.1861°N 118.321°W / 34.1861; -118.321 Burbank Cutoff
  3. ^ Burbank, 34°14′57″N 119°12′46″W / 34.24917°N 119.2129°W / 34.24917; -119.2129
  4. ^ San Bruno,37°37′52″N 122°24′43″W / 37.631°N 122.412°W / 37.631; -122.412
  5. ^ Between 37°20′29″N 121°54′46″W / 37.3414°N 121.9127°W / 37.3414; -121.9127 to 37°17′05″N 121°50′34″W / 37.2848°N 121.8427°W / 37.2848; -121.8427
  6. ^ Moorpark, about 34°17′06″N 118°53′28″W / 34.28488°N 118.891°W / 34.28488; -118.891
Citations
  1. ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2023 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Daggett, Stuart (1922). Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific. New York: Ronald Press Company. pp. 123–124.
  3. ^ a b c d "Coast Line History" (PDF). The Ferroequinologist. June 1984. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Robertson 1986, p. 240
  5. ^ Middlecamp, David (August 31, 2019). "From stagecoach robberies to railroads, SLO's new train tracks signaled end of an era". The Tribune. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  6. ^ "New Bonds Unite Los Angeles with the Northern Metropolis". Los Angeles Herald. December 29, 1900. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "Chronology of Goleta Depot". Institute For American Research. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013 – via South Coast Railroad Museum.
  8. ^ Ryan, MaryEllen; Breschini, Ph.D., Gary S. "Railroads of the Central Coast—An Overview". Monterey County Historical Society. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  9. ^ "Southern Pacific Company, 20th Annual Report" (December 10, 1904) The Economist
  10. ^ "CHATSWORTH PARK CUTOFF LINE OPENS TODAY". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 173. March 20, 1904. p. 2.
  11. ^ Chase, J. Smeaton (1913). "California Coast Trails: a Horseback Ride from Mexico to Oregon" Chapter VI. Reprinted in The Double Cone Register, the online journal of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance, Volume VIII, No. 1, Fall 2005
  12. ^ Curtiss, Aaron (April 7, 1996). "Tracks to the Past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  13. ^ McGovern 2012, pp. 26, 125
  14. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 6.
  15. ^ Kaufman, Lawrence H (September 30, 1992). "LA transit agency gets option to buy SP's Coast Line route proposed for high-speed use". The Journal of Commerce. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Norbom, Mary Ann (August 30, 2016). "Ride historic railcars along the coast". Santa Ynez Valley News. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Union Pacific Tons per Train (PDF) (Map). Trains. 2003. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  18. ^ "LOSSAN Corridorwide Strategic Implementation Plan, Final Report (April 2012)" (PDF). San Luis Obispo Council of Governments. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  19. ^ Clerici, Kevin (January 9, 2011) "Camarillo meeting to address train projects" Ventura County Star
  20. ^ Lozano, Carlos V. (April 29, 1992) "SANTA CLARITA : Panel Says Rail Line to Cost $45 Million" Los Angeles Times
Bibliography
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