Oakland Railroad Company facts for kids
A streetcar on Telegraph Avenue
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Oakland, California |
| Dates of operation | 1869–1901 |
| Successor | Key System |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 5.5 miles (8.9 km) |
The Oakland Railroad Company was a very important company in Oakland, California. It ran the first horsecar railroad in the city. A horsecar is like a small train car pulled by horses on tracks. The company started in 1864. Its main goal was to help students get to private schools on Academy Hill, which is now known as Pill Hill.
Contents
Early Days of the Railroad
Service began in 1869. The tracks were made of flat iron strips, called strap iron rails. These rails were placed on wooden beams, called stringers, which were held together by wooden cross ties.
First Routes and Expansion
The first line ran along Broadway, from First Street to Telegraph Road. Then it continued along Telegraph Avenue to the city limit at 36th Street. In 1870, the line was made longer, reaching Temescal Creek. By 1873, it stretched all the way to the University of California, Berkeley campus. This made the total length of the line about 5.5 miles (8.9 km).
Horses and Cars
By 1874, the company had 51 horses. They pulled 13 small cars, each needing one horse for regular trips. There were also 6 larger cars that used two horses when more passengers were expected. The main building for the cars and horses was on 51st Street. This large building was later turned into a supermarket.
Daily Life on the Line
A trip from Oakland to Temescal and back was planned to take one hour. Horses would do three such trips in a day. This meant the horses worked hard! The drivers worked even longer. They had 14-hour days, seven days a week. In 1875, a special car called a steam dummy started to be used. It was like a small steam engine that looked like a regular car, and it replaced horses on one of the larger cars.
Changes and End of Service
In 1885, a rich silver miner named James Graham Fair bought the railroad. He owned mines like the Comstock Lode. Fair changed some parts of the tracks to a narrower size, called a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge. This matched the tracks of his other railroad, the South Pacific Coast Railroad.
New Owners and Electrification
Fair then sold the line in 1887 to the Pacific Improvement Company. This company was a part of the Southern Pacific. Fair had wanted to use steam locomotives instead of horses, but people in Oakland didn't like that idea. Around 1892, the Pacific Improvement Company updated the line. They made it an electric line, meaning the cars were powered by electricity.
Merger and Removal of Tracks
In 1901, the electric line joined with the Oakland Transit Company. This company later became part of the Key System, a big public transportation system in the Bay Area. The tracks on Telegraph Avenue were finally removed in 1954.
A Car's Second Life
One of the original horse cars had a very interesting second life. Until 1948, its body was used as a playhouse for children in a family on Delaware Street in Berkeley. Later, it was given to the California State Railroad Museum. This means a piece of Oakland's early transportation history is still preserved today!
