Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad facts for kids
This station was located at the Santa Rosa terminal rail yard adjacent to North Street between 13th and 14th streets.
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | California |
| Dates of operation | 1888–1935 |
| Successor | Southern Pacific |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 35.7 miles (57.5 km) |
The Santa Rosa and Carquinez Railroad was a railway line built in California. It was finished in 1888. The railroad started in Santa Rosa, California. It then went through the beautiful Valley of the Moon to Sonoma. From there, it continued south through Schellville. Finally, it went east across the northern San Francisco Bay wetlands. This connected it to the main rail lines at Napa Junction, near Vallejo.
This railway was part of the Southern Pacific system. It was first a part of their Northern Railway company. In 1898, it officially became part of Southern Pacific. People often called it the Santa Rosa Branch or Sonoma Valley Branch. The railroad was very important. It helped transport goods directly to markets in the eastern United States. This meant products like wine from Sonoma County wine farms could be shipped easily. Also, large cut stones from quarries in what is now Annadel State Park were a big source of income for the railroad. The main train yard in Santa Rosa was near College Avenue. This was about a mile from the older Santa Rosa Downtown station.
What Happened to the Railroad?
After the Southern Pacific company took over the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, new tracks were built. These tracks connected the Santa Rosa train yard to the Northwestern Pacific lines. This allowed trains to reach the storage buildings along North Street. Over time, cars became more popular than horse-drawn wagons. This meant fewer goods were shipped by train from the Valley of the Moon.
Because of this, the part of the line between Santa Rosa and Sonoma was closed in 1935. Today, Montgomery Drive in Santa Rosa follows the old railroad path. You can still see some old bridge supports where the tracks ran next to California State Route 12. When new freeways were built in Santa Rosa, they cut off the train yard. Now, apartment buildings cover most of the old train yard area. However, some of the old storage buildings are still used as warehouses. The city of Sonoma kept its rail connection to Schellville until the late 1900s. The railroad line east of Schellville is still used today. It connects Sonoma County to the national train network.
