Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870)
| W.P.R.R. | |
The Big Cut, above the third [Farwell] Bridge, Alameda [Niles] Canyon, c1867. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | San Jose to Sacramento; Niles to Alameda/Oakland |
| Dates of operation | 1864–1870 |
| Successor | Central Pacific Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 123 miles San Jose to Sacramento; 26.5 miles Niles to Oakland |
The Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was formed in 1862 to build a railroad from Sacramento, California, to the San Francisco Bay, the westernmost portion of the First transcontinental railroad. After the completion of the railroad from Sacramento to Alameda Terminal on September 6, 1869, and then the Oakland Pier on November 8, 1869, which was the Pacific coast terminus of the transcontinental railroad, the Western Pacific Railroad was absorbed in 1870 into the Central Pacific Railroad.