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Before the construction of the
bridges which dominate today's landscape,
San Francisco Bay transportation was dominated by the ferry
boat. These
boats ran from the wharfs of San Francisco to a variety of
landings, piers,
wharfs and moles serving the East Bay. Most of these
terminals, or moles,
were associated with railroads, allowing passengers to
continue their
journey inland. One of the most famous and significant
railroads was the
narrow gauge South Pacific Coast, running from Alameda to
Santa Cruz,
with branches to Oakland, Centerville (Fremont), Almaden,
and Boulder
Creek. Built by Comstock millionaire and Nevada State
Senator Jim Fair,
this line was among the most successful of those which
challenged the
monopoly of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The South
Pacific Coast had
four San Francisco Bay ferry terminals in its short
history, the first one at
Dumbarton Point in the south bay, and the other three at
Alameda Point.
The South Pacific Coast was
the second railroad to come to Alameda and
have its ferry terminal there. In August 1864, service had
commenced on
the San Francisco & Alameda Railroad, running from the
Alameda Pier
located at the southwest corner of the island to Hayward's.
This line was
purchased by the Central Pacific in 1867. Direct ferry
service ended in
September 1873 in a consolidation with other East Bay
lines, leaving the
residents of Alameda without easy access to San Francisco
for the next four
years.
There have been three railroad
wharves at Alameda Point, at the northeast
tip of Alameda, all associated with the South Pacific Coast
Railroad. The
first wharf was built by the railroad when it arrived in
Alameda in 1877.
Service between San Francisco, via the ferry Newark, and to
Los Gatos, via
narrow gauge train, was inaugurated on June first of that
year. Once again
Alameda enjoyed the convenience of a direct ferry
connection. Initially the
boats docked at the railroad's freight dock, on San Antonio
Creek, located
near the present Todd shipyard, until the passenger pier
could be
completed the following month. This wharf was much shorter
than its
successors. (It is believed that the site of this facility
is now covered by the
runways of the Alameda Naval Air Station.) This "close in"
location had
significant disadvantages. Ferries were always slower than
land
transportation, so longer piers equaled faster schedules.
The time issue
would not have been significant for the South Pacific
Coast's longer
distance trains, but by 1880 the railroad had developed
significant local
commuter business. The addition of the railroad's Oakland
Branch,
whereby the South Pacific Coast now served downtown Oakland
via the
Webster street bridge to a station at 14th & Franklin,
only served to
exacerbate the problem. When the Oakland branch first
opened for service
in 1881, the narrow gauge schedule to San Francisco was
faster than the
Southern Pacific's by eight minutes. Not only had the
South Pacific Coast
invaded the Southern Pacific's home turf, but they were
also providing
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