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better service. Much of
the advantage was lost in 1882 when the Southern
Pacific opened its new Oakland Pier. Thus the stage was
set for the next
move by Jim Fair.
The SPC began construction of
a new terminal (its second in Alameda) in
February 1883. The newpier would
extend 2.5 miles into the bay, solving
several problems suffered at the old site. First, the new
terminal cut the
ferry trip by 15 to 20 minutes, making the SPC more
competitive with rival
Southern Pacific. Secondly, the new location gained access
to deep water,
solving silting problems which led to expensive dredging.
(Although not
stated in contemporary sources, it is likely that the
construction of the
Oakland Harbor training walls may have contributed to the
silting
problem.)To
build the new terminal the owners of the South Pacific Coast
formed a new corporation, the San Francisco and Colorado
River Railroad.
Officially the new railroad was to build a new line "from a
point in the
town of Alameda ... to a point at or near which the thirty
fifth parallel of
north latitude intersects the Colorado River,"[ ] but in
reality the new
railroad would only build the new wharf. At this distance
it is unclear
whether "Slippery" Jim Fair ever planned to built the
eastern connection,
or if the proposed new railroad was a only a threat
designed to distract
and harasses the Southern Pacific. Newspapers of the time
seemed
confused as well, reporting details of possible routes
including "crossing
the San Joaquin Valley, intersecting the great mining belt
of the Sierras,
and on the Utah Basin, with a connection with the Denver
Narrow gauge
road," rumors of a connection with the Atlantic &
Pacific Railroad building
east through Arizona, and at the same time making
statements such as
"Mr. Revett (of the Railroad) would not express any opinion
as to the
likelihood of a transcontinental line growing out of the
present line."
While the threat to the Southern Pacific and name of the
new corporation
may have been a ruse, the result was anything but insignificant. The
resulting facility consisted of a double rock wall filled
with mud and
rubble stretching out over two miles into the bay, upon
which was built
two tracks, a wagon road and a walkway. At its end was a
800' long, 280'
wide pile trestle on which was located a small railroad
yard and a massive
building, 310 feet long and 100 feet wide with two wings,
each 30 x 510
feet. The building featured electric lighting. Eight
railroad tracks ran
through to the ferry slip. Built in Eastlake Style, it was
reported as being
"much handsomer in an architectural sense than that of the
Central
Pacific." Water depth varied from 10' at the end of the
filled causeway, to
24' at the end of the trestle. Freight service continued
to be handled at the
old facility close in at Alameda Point.
In the summer of 1886, Fair
and his partners suffered a series of
investment problems unrelated to the SPC. At the time
things were not
going well in the Comstock. The most easily sold of his
many properties
was the South Pacific Coast Railroad. It is also possible
that Fair had
become bored at pulling the Southern Pacific's chain.
Negotiations reached
their climax in the fall of 1886 when, onboard a special
narrow gauge train,
a lease agreement was signed. As a result, on April 1,
1887, the South
Pacific Coast became a part of the Southern Pacific.
Unlike other narrow
gauge properties taken over by the SP, there were few
changes made in the
South Pacific Coast's operation. Things continued much as
they had under
Fair's ownership. Eventually some changes did take place.
Standard
gauge tracks were extended out to the Alameda Mole to
supplement the
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