narrow gauge. Ferries were now interchangeable between the two systems
and a new freight slip was added to the north of the passenger terminal.

On November 20, 1902 a fire destroyed the South Pacific Coast's Alameda
Mole. The night was windy, fanning the flames, which quickly destroyed
everything down to the water line. Caught in the fire were 47 passenger
cars, 16 broad gauge commute cars, and 31 narrow gauge cars. As a result,
narrow gauge local service to Alameda and Oakland was suspended
permanently. In the Aftermath of the fire the Oakland Inquirer suggested:

"A very probable outcome of the fire will be the conversion of the
narrow gauge line as far as Los Gatos at least into a broad gauge
system for there is so little of the narrow gauge equipment remaining
that it will be impossible to run more than the most meagre (sic)
service on the through line. The thirty-one cars burned were the best
cars on the line, which numbered less than 60 all told."

Except for local service, the line would not be standard gauged until 1906,
but the car shortage was serious. Included in the burned equipment was
an entire "mainline" train which had just arrived from Santa Cruz,
including one of the railroads two parlor cars which had only arrived the
evening before as part ofan inspection train for Superintendent
Worthington. In aJanuary, 1903 letter SPC trainmaster A. H. Walker talks
about the shortage of first class cars and proposes the conversion of some
of the remaining commute cars to first class cars. It also appears that cars
which had been earlier set aside at Newark were returned to service.

The effects on the railroad and its operations were overwhelming. The
headline in the Oakland Tribune was "Narrow Gauge Mole Is Burned to
the Waters Edge and the Loss to the Company will be $300,000."The
Narrow gauge ferries were diverted to the Oakland Mole and extra trains
were added to the schedule to handle the Alameda traffic. The following
announcement was published in the local paper:

"Until further notice local train service between Alameda and San
Francisco will be handled via the Oakland Pier. Train for Points on the
Narrow Gauge between Oakland and San Jose via Alameda will leave
Fourteenth and Franklin streets".

The Fire

The Aftermath and the
New Mole

Within two days the railroad announced plans to rebuild the facility,
starting by clearing and reopening the newly built freight slip for
passenger service, followed by construction of a new "60,000 iron fire
proof depot." The railroad also stated "the fire will mean still one more
improvement. The company had long intended to change the Alameda
local service from broad gauge and the third track is already laid. When
the regular business is resumed the broad gauge service will be begun."
As a result of the fire the railroad erected what was certainly the most
elaborate ferry terminal on the bay. The substitution of steam powered
standard gauge trains would last less than 10 years, as the SP instituted
still more changes. The first was planned for April 18, 1906. On that date
the SP planned to end narrow gauge service north of San Jose. The last
narrow gauge train had already left Alameda when the San Francisco
earthquake destroyed the line before it could be converted to standard
gauge as planned, leaving only the local service serving the island. The
next change, which took place in 1911, had been planned before the

Samuel Knight Chapter SIA Newsletter

October 7, 1997

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