Private company

Western Pacific Railroad

First railroad between Sacramento and Alameda/Oakland, California

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 first 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.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1862Founded1

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Historic American Buildings Survey Southern Pacific Railroad Coll. Photographs of 1869 Oakland Point Pier - Before Construction of Long Wharf - Southern Pacific Mole and Pier, HABS CAL,1-OAK,1-1
Photo: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca0018.photos.010830p, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

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 first 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.2

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded by Central Pacific Railroad1

Timeline

  1. 1870Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1862Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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