Vaca Valley Railroad - Timeline

Timeline

• July 27, 1868 California Pacific Railroad completes track from Vallejo - Elmira via Suisun. At Vallejo the Cal-P had a railroad ferry to San Francisco.
• August 10, 1868 California Pacific completes Elmira - Dixon track, and reaches Sacramento in 1869/1870.
• April 12, 1869 Vaca Valley Railroad incorporated in Vacaville to build line from California Pacific at Elmira to Vacaville.
• May 10, 1869 On the same day the last spike was driven at Promontory Point, Utah to complete the Central Pacific Railroad/Union Pacific Railroad, grading commenced on the Vaca Valley Railroad.
• June 7, 1869 Rails laid on Vaca Valley Railroad
• June 16, 1869 The first train of the Vaca Valley Railroad was operated
• June 21, 1869 track between Elmira and Vacaville (5 miles) placed into operation.
• August 26, 1875 track between Vacaville and Winters (Winter's) (10 miles) opened via Allendale.
• June 30, 1876 California Pacific Railroad sold to Central Pacific Railroad. Vaca Valley Railroad owns 19.5 miles of track.
• February 19, 1877 Vaca Valley Railroad continues northwest expansion towards Madison and is renamed the Vaca Valley & Clear Lake Railroad.
• May 1, 1877 track opened between Winters and Madison, a total of 27.4 miles from Elmira.
• May 15, 1888 Vaca Valley & Clear Lake RR merged into the Northern Railway, (a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary. Northern Railway was created on this date as a consolidation of several smaller railroads.
• July 1, 1888 Northern Railway opens 23.65 miles of track between Madison and Rumsey via Capay (Esparto).
• April 14, 1898 Northern Railway consolidated into Southern Pacific Railroad. Line is known as the Rumsey Branch of SP.
• April 15, 1934 SP abandons track between Rumsey and Capay.
• 1937 Track removed between Rumsey and Capay. Line becomes SP's Capay Branch.
• 1943 Track abandoned from Esparto - Capay. Line becomes SP's Esparto Branch.
• 1957 Last passenger train operated between Elmira and Esparto.
• March 7, 1975 Line abandoned between Vacaville - Esparto (ICC Fin Doc AB-12). Line becomes SP's Vacaville Branch.
• 1985 Last freight train operates on Vacaville Branch and Vacaville Branch abandoned between Elmira and Vacaville.