This 1931 photograph captures the six-story, 78-foot-high Nicolaus Building on the northwest corner of Eighth and K Streets. The building’s most high profile tenant was the Western Pacific Railroad’s passenger department, which moved into the...
The Central Pacific Railroad’s “Governor Stanford” chugs by in this 1863 photograph. The 4-4-0 locomotive was built a year earlier by the Norris Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then brought to San Francisco by sailing...
Shown in circa 2000 is the Virginia and Truckee Railroad's locomotive number 13, also known as "Empire" and 15 as 13 was considered an unlucky number. Built in 1873 and retired in 1922, the Empire was repurposed as a switcher for spell, but has...
Making its way to Promontory Point, Utah, in May 1869, is the Central Pacific Railroad’s locomotive “Jupiter,” known also as number 60. Once there, the legendary driving of the golden spike would consummate the nation’s first...
The waterfronts of both Sacramento and West Sacramento bracket this photograph, taken on September 4, 1937. On the right side of the scene are two beached riverboats while the Superior Boat Livery and Paulson's Marina rest just below. On the left...
This circa 1937 post card reveals the waterfronts of both Sacramento and West Sacramento, as seen from the I Street Bridge. On the right side of the scene are two beached riverboats while the Superior Boat Livery and Paulson's Marina rest just...
Resting in the California State Railroad Museum at 111 I Street is the Central Pacific Railroad's "Governor Stanford" locomotive, also known as number one. The pictured exhibit simulates the locomotive's role in aiding the construction of the...
Shown in circa 1900 is the Southern Pacific Railroad's ferryboat "Solano." Built in 1880, the 424-foot-long vessel was considered to be the largest train ferry in the world. Its charge was to ford Carquinez Strait, between Benicia and Port...
This photograph of the Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge, as taken from the west bank of the Sacramento River, was shot in 1894. Built in 1892/93, it was the second Southern Pacific span, and third overall, to be built at this very spot. It was...
Pictured in 1874, and viewed from the south, is the Central Pacific Railroad’s Sacramento roundhouse, located at the Central Pacific Shops. The structure was built and put into service in 1868 by Central Pacific. The 29-stall building was,...
As captured in this 1863 photograph, several rail workers stand in front of, and beside, the Central Pacific Railroad’s first depot and ticket office at Front and I Streets. It was designed in 1863 by Collis P. Huntington, and built in one...
Pictured in 1915, the Southern Pacific Railroad's engine X1461 is pulling out of the Sacramento station. This westbound train pulls extra passenger cars past automobiles and horse-drawn carriages, all parked near the baggage office, at the right...
This March 19, 1937, photograph captures the debut of a new passenger train: Engine 4412 or the "Daylight." Dwarfed at its side is the Collis P. Huntington, built in 1863 as the Central Pacific Railroad's Engine Number Three.
This 1866 photograph shows a busy main drag in the city of Cisco, California. Several Calistoga-style wagons crowd the frame of the photograph, making their way through a temporary city of saloons, hotels and livery stables. In the background are...
This circa 1900 photograph shows Geary S. Gilmore and his wife, Edith, standing in front of their Victorian-style home at 2318 O Street. A native of Pennsylvania, Gilmore was employed as a general foreman at the Southern Pacific Railroad’s...
Pictured near the Southern Pacific Railroad's passenger station is the C.P. Huntington. It was placed at the pictured location in 1939. In 1964, Southern Pacific donated the Huntington to the State of California and, by 1980, it was undergoing...
Shown in circa 1890 is the Southern Pacific Railroad's depot, located on G Street, between Second and Third streets. One of the largest depots in the American West, the Gothic-style structure was built in 1879 along the margin of China Slough and...
This circa 1910 color postcard shows the Sacramento Boat Club, floating at the banks of the Sacramento River and the Yolo County hamlet of Broderick. The image was captured from the Southern Pacific Railroad's drawbridge, positioned just to the...
