Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway

By John Schmale and Kristina Schmale

With a schedule regulated by the tides and the needs of chickens, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway operated for 81 years as a delightfully quirky egg-hauling enterprise. Modern electric railroad technology paired with ancient low-tech steamboats made possible the overnight shipping of fresh produce to a voracious San Francisco market. The railroad helped Petaluma earn the moniker the egg basket of the world. Incorporated in 1903, the railroad provided efficient train service to this fertile farm region. The famous botanist Luther Burbank located his experimental farm near Sebastopol and proclaimed it is nature s chosen spot of all the earth. The railroad survived the devastating 1906 earthquake, opposition from three larger railroads, the Great Depression, and fierce auto-truck competition. The corporation was, mercifully, abandoned in 1984, and most of the rails were removed by 1988. Happily, recent plans call for a tourist trolley to operate over a portion of surviving Petaluma tracks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Feb 16, 2009
• ISBN: 9781439636527

John Schmale

As a boy, John Schmale accompanied his father on many train-watching trips around San Francisco. Later John worked for Sierra Railway, authored several train articles, and has collected thousands of railroad images. Kristina Schmale, a banking professional, acquired her passion for railroads while riding famous name-trains as a child.

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INTRODUCTION

Alfred D. Bowen and his partner, Charles C. Towne, in spring of 1903 hatched a plan to build an electric railroad connecting Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol. Its course was charted to pass through the finest agricultural land in California. After purposely leaking their plans to Sonoma County newsmen, Bowen and Towne pitched their idea to local business owners.

What was to be gained from building another railroad? Plenty, as Bowen explained. His was to be an electric-powered railway running frequent trains using the latest equipment, and it would open up some of California’s most productive but now quiescent farmlands. The line would wind through the low hills north of Petaluma, which were already dotted with egg ranches and dairy farms, and along the Gold Ridge orchard country that horticulturist Luther Burbank made famous. From Sebastopol, the tracks were to run east to Santa Rosa and interchange with the California Northwestern Railroad. At Petaluma, the trains would meet the railroad-owned riverboats, and fragile produce would be floated gently down the Petaluma Creek to the San Francisco marketplace within hours rather than days. Extensions were slated to run to Healdsburg, Point San Pedro, and Bodega. As the plan was revealed, it started to make more sense. Local denizens of business listened intently. Soon a few began subscribing stock. The plan lifted off the ground.

Petaluma’s own successful financier George McNear was one of the first to subscribe and was elected president. Sugar millionaire Rudolph Spreckels, W. F. Kelley, and George Bachhelder subscribed to large blocks of stock and acted as voting trustees. W. F. Kelley was voted vice president. The secretary was Thomas Archer. Alfred D. Bowen was named general manager and Burke Corbet treasurer. Frank Brush, W. A. Cattell, F. A. Cutting, and W. H. Talbot were directors.

The Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway (P&SR) was chartered on June 20, 1903, and capitalized at $1 million.

In December 1903, the P&SR purchased the river steamer Gold, which already ran a well-established route between Petaluma and San Francisco.

Construction started at Petaluma. Grading progressed ahead of track laying, so as a publicity stunt, the company, on April 5, 1904, held an official driving of the first spike event at the steamer wharf in Petaluma. Before a large crowd, Alfred Bowen was given the honor of driving the first spike, followed by several other minor officials of the line.

On April 20, P&SR obtained permission to install a switch at the Petaluma yard tracks of the California Northwestern Railroad (CNW). However, on May 25, the CNW track crew, without warning, ripped out the new Petaluma switch, stranding the P&SR shipments of rails, equipment, and a construction locomotive with no way to get the material over to its own tracks.

This was the first overt act of open warfare declared by CNW president A. W. Foster upon the upstart electric railroad. Foster vowed to fight all attempts of the electric line to cross his railroad.

After a court ruling, the switch was reinstalled, and the P&SR rushed construction north from Petaluma. The rails reached Sebastopol on July 27, 1904. By October 13, the electric line was running revenue freight trains up to the edge of the CNW main line in Santa Rosa but was denied permission to install a crossing.

To gain access to their depot site, and the proposed Fourth Street line, it was imperative that the P&SR cross CNW tracks at Sebastopol Avenue. Foster obtained an injunction forbidding P&SR Railway to cross the CNW main line.

By Thanksgiving Day 1904, scheduled trains were running from Petaluma and Sebastopol and to the end of the tracks at Sebastopol Avenue at the Santa Rosa city limits. From there, patrons walked across the CNW tracks to a free shuttle service provided by the Santa Rosa merchants. A horse-drawn wagon took them to the commercial center of town.

Another obstacle to overcome in Santa Rosa was the matter of crossing the spur track on Railroad Avenue and Second Street leading to the Grace Brothers Brewery. Ownership was claimed by the CNW (through an injunction).

During the afternoon of January 3, 1905, a surprise attack was made upon the CNW-controlled Grace Brothers spur by workers of the P&SR. Workmen tried to install a crossing by sawing through the rails of the steam railroad’s track at Second Street but were deterred from their mission because the steam railroad reacted by backing a string of cars over the track.

Later that day, the action shifted to the focal point of the crossing wars, Sebastopol Avenue. This is the point at which the P&SR had to cross the tracks of the CNW. The Holman-built car Woodworths was brought up to the end of the P&SR tracks, where a large force of workers hurriedly laid rails over the steam railroad tracks in an effort to get the interurban car on the other side. CNW steam engines easily shoved the rails from their easement and blocked the entire Sebastopol Avenue street crossing.

Superintendents from both railroads were at the scene. Soon city officials and police showed up, and a large crowd had gathered. Telephone messages were sent between railroad officials, and the P&SR men asked permission to move the car across the tracks. Finally, a reply from Foster allowed the electric line to move the car by planks and not rails. If the car crossed by rail, it may have constituted a legal crossing. The car reached the east side of the CNW tracks at 12:15 a.m. amid cheers and tooting whistles. The first electric car in Santa Rosa was put on the rails and operated for the first time on January 7, 1905. The handsome interurban car ran only a few blocks, but at least the electric railroad was in Santa Rosa.

The court denied the CNW injunction on January 31, 1905, so Arthur Foster lost the Grace Brothers spur battle. Later that day, contractor C. A. Warren and 200