Capital Corridor: Sacramento - Oakland

drgwfan3005 · May 21, 2022

Sacramento, California has been part of railroad history since 1852, when the Sacramento Valley Railroad, the first railroad west of the Mississippi, was built. Since then, the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, Union Pacific, BNSF, Amtrak, and several other smaller railroads have served the city. Sacramento is also home to the Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops and the California State Railroad Museum. And yet, so far we have not seen Sacramento represented in Train Simulator Classic. I am proposing a route from Sacramento to Jack London Square in Oakland, a total of 90 miles, to be added to the game, as it exists presently.

First, the necessary text wall of history. People first started moving to California in 1848 during the California Gold Rush. With Sacramento established in 1850, a railroad was built to the gold-rush foothills at Folsom in 1952. This railroad, the Sacramento Valley Railroad, was the first railroad west of the Mississippi. In the planning stages of the Transcontinental Railroad 10 years later, it was stated that the “proposed railroad must end at a point at or near San Francisco or on the Sacramento River.” Sacramento was chosen, and construction of the railroad finished in 1869. However, railroad executives still wished to push a line to San Francisco, and construction commenced via Altamount Pass and Niles Canyon less than one moth afterward. However, this route was rather round about, and encountered stiff grades on the climb over Altamount. So, in 1879, a straight route was built, crossing the Sacramento River just west of the Shops built by CP, running straight across the valley to Martinez, where it crossed the Carquinez Straight via carry ferry, then followed the shore to a connection with the original near Fremont. The Central Pacific was leased by the Southern Pacific in 1885 and all lines became operated by the SP. In 1911, the I Street Bridge, which carried both the tracks and I Street over the Sacramento River, was replaced with the swing bridge still in place today. In 1930, the ferry crossings were eliminated with the completion of a double-tracked life bridge at Martinez. This structure has never been replaced and is still used today. Southern Pacific ran steam then diesel powered commuters between the Bay Area and Sacramento until the mid 60’s, when falling passenger limits allowed them to reassign the single RDC in service to the Northwestern Pacific. With the advent of Amtrak in 1971, the only trains serving this line were the long distance trains not meant to serve commuters. However, in 1990, Amtrak began operation of the Capitols; tow roundtrips daily between San Jose and Sacramento using F40PHs and Amfleets. 4 years later, California State Legislature proposed the “Capitol Corridor” as part of the planned Amtrak California, a partnership between CDOT (California Department of Transportation) and Amtrak. New F59PHIs and Bi-Level coaches were ordered, and entered service that year. These units held down service until 2017, when the Siemens SC-44 began to replace the units. As of this date, 2022, the F59PHIs are still in service, although likely will be retired within the next few years.

Now that the text wall is done, here’s the actual proposal:

Spanning 90 miles, the route would begin in the city of Sacramento, California’s capital. Sacramento is home to a very large station which would serve as the route’s terminus, as well as have the Bilevel I Street Bridge. The California State Railroad Museum and the Southern Pacific’s Sacramento Shops would also be included.

To reach the next stop at Davis, the tracks must cross the Yolo Causeway. The railroad does this via a combination of bridges and fills, which span for about 3 miles.

At Davis, the station is located in the middle of a wye. This wye is a connection to the California Northen Railroad, and UP keeps a small yard open for interchange east of the station. The tracks also run next to the campus of UC Davis on the west side of town.

After passing through several small communities, the next stop is at Vacaville Junction. Although the tracks don’t quite make it into Vacaville, passengers uses buses to reach the actual city. Also in this area are several industries located just off of the main, and a branch connecting to the old Sacramento Northern line that now belongs to the Western Railroad Museum.

The next town and stop are in Fairfield. A connection to the California Northern and Northwestern Pacific branch off here, and several industries also receive service, the Budweiser Brewery among them.

After running through a marsh and paralleling the Suisun Bay, the tracks cross the Martinez Straight via the Benicia-Martinez lift bridge. This bridge is the second longest railroad bridge in the United States, and has carried thousands of trains since its construction during the Great Depression.

Lying just off the west end of the bridge is the town and stop of Martinez. Here a branch follows the Suisun Bay east, and it is where the San Joaquin service joins that of the Capitol Corridor. In addition, a retired SP 0-6-0 sits in display across from the depot.

The next town is the town of Crockett. Although no passenger trains stop here, it is the location of the C&H Sugar plant, which is served by the railroad. The railroad also crosses under the Carquinez Staight Bridges, which carry I-80 over the Carquinez Straight.

After hugging the coast for several miles, the tracks reach the town of Richmond. This the first station located in the Bay Area. BART also has a station here.

A stop is made at Berkeley to serve students attending UC Berkeley.

The next stop is Emeryville. This is where the California Zephyr terminates, and as such one can find equipment here at all times. This would also be a good place to end the route if mileage was to be removed.

Located to the west of the tracks is a giant intermodal yard serving the Oakland Port. Several trains are made and broken up here daily.

The final stop is in Oakland’s Jack London Square. To reach the station, the tracks temporarily run through Embarcadero West Street.

For included locomotives, I would suggest the

Siemens SC-44 "Charger"

These locomotives were first put into service in 2017, and will eventually force the F59PHIs into retirement or reassignment.

EMD F59PHI

Although these are no longer the mainstay of the fleet, they are all still in service and can be found on any train.

M-K "California Car" Coach/Cab Car

This car enables trains to change direction without requiring a complete turn.

GE ES44AC

Since the line is part of Union Pacific's main transcontinental route, freight trains are often seen on the line. The ES44AC is currently the mainstay of Union Pacific's freight fleet, and would be the best choice of a locomotive for this route.

EMD GP60

To handle the route's many industries and local services, the GP60 is the perfect locomotive, as these machines dominate Northern California in the real world.

For included rolling stock, I would suggest:

M-K "California Cars" (Coach, Coach/Baggage, Cafe)
Autorack
Boxcar
Tanker
Grain Hopper
Coal Hopper
Coil Car
Container Car
TOFC Car
Centerbeam
Gondola

In my opinion the best era to set this route would be pre-pandemic, probably 2019, as the schedule has become more limited and services have been cut.

And that's the route proposal. I'll be back soon with another.

-DRGWFan3005