In the late
1800’s the Santa Ana & Newport Railroad was operating only freight
trains between Santa Ana and the bluffs above Newport Beach. Freight was
lowered to the beach by gravity and lifted by a cable attached to a steam
“donkey” engine up the steep grade. In 1891 the SA&N constructed a new
roadbed to the beachfront and built a long wharf to serve the commercial
and passenger steamship lines running between San Diego and San Francisco.
Once rails were laid on the wharf, the citizens and the local press of
Orange County immediately pressed the railroad to run passenger trains to
Newport Beach, especially excursion trains during the hot summer months.
The SA&N
purchased used passenger cars reportedly from the San Diego and Coronado
Beach Railway. For motive power 0-4-0 and 0-4-0T steam engines were
purchased from the defunct Los Angeles Pacific Railroad. The first
passenger revenue run was made in July of 1891 with several passengers
having made the connection with the Santa Fe railroad in Santa Ana for the
trip to the beach. As Newport Beach had no potable water until after the
turn of the century, barrels of water had to be hauled each day to serve
both the passengers and the railroad workers.
Not long
after passenger operations commenced, a depot was built to serve not only
beach goers, but those wishing to connect with the ocean going steamships
as well. In 1899 the SA&N was taken over by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The depot was removed from the wharf in 1923 and converted to a grocery
store.
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Postcard
- Southern Pacific Railroad’s
Newport Beach Wharf Depot
