The Sacramento Northern was a subsidiary of Western Pacific, and the SN was originally electrified and converted to diesel in the 1960s. The SN disappeared when the WP was merged into the UP in 1982.
The lines were originally constructed in the early 1900s as part of predecessor lines. The Sacramento Northern came into existence around 1929; the major components were the Oakland Antioch & Eastern and the Northern Electric. When the Bay Bridge opened between San Francisco and Oakland, SN trains used the tracks on the lower deck. The tracks on the bridge have been gone for decades, but the subject of rebuilding a transit line there is raised from time to time. Meanwhile, most of the mainline and branches have been abandoned, some segments are still in use or were rebuilt for new uses:
1. Yolo Shortline runs the line from Woodland through West Sacramento south to Tasco.
2. Sacramento's Light Rail line was rebuilt over the right-of-way of the Swanston branch northeast of downtown Sacramento.
3. The Western Railway Museum runs vintage equipment on the Rio Vista Jct. to Montezuma segment.
4. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) rebuilt a section through the hills east of Oakland, between Walnut Creek and North Concord.
