Vasona to Olympia, Felton to Dougherty's Mill - SP

The South Coast Pacific Railroad built a line in the late 1870s from Oakland through San Jose to Santa Cruz on the Pacific, with a branch from Felton to Dougherty's Mill.  The sections immediately recognizable/locatable today are from Mt. Hermon to Santa Cruz, downtown San Jose to Los Gatos, San Jose to Newark, and from Newark to Oakland.  The section between San Jose and Newark is part of the present day Capitol Corridor route.  The ROW section between San Jose and Los Gatos is being used for a VTA light rail line, currently to Campbell.  The section between Mt. Hermon and Santa Cruz is used today by the Roaring Camp rail road - a tourist line.  The tunnels shown between Alma and Clems still exist and are locatable on older topo maps.  SP abandoned the line between Los Gatos and Mt. Hermon around the 1940 timeframe, after a large storm caused major damage. The Los Gatos to Vasona segment lasted until the 1950s.

A better perspective of the line's history is found at: http://www.bcsj.org/rr/spc/history.htm .

Additional information for this line can be found at:  http://www.bcsj.org/rr/

A map of the South Coast Pacific Railroad as of the 1880s.  The line is now abandoned from Vasona, just NE of Los Gatos, to Olympia, just NE of Felton.  The branch to the N of Felton has been abandoned entirely.  The line became part of SP when it was standard gauged.

Thanks to Richard Vantine for the information and map on this page. See also photos (below narrative) contributed by Jack Witthaus and Mike Palmer.

<< This parking lot is built on the former SP right of way through downtown Los Gatos. Photo from March 2004 courtesy Mike Palmer.

^^ Bridge piers at Los Gatos Creek, now used for a pipeline. This is 1/2 mile downstream from Lexington Reservoir Dam.

<< Glenwood Tunnel Portal.  Glenwood Road at Eagle Drive.

Both photos from April 2004 courtesy Jack Witthaus.