History of the Railroad
From Palo Alto Wiki
This article details the history of the railroad in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[edit] The beginning
For people to the north and south of San Francisquito Creek, May 1861 was a landmark--groundbreaking for the railroad. On Oct. 18, 1863 the first train traveled from San Francisco to Mayfield along the San Francisco and San Jose Railway. The line was bought by the Southern Pacific in 1868 after being built by the Central Pacific Railroad.
The Menlo Park train station, as it stands today, is one of the earliest railroad stations built in California, making it a state historical landmark. It is the oldest operating station. It opened for business in August 1867.
[edit] The effects
The railroad affected everyone. It provided wealthy San Francisco barons faster transportation to their country homes--a round-trip ticket from Menlo Park to San Francisco cost $2.50 and a one-way ride took 80 minutes, compared to the stagecoach, which took four hours from Redwood City to San Francisco.
The railroad also gave the area's farmers a rapid way of sending their produce to the markets in San Francisco and, most importantly, spawned industry and growth that otherwise would probably have gone elsewhere.
