Time Capsules No. 7 - Trains and Ferries in Sausalito
The ferry and train terminals in 1903, with a square-rigger in the background.
Photo from Sausalito Historical Society
Sausalito’s heyday as a transportation hub began in 1858 when The Sausalito Land & Ferry Company established regular ferry service with the steamer Princess connecting to San Francisco.
According to Jack Tracy’s book Moments in Time, The Princess was launched September 14, 1858, destined for a career on the Sacramento River. She was purchased by the Sausalito Land & Ferry Company just days before her inaugural voyage as a ferryboat in May 1868 and made two trips a day from the Princess Street landing to Meigg's Wharf in San Francisco.
The North Pacific Coast Railroad brought train service to Sausalito in 1871. When the railroad took over ferry operations in 1875, the Princess was sold and a series of ferries were put in service including the Eureka, Santa Rosa, and Sausalito, providing elegant service with dining rooms and live music.
As Wood Lockhart writes in the Images of America book Sausalito, “[The NPCR also] moved the Sausalito terminal from Princess Street to a newly constructed railroad and ferry wharf in the center of Sausalito's downtown — in what today is the parking lot adjacent to the Plaza Viña del Mar. At the time, the plaza area was an open arm of the bay between the wharf and the shore. As the wharf was extended, this small body of water turned into a stagnant backwash and became infamously known as "the pond."
In 1902, the mayor of Sausalito persuaded the company to fill in the unsightly "pond" and create a landscaped park in its place. Originally called Depot Park, Plaza Viña del Mar has evolved into one of Sausalito's most beloved landmarks.
Ferry service continued until the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 made them obsolete.
In 1902 the NPCR was sold and renamed North Shore Railroad. The new owners added a standard gauge electric railway commuter service from Sausalito to Mill Valley, San Anselmo, and San Rafael. It was the first railroad in the country to convert to electricity.
By 1907, the transportation company was known as The Northwestern Pacific Railroad and expanded operations, building extensive facilities including the iconic ferry terminal, rail yards, and maintenance shops along what is now Bridgeway.
The rail yards and ferry terminal area, located between present-day Bridgeway and the bay, became the heart of commercial activity.
Passenger service was discontinued in 1941. For a few more years, an occasional freight train would come into the village, primarily to service the Marinship yard during WWII. The final freight train pulled out of Sausalito in November, 1971. As the Sausalito News put it: “So ended an era of 96 years in which Sausalito played an important role in the transportation story of Northern California.”
But the loss of the ferries was, thankfully, temporary.
According to the website for the Golden Highway and Transportation District, in 1967, “Concern over increasing traffic congestion on the Golden Gate Bridge triggered the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to ask the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District (GGBHD) Board of Directors to explore the idea for ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County.” Ferries returned to Sausalito on August 15, 1970, attracting commuters and tourists alike.
As one regular ferry rider put it: “It’s strange when your commute is the best part of your day.”
By Rip Hunter and Larry Clinton
Sausalito Historical Society