Why Are There Trains On The Farm Interpretive Panel at Ardenwood Historic Farm, part of East Bay Regional Park District. Published by East Bay Regional Park District.
WHY ARE THERE TRAINS
ON THE FARM?
Railroads linked farms and families together
over a century ago. The South Pacific Coast
Railroad connected Ardenwood to the world.
The railroads were not always welcome.
In 1877, George Patterson tried to keep
the mighty railroad from crossing his land.
He built sturdy fences to keep the railroad
from cutting through his fields. Before leaving
on his honeymoon, George posted armed
guards to enforce his will.
When he returned, George discovered that
his guards, full of whiskey supplied by the
railroad, couldn't stop the rail crews from
tearing down the fences and laying track
across his land. The work was finished all in
one night.
Top: The railroad at Ardenwood
recreates a nearby branch line of
the South Pacific Coast Railroad.
Using only horse-drawn rail cars,
the Centerville Branch carried both
freight and passengers between the
farming communities of Newark and
Centerville (now a district of Fremont)
between 1882 and 1909.
Trains still run along that line today. It’s the
track you see along Ardenwood Boulevard.
Left: Two years after George
Patterson’s death in 1895, his wife,
Clara, ordered the construction of the
small “Arden” depot to connect the
farm to the world.
The Railroad Museum at Ardenwood is operated by the
nonprofit Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad
Resources. Volunteers restore narrow gauge wooden
railroad cars dating from 1878 to the early 1900s-many
built in Newark, California. Today the train takes
passengers on a half mile ride through farm fields and a
grove of eucalyptus trees. If you are interested in
volunteering please talk with the train crew or visit
www.spcrr.org and Facebook.com/SPCRRMuseum.
Top photo: Bruce MacGregor, bottom photo: Barry Lependorf.
Photos courtesy of the
Railroad Museum at Ardenwood
Society for Preservation of
Carter Railroad Resources
