ContentZone
Copyright 2000 by Joel GAzis-SAx
| 1813 | Birth of Mark Hopkins. |
| 1821 | Birth of Colis P. Huntington. |
| 1822 | Birth of Charles Crocker. |
| 1824 | Birth of Leland Stanford. |
| 1826 | Birth of Theodore Judah. |
| 1832 | Hartwell Carver proposes a transcontinental railroad in New York's Courier and Independent. |
| 1833 | Birth of Peter Donahue. |
| 1836 | Birth of Andrew Hallidie. |
| 1849 | The Gold Rush. |
| 1851 | January 26. Citizens of San Jose meet to discuss the feasibility of building a railroad to the town. |
| 1851 | September 5.Incorporation of the Pacific and Atlantic Railroad, a modest venture intended only to link San Jose and San Francisco. |
| 1852 | August 16. Sacramento Valley Railroad Co. incorporated. |
| 1852 -1853 | Congress authorizes the Secretary of War to survey routes to the Pacific. |
| 1853 | October 29. Reorganization of the Pacific and Atlantic Railroad. Though it has mapped out a route, the company still has not begun construction. |
| 1854 | Construction of the Sacramento and Folsom Railway, engineered by Theodore Judah. |
| 1855 | Completion of Panama Railroad across the Isthmus. |
| 1855 | February. The Secretary of War presents Congress with surveys and recommendations for five different transcontinental routes. |
| 1857 | Theodore Judah publishes a pamphlet proposing a transcontinental railroad. |
| 1857 | April 21. California Central Railroad incorporated. |
| 1859 | February 3. San Jose residents meet to discuss the construction of a railway between San Jose and Alviso. |
| 1859 | Incorporation of the San Jose and San Francisco Railroad. |
| 1860 | Dissolution of the San Jose and San Francisco Railroad. |
| 1860 | August 18. Founding of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. |
| 1861 | Founding of Central Pacific Railroad by Theodore Judah, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Colis P. Huntington, and Leland Stanford. |
| 1861 | October 31. California Central Railroad completes track between Folsom and Lincoln. The railroad's planned extension to Marysville is never completed. |
| 1862 | Founding of the Union Pacific. |
| 1862 | July 1. Pacific Railroad Bill. Congress votes to "aid in the construction of a railroad and telgraph line from the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government use of the same for postal, military and other purposes. San Franciscans gather in Union Square to fire off a 100 cannon salute to mark President Lincoln's signing of the act. |
| 1862 | December 13. Founding of the Western Pacific (first incarnation) by Peter Donahue, Timothy Dame, and Alexander Houston. |
| 1863 | January 8. Construction of the Central Pacific begins from Sacramento. |
| 1863 | October 17. The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad inaugurates service between San Francisco and Mayfield (now part of Palo Alto). |
| 1863 | October 31. The Western Pacific obtains a right-of-way agreement for a 123 mile railroad between San Jose and Sacramento from the Central Pacific. |
| 1863 | November 10. The Governor Stanford begins operations as the Central Pacific Railway. |
| 1863 | Death of Theodore Judah. Judah dies of typhoid fever while crossing the Isthmus of Panama on his way east to find financiers for his plan to buy out the Big Four. |
| 1864 | January 16. Celebration of the completion of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. Regular service begins the following day. |
| 1864 | August 1. The Petaluma and Haystack Railroad begins operation. The little railroad will serve as an important link between the San Francisco Bay and Sonoma County. |
| 1865 | Founding of the Southern Pacific. |
| 1866 | July 25. Congress authorizes the construction of a railroad between Sacramento and Portland, Oregon by the California and Oregon Railroad Company. |
| 1866 | August 27. The single Atlas engine of the Petaluma & Haystack Railroad explodes, killing the engineer and three passengers. It is the first fatal rail disaster in California. Following the explosion, the railroad converts to horse power. |
| 1866 | Construction on the Western Pacific line ceases due to lack of funds. |
| 1866 | July 27. Congress authorizes the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad to construct a line between the Missouri River and the Pacific via Albuqueque and the Colorado River. |
| 1866 - 1867 | Heavy snowpack in the High Sierras forces workers on the Central Pacific to assume a troglodyte lifestyle as construction of the transcontinental railway proceeds at all costs. |
| 1867 | January 3. The Southern Pacific Railroad files a request for permission to construct a railroad linking San Francisco with San Diego and, from there, east. |
| 1867 | June 8. The Central Pacific leases the Western Pacific Railroad. |
| 1868 | January 10. Incorporation of the Sonoma County Railroad. A few days later, John Frisbee will charter the competing Vallejo & Sonoma Valley Railroad. And on March 2, General Patrick O'Connor, Fred McCrellish (publisher of the Alta California), and John F. McCauley found the San Francisco and Humboldt Bay Railroad. |
| 1868 | January 21. Incorporation of the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valley Railroad. It receives a 50 year franchise from the city to operate from Fourth Street to the city limits. Construction begins on April 19. |
| 1868 | May 12. Sonoma County voters vote (2095 to 1586) to grant a $5,000 a mile subsidy to the Sonoma County Railroad. The San Francisco & Humboldt Bay Railroad successfully bids to build the line through Petaluma. |
| 1868 | July 22. Foreclosure of the California Central Railroad. Existing operations are purchased by the California and Oregon Railroad. |
| 1868 | Establishment of Norden at Donner Summit. |
| 1868 | The Big Four (Crocker, Hopkins, Huntington and Stanford) acquire the Southern Pacific. |
| 1868 | The Central Pacific acquires the five mile long San Francisco and Oakland Railroad. In September, it creates the San Francisco Bay Railroad which will link the WP end-of-the-line at Niles with the SO railhead at East Oakland. |
| 1869 | January 12. Citizens of San Rafael meet and agree to organize the San Rafael and San Quentin Railroad. |
| 1869 | January 14. The Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad Co. begin the first railroad operations in southern California. |
| 1869 | April 28. A crew of eight Central Pacific Irish tracklayers supported by an army of Chinese laborers lays ten miles of track in one day, winning a bet for Charles Crocker and setting a record that is still unbroken. |