HISTORY CORNER
The Santa Cruz Railroad, Part 3
SEPTEMBER 2021 | APTOS LIFE
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rom 1876 to 1880, the Santa Cruz Railroad did reasonably well financially, but was hindered by the competition with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Pajaro. Being a different gauge than the Southern Pacific meant that cars were not interchangeable, and all freight and passengers had to be transferred to different trains at Pajaro. In 1880, the overthe-mountain South Pacific Coast Railroad was completed to Santa Cruz. The Pacific By John Hibble Coast Steamship Aptos History Museum Company was also offering better freight rates in Santa Cruz; therefore, the railroad line saw very little freight business. The construction costs for the Santa Cruz Railroad exceeded $591,000, over twice what F.A. Hihn had estimated. By that time, Hihn was paying the expenses out of his own pocket. Finally, in February 1881, the trestle over the San Lorenzo River was brought down in a flood. Hihn, Spreckels and other stockholders were no longer willing to subsidize operations in the face of competition with the South Pacific Coast and Southern Pacific Railroads. The Santa Cruz Railroad went into bankruptcy.
Consolidation In October of 1881, the Southern Pacific bought the Santa Cruz Railroad at auction and began laying standard-gauge track which was completed by September 1883. The two years of construction severely affected access to Spreckels’ Aptos Hotel. The narrow-gauge locomotives were moved to other locations (e.g., the Jupiter was sent to
BACK TRACKING A ceremony on May 7, 1976 in Aptos marked the 100-year anniversary of the railroad. Guatemala to transport bananas). As soon as standard-gauge track reached Aptos, Southern Pacific built a spur line into Aptos Creek Canyon to harvest the timber. It was the most expensive rail line that they ever constructed. The town of Loma Prieta was built, including a sawmill, post office, express office, stores, cabins, and a hotel. The town grew to 185 residents and the mill was expanded to produce 140,000 board feet of lumber per day at full production. In May of 1883, Frederick Hihn’s Aptos Mill opened on Trout Gulch Creek, just above its junction with Valencia Creek. It was capable of producing 30 to 40 thousand board-feet of lumber per day. The mill was moved to Valencia in 1885. In January of 1887, Southern Pacific bought the over-themountain South Pacific Coast Railroad and controlled Santa Cruz County’s two main railroad lines promoting
tourism and industries. In 1888, Spreckels opened the largest beet sugar factory in North America in Watsonville, using the railroad to haul the raw and finished product. The factory helped Watsonville to weather the depression of the 1890s. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Santa Cruz County by train. By 1918 there were 18 passenger and six freight trains a day arriving and departing Santa Cruz. Trains also provided transportation for high school students. The direction of the morning train determined which high school you went to. Most students in Aptos took the morning train to Watsonville. In 1927, Southern Pacific began the Suntan Special, an excursion train over the mountain from San Jose to the beach in Santa Cruz. The late 1930s were the most popular years of the Suntan Special. It was not uncommon to have 5,000 riders a day. A round trip cost $1.25. At least one
train also ran each operating day along the coast to Watsonville Junction to drop passengers off at Seabright, Capitola, and Aptos. The excursion train was suspended during World War II. Regular passenger service on the Santa Cruz Branch Line was suspended in 1938, and the Aptos train station was torn down in 1940. That same year, a storm closed the over-themountain rail line, and it was eventually abandoned. In April of 1940, the Suntan Special resumed, going around-themountain through Watsonville Junction to Santa Cruz, adding 35 minutes to the trip. From July 1947 until September 1959, the Suntan Special continued during the summer, carrying about 900 passengers per trip. On Sunday, May 7, 1976, a 100year anniversary commemoration was held with the cooperation of Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chambers of Commerce of ➝ 10
