Comments on: Sidestepping Piedmont

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:48:11 +0000

Thanks for the post, Daniel. Glad to see people passionate about other aspects of Oakland history. The old Sac Northern railbed is a pedestrian path north of Route 24, and in Montclair there’s a new pocket park called Short Line Park where the railbed meets Thornhill at Moraga/Mountain Boulevard.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:41:02 +0000

I have heard the logging railroad theory as well. And yes, there was a railroad that ran in Shepherd Canyon. It was called the Sacramento Northern and ran from San Francisco, to Oakland, Sacramento and then to Chico. See my website’s rail and wire section for details and maps of the route.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:28:48 +0000

I just looked at all the old maps online at lib.berkeley.edu/EART/ and as you say, they show only a regular road up the side of Dimond Canyon. But that sucker is built strong, in typical Depression-era concrete. As I understand it, logs were sent down Sausal Creek itself, back in the 1850s.

By: Eric Fischer

Eric Fischer — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:19:07 +0000

I don’t see any sign of a railroad on Park Blvd in old USGS maps, although Shepherd Canyon Road is shown as one. The Wikipedia article on Montclair says that Park Blvd was originally a logging road, so maybe that is why it was built so heavily.