Following conclusion of "The Great War," the 1920s were a time of general prosperity for Americans. The good times were mirrored by America’s railroads, which enjoyed some of their best years in terms of peacetime traffic levels. Passenger trains especially were well patronized; the railroads had done an excellent job during the past two decades of convincing folks to "see America first." In this age before freeways and jet airplanes, long distance travel was synonymous with trains—and Americans wanted to travel.

Sacramento would see the good times reflected in its passenger depots, with two grand railroad structures opening during the Roaring Twenties. As things would turn out, these depots would also be the last of their kind constructed in the Capital City during the 20th century. While one of these has long since vanished from city maps, the larger and more imposing—former Southern Pacific—station remains in service, with passenger traffic counts among the Golden State’s highest and rising every month.

A Modern Station
In keeping with increased traffic levels following "The Great War," and recognizing that its Sacramento station facilities were woefully outdated, Southern Pacific took up where it had left off during the ‘teens. Just before America’s railroads were nationalized in 1917, the SP had agreed to look into the matter of replacing its 1879 Victorian Gothic structure. Four years later, shortly after the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was dissolved, planning was revived for a new depot to serve trains of the mighty Espee in Sacramento.

In order to minimize disruption to current traffic, and to allow for a completely new track arrangement to be constructed, a site for the new depot was chosen just to the southeast of the old Arcade Station. Soon, SP had begun work on filling in what was left of the old China Slough, where the new depot was to be sited. Tons of sand and rubble were dumped along the slough’s southern shore (near Fifth and "I" streets), and company engineers were brought in to begin the task of settling on new trackage alignments and general facilities arrangement.

Architectural design work on the station building itself would not begin until 1924, apparently, due to an ongoing disagreement between the U.S. government and SP regarding reparations for the railroad’s mandated participation in the USRA. Finally, however, San Francisco architects Bliss & Fairweather were brought aboard to design the structure, in cooperation with the railroad’s own architectural bureau. Within two years, the completed facility would replace the aging Arcade Station forever.

The March 1926 Southern Pacific Bulletin heralded completion of the Capital City’s new landmark transportation hub with the headline, "Sacramento and Reno Open New Stations During Month." In the article which followed, the new depot building was glowingly described as "one of the finest stations built by the company in western states…It recalls again the birthplace of the company."

The August 14, 1926 issue of Railway Age waxed even more eloquently about the new facility. "The Southern Pacific’s new passenger station at Sacramento…is one of the most modern stations on the Pacific Coast and one of the finest structures in Sacramento. The total cost of the project, including the main and auxiliary buildings, together with the necessary adjuncts and track work, entailed an expenditure of $2,317,000."

Indeed this was a large sum, due to the project’s complexity. Not only did the site require filling in, but also completely new trackage and signaling arrangements had to be devised and constructed—while still keeping the adjacent Arcade Station in service. The new depot’s location atop landfill would necessitate that the steel-frame, reinforced concrete structure be built atop piles driven deep into the ground for stability. Its second and third floors would serve as offices for SP’s Sacramento Division and "lines north of San Francisco" personnel.

"The passenger station proper is of the Italian type of architecture. It is 370 ft. long, with a width of 54 ft. at the west-end and 128 ft. at the east-end. The Central portion of the building, which houses the waiting room and concourse, is 83 ft. wide," noted Railway Age. "The exterior walls are faced with brick with a mingled light russet color, while a darker russet tiling is used on the sloping roof. The entire building is trimmed with architectural terra cotta and the lines of the structure, enhanced by eight circular topped windows, 35 ft. high and glazed with amber colored cathedral glass, combine with the color treatment of the walls and roof to furnish a harmonious and pleasing aspect."

Fronting on two city blocks between Third and Fifth Streets north of "I" Street, the building was accessed via a driveway along which were laid out two small parks planted "artistically" with flowers and shrubbery. Local streetcars of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company served the building directly, terminating at and departing from within just a few steps of the structure’s main entrance; automobiles shared the driveway as well.

"Features of the new terminal include a well ventilated waiting room 60x120 feet; a modern restaurant, men’s smoking room, open counter ticket offices, spacious baggage room, new-type [butterfly] train sheds, comfortable women’s rest room, ample office space for the divisional offices, marble floors, tile roof, and scientific electric and heating appliances," reported the Southern Pacific Bulletin. On hand for the opening was California Governor Friend Richardson. Sacramento Chamber of Commerce President Harold J. McCurry, and numerous SP officials.

Railway Age provided additional detail in its station coverage, noting the waiting room’s vaulted ceiling was "decorated with five-color stencil work, harmonizing with the cathedral glass and Venetian drapes of the large windows. The floor is of California marble, trimmed with travertine, while the wood trim is of Lamao mahogany, imported from the Phillipine Islands." Indirect lighting was furnished by large central chandeliers and side-lighting fixtures "of artistic design." A lobby extended across the full width of the waiting room, in which was located a telegraph office, "a battery of phone booths, and a traveler’s aid bureau where a matron is always available during train hours."

Seven passenger train tracks extended along the building’s north side, with three butterfly sheds each flanked by two tracks and the seventh track located adjacent to the waiting room’s concourse. A ramp led underground from the concourse, with a "well-lighted concrete subway" safely accessing each of the platforms. Additional tracks to the north served as a coach yard, with a car shed built over a portion to protect waiting Pullman cars "from the direct rays of the sun and keeping them cool and comfortable for occupancy at night" in this pre-air-conditioning age. Another five "team tracks" to the east of the station served local businesses needing a place to unload rail shipments.

As it would turn out, opening year would also be the peak for passenger traffic through the depot, at least in terms of the number of trains. A 1926 Sacramento Division employees’ timetable lists a total of 32 passenger trains daily—including first class, secondary, and local "motor express" and "mixed" passenger and freight runs—as originating, terminating, or stopping en route in Sacramento. During peak periods, this number would have been even higher, as extra "sections" (additional passenger trains running on the same schedule) would have been added to accommodate the demand. Just one year later this number had declined to 28, reflecting the beginning of a nationwide decline in rail travel. To ease congestion and minimize delays, freight trains bypassed the new station via a "freight main," running between the depot and SP’s Sacramento Shops complex.

Electrifying News
In addition to its central role in Southern Pacific’s far-flung empire and the fact that it served as an important stop on Western Pacific’s transcontinental rail line, Sacramento was a regional electric railroading hub during the ‘teens and twenties. Electric railways in general enjoyed their greatest passenger growth and earnings in the first two decades of this century, and this trend was mirrored in the Golden State. What was different here, however, was the importance of freight to California’s interurbans (electric railways traveling between, rather than strictly within, cities); this would ultimately sustain many lines long after they ceased to carry passengers.

The pioneering Northern Electric Railway—running from the Capital City north to Marysville and Chico—operated from an unimposing, circa 1906 depot located at 8th and "J" streets which was later given a Mission Revival architectural facelift. The Oakland, Antioch & Eastern electric interurban line (later known as the San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad and connecting these two urban areas) entered the city via the old "M" Street bridge, continuing along city streets to a utilitarian, downtown terminal at 3rd and "I" Streets—adjacent to SP’s Arcade Station.

The Central California Traction Company initially sold tickets out of the Union Electric freight house on Fourth Street, between "Q" and "R" (which once served electric railway freight customers and today still stands), for passengers wishing to travel its route to Lodi and Stockton. It appears to later have moved its passenger terminal to 8th and "L" Streets in downtown Sacramento, although little is known about this facility. Since they were competing with SP and WP for business, both CCT and NE promoted the fact that passengers could connect from their "electric trains" to San Francisco via Sacramento River steamboats.

Few electric railways ever bothered to construct grand depots in major cities, and by the 1920s, automobiles and trucking firms had begun to affect the interurbans (which mainly offered medium-distance freight and passenger service that was highly susceptible to competition). Thus it did not go unnoticed when Sacramento’s three interurban service providers in the early 1920s jointly proposed a downtown "union electric terminal." Ironically, however, it was control by main line (steam) railroads that made available the necessary capital to complete such an undertaking. The Western Pacific Railroad had bought NE in 1922, and later the SF-S as well—combining both into the renamed Sacramento Northern Railway. And SP, WP, and the Santa Fe jointly took control of the CCT in the mid-1920s, after several individual takeover struggles had failed.

The June 5, 1926 Electric Railway Journal headlined its related article "Union Station Built at Sacramento," noting that "electric railways entering…the capital city of California, have joined hands in [its] construction…." Located at Eleventh and "I" Streets, "in the heart of the hotel and business district," the station was reached by automobile and "by the local street cars of the Sacramento Northern Railroad, which issue…and honor free transfers from the Pacific Gas & Electric Railway street car system" (Sacramento’s dominant local transit provider at the time).

"Architecturally the station is a departure from established precedent in California," the article opined. "It is an adaptation of the Corinthian style, with the front divided into five sections by full length columns….Materials used are brick and cast stone, finished with colored cement. The foundations are of concrete. The primary supporting frame members are of steel, while the joists and studding are of Oregon pine. Floors are of pine in the offices and of dark red cement in the waiting room, toilets, etc." The article went on to describe a covered concourse extending the full length of the building, with four tracks running parallel. There was a 50-by-80 foot waiting room with walls of rough-tooled plaster "decorated in warm tones" and highlighted by gray-stained Oregon pine trim; and quarter-sawn oak ticket counter, telephone booths, concession counter, and settees.

Above the waiting room, a mezzanine level housed trainmen’s rooms and office accommodations for the San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad; the general offices of the Sacramento Northern Railroad were on the second floor. A baggage room was at one end of the structure, while a restaurant—under separate management—was reached via a lobby off the main waiting room. "The investment in land and terminal facilities approximates $350,000," noted an earlier article in the Electric Railway Journal announcing the start of construction. Approximately 7,000 passengers daily were expected to use the facility, which apparently opened for service in late 1925.

Passenger service ceased completely on the CCT in 1933, and SN service to Sacramento followed suit in 1940. The Union Electric Terminal continued to provide office space for the SN for some time, then served a variety of retail and commercial uses into the 1970s. Demolished circa 1980, the former terminal’s site is today occupied by a motor hotel and restaurant, and a parking lot. Sacramento Regional Transit’s light rail line passes within a half block of the site, on 12th Street.

Back to the Future By 1971, when Amtrak assumed responsibility for operation of the nation’s railroads, only one of Sacramento’s numerous passenger depots still served in its original role. The grand SP station so proudly touted as "one of the finest structures in Sacramento" upon its 1926 opening had soldiered on through prosperous years, Depression, the Second World War, and the age of the streamlined passenger train. Even as the supposed end of rail travel approached in the mid-1960s, the depot continued to serve ever-dwindling numbers of passengers.

But no one in 1971 could have foreseen that this decline would actually be slowed and ultimately reversed, at least on specific routes. Especially in northern California, the Coast Starlight and California Zephyr would continue as strong performers even as Amtrak’s funding dwindled and other routes were cut. Beginning in 1982, both trains passed through Sacramento daily, keeping activity up at the former SP station in spite of the facility’s gradual deterioration. (Amtrak’s Zephyr and its SP predecessor train, the City of San Francisco, have always operated via Sacramento; the Coast Starlight and its predecessors, the Cascade and the Shasta Daylight were routed via SP’s East Valley line [Davis-Woodland-Orland-Tehama] until 1982, originally bypassing Sacramento, Roseville, Marysville, and Chico.)

Then came the 1990s, and the beginning of an active partnership between Amtrak and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). New locomotives and bi-level, push-pull "California Cars" were built for service on specific short-to-medium distance inter-city routes, and the first of the Bay Area-Sacramento Capitols was introduced. Utilizing the shiny new equipment, the Capitols’ ridership has grown steadily—with a total of nine trips each way daily as of May 2001, and more on the drawing board. Beginning in early 1999, one daily San Joaquin began and terminated its run to Bakersfield in Sacramento, and additional trains are planned to follow suit within two years.

By 1999, the future looked bright indeed for the former Southern Pacific Sacramento station, which was serving 500,000 riders annually and hailed as Amtrak’s third busiest California stop. In support of this expected growth, and in anticipation of the need for better coordination among the region’s various land transportation options, a partnership was developed in 1996 to renovate the building and convert it into an "intermodal" transportation center. Union Pacific (successor to Southern Pacific), owner of the structure and surrounding land; the City of Sacramento; Amtrak; Caltrans; Sacramento Regional Transit; and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board cooperated in a study of the needs, purposes, scope, benefits, and costs of the proposed project.

In December 1997, the City of Sacramento and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board released the results in a document entitled "Historic Sacramento Rail Depot – Final Project Study Report." Its description of the project and its scope read thusly:

"The City of Sacramento proposes to renovate Sacramento’s Southern Pacific Depot, which is served by Capitol Corridor service, and undertake public improvements on the surrounding site which will redefine the Depot as a true inter-modal depot. The project would maximize opportunities for inter-modal connections, providing for coordination between Capitol Corridor service and Sacramento Regional Transit commuter light rail and bus service. The project would also enhance connections between the Depot and Old Sacramento, which, according to City surveys, is the primary destination for rail passengers arriving in Sacramento. The renovation project would restore the Depot, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to its original elegance while enhancing its utility as an inter-modal terminal. Improvements to be completed include repair and replacement of damaged roof areas; seismic, mechanical, and electrical upgrades; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance; brickwork cleaning and repair; building weatherization; improvement of ticketing facilities; and restoration or replacement of interior fixtures and finishes. Portions of the Depot suitable for commercial enterprises complementary to transit use would be reconfigured and improved to suit potential tenants.

"Improvements to the site surrounding the Depot would include separation of bus operations from private vehicles and pedestrian flows; improvement of parking areas to maximize the efficiency and convenience of vehicle parking; and improvement of hardscape [paved areas], landscape, signage, and lighting to enhance the site’s overall appearance."

"In conjunction with improvements to the Depot and site, renovation and commercial reuse of the Railway Express Annex (which sits adjacent to the Depot and which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places) would be pursued by Union Pacific and the City as a separate, but supportive, redevelopment project."

Centerpiece for the Future
But even as plans were being advanced for renovation, the providers of rail service in Sacramento—Union Pacific, Amtrak, Caltrans, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, Greyhound, and others—were realizing that the grand Depot had some significant limitations for future growth. At the same time, a failed development proposal for the area surrounding the Depot provided an opportunity for even more ambitious plans to be developed. As of early 2001, these plans remain under review by the City of Sacramento. Regardless of the outcome, preservation of the Depot itself—perhaps with a new use—is agreed upon by all interested parties