Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District

This 11.6-mile stretch of the first Transcontinental Railroad winds through Niles Canyon, Sunol Valley and Arroyo de la Laguna, from the Niles district of Fremont to Pleasanton. Built in 1865-69, it follows Alameda Creek's gentle water-level route through the Diablo Range. Chinese laborers graded the narrow, curving roadbed by hand, and culverts, retaining walls and bridge piers were built of locally quarried stone. Because the line became secondary service about ten years after it opened, and the canyon's ruggedness limited upgrades, the roadbed stayed essentially unaltered apart from bridge replacements, sidings and signals. Surviving features include the 1884 Victorian-stick style Sunol depot, three major steel bridges including an 1896 pin-connected Pratt truss at Farwell, and remains of the 1869 transcontinental telegraph line. The rural setting has changed little. A non-profit heritage railway now restores and operates track along the historic alignment, preserving a rare example of formative-era western railroad construction.