Route of the Pacific and Atlantic Rail Road between San Francisco & San Jose
This 1851 survey chart lays out the first proposed rail link down the San Francisco Peninsula, running from the city’s southern edge through San Bruno, San Mateo, Mezesville, Ravenswood, and on to San Jose. A single bold line traces the planned track along the bayshore, skirting tidal marshes while staying below the oak-studded Coast Range foothills shown in shaded hachures. Small grid plans and names mark early settlements and stage stops, many of which later became stations on the modern Caltrain corridor. Creeks, estuaries, and “Tide Marshes” are labeled to highlight drainage challenges facing the railroad’s construction crews. A mileage scale and neat compass arrow aid in gauging distances along the route. The map offers a rare glimpse at mid-nineteenth-century Peninsula topography and settlement just before rail service reshaped travel between San Francisco and the Santa Clara Valley.
