Name: Niles Canyon Railway
Rating: 1.9

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Sunol

Niles Canyon Railway

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United States

California

Alameda County

Sunol

Niles Canyon Railway

Recommended by 18 road cyclists out of 20

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Location: Sunol, Alameda County, California, United States

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Best Road Cycling Rides to Niles Canyon Railway

5.0

(4)

157

riders

1. Palomares Road – Foothill Road — Pleasanton loop from Union City

61.5km

02:50

630m

Intermediate road ride. Good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride.

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Intermediate

5.0

(1)

100

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2. Sunol Depot – Niles Canyon Railway loop from Great Mall/Main

79.4km

03:46

1,060m

Expert road ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride.

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3. Niles Canyon Railway – Alameda Creek Trail loop from Fremont

38.2km

01:34

210m

Easy road ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride.

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Easy

Tips

🕊️ 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓

March 29, 2021

The history of trains in Niles Canyon dates back to the building of the original transcontinental railroad. The first Western Pacific Railroad Company (formed in 1862) started construction in San Jose towards Sacramento. It built twenty miles of track that reached into Alameda Creek canyon in 1866. Its first passenger excursion entered the canyon on October 2 of that year. Construction was halted shortly thereafter, however, because of disagreements between the railroad’s contractors and its financiers. In September, 1869, four months after the famous golden spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah, the Central Pacific Railroad completed the transcontinental rail link between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay, finishing the track through the canyon. The CP had acquired the Western Pacific and other local railroads and built track to connect them at a waterfront terminal at Alameda Point. Very few rebuilding programs by the railroad left the Niles Canyon line with much of its original cut stone bridge abutments, culverts and retaining walls from the original Western Pacific’s right of way (circa 1865). These unique constructions can still be seen today.

Steam locomotives pulled trains through Niles Canyon for eighty years before diesels took over in the 1950s. In 1984, after twelve decades of railroading in the canyon, the Southern Pacific ceased operating trains on the right-of-way, pulled up the tracks, and deeded the land to Alameda County.

The Pacific Locomotive Association entered into an agreement with the county and began rebuilding the rail line in 1987. Association volunteers worked for over a year on the first part of the track reconstruction between Sunol and Brightside. On May 21, 1988, almost 122 years after the first Western Pacific excursion, the Pacific Locomotive Association brought railroad passenger operations back to life in Niles Canyon. Presently, Niles Canyon Railway provides train rides to the public year-round between Sunol, California and Niles in Fremont, California. ncry.org

Alex

May 16, 2025

The history of trains in Niles Canyon dates back to the building of the original transcontinental railroad. Today, you can still take train trips around the scenic and historic Niles Canyon Route on old-timey steam /diesel trains.

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Elevation 30 m

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Sunday 21 September

26°C

15°C

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Max wind speed: 10.0 km/h

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Location: Sunol, Alameda County, California, United States

Niles Canyon Railway

1. Palomares Road – Foothill Road — Pleasanton loop from Union City

2. Sunol Depot – Niles Canyon Railway loop from Great Mall/Main

3. Niles Canyon Railway – Alameda Creek Trail loop from Fremont

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