Ferries of San Francisco Bay

Not to be confused with San Francisco Bay Ferry.

San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed established a sailboat ferry service in 1826.[1] Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and tourists.

The Southern Pacific Company's Bay City ferry plies the waters of San Francisco Bay in the late 19th century.

## The Creek Route ferries (1851–1937)

[edit]

Contra Costa, in the foreground, was one of the earliest ferries built expressly for trans-bay service. Capital, in the background, formerly a Sacramento River steamboat, served the route from 1876 to 1896. Both were built by John Gunder North.

One of the earliest ferry routes ran between San Francisco and Oakland on what was called the "creek route". The name derived from the Oakland landing site located at the foot of Broadway where Jack London Square is today, fronting on what is today called the Oakland Estuary, an inlet of San Francisco Bay. The estuary, which in the 1800s included what is today's Lake Merritt, was the "creek". In 1851,[2] Captain Thomas Gray, grandfather of the famous dancer Isadora Duncan, began the first regular ferry service to San Francisco from the East Bay. [3] Service started with the stern-wheel Sacramento River packet General Sutter[2] and the small iron steam ferry Kangaroo.[4] Service was augmented in 1852 by Caleb Cope, the small ferry Hector powered by a steam sawmill engine, and the river packets Jenny Lind and Boston. Boston burned that year and was replaced first by William Brown's San Joaquin River packet Erastus Corning and then by Charles Minturn's river packet Red Jacket. In 1853, Minturn formed the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company and had the ferry Clinton built expressly for trans-bay service. A second ferry, Contra Costa began operating over the route in 1857.[2] Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company acquired San Antonio Steam Navigation Company with ferries San Antonio and Oakland by merger before being purchased by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad (SF&O) in 1865.[5] Ferries continued operating along the Creek Route under railroad ownership until 1937.

## Railroad ferries (1862–1958)

[edit]

Central Pacific ferry El Capitan was the largest ferry on San Francisco Bay when built in 1868.[5] Ferry Berkeley  (served 1898–1958) at the San Diego Maritime Museum

The first railroad ferries on San Francisco Bay were established by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad and the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad (SF&A), which were taken over by the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) in 1870 to become an integral part of the First transcontinental railroad. The earliest railroad ferries ran from Oakland Point and from Alameda Terminal when Alameda was still a peninsula. The ferry pier at Oakland Point was greatly enlarged to form the Oakland Long Wharf. These railroad ferries mostly carried passengers, not trains, although there was some ferrying of freight cars to San Francisco. When the Central Pacific re-routed the Sacramento to Oakland segment of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1876, a ferry across the Carquinez Strait was established, and the world's largest ferryboat, the Solano was built (later joined by a sister ferry, the slightly larger Contra Costa), to serve the crossing. This railroad ferry actually carried whole trains up to 48 freight cars or 24 passenger cars with their locomotives. These ferries became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) when it assumed many of the facilities of its affiliate, the Central Pacific. These large train ferries were idled when a railway bridge was completed over the Carquinez Strait in November, 1930.[6]

When trains reached Oakland, freight cars were loaded aboard ferries from Long Wharf on Oakland Point beginning in 1870. Freight car ferry loading switched to the Oakland Mole in 1881. After 1890 freight cars were delivered to the San Francisco Belt Railroad ferry slip at the foot of Lombard and East Streets. Belt Railroad tracks were later dual-gauged to also carry cars from the narrow gauge North and South Pacific Coast Railroads.[6]

The Key System transit company established its own ferry service in 1903 between the Ferry Building in San Francisco and its own pier and wharf ("mole") on the Oakland shoreline, located just south of what is today the eastern approach to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.

Ferries began serving north bay rail connections with the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad in 1864. San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad (SF&NP) and Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad (P&SR) [7] ferries connected Petaluma River landing locations with San Francisco. North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) ferries connected Sausalito[8] with San Francisco, and SF&NP ferries later sailed from Tiburon. Some of these ferries operated on Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) schedules from 1907 to 1938.[9]

The Napa Valley Railroad established service in 1865 and connected with ferry boat service in Vallejo, California. Monticello Steamship Company began operating ferries between Vallejo and San Francisco in 1895, and began coordinating with train schedules in 1905. Golden Gate Ferry Company gained control of Monticello in 1927 and, after merging with Southern Pacific, discontinued ferry service to Vallejo in 1937.[10]

Sacramento Northern Railway used a ferry to cross the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers between Mallard and Chipps. Service began in 1912 with the wooden ferry Bridgit carrying six interurban cars. Bridgit burned in 1913 and was replaced by the steel ferry Ramon with the same car capacity.[6]

Santa Fe and Western Pacific (WP) both ran passenger ferries connecting their east bay terminals to San Francisco; but both discontinued ferry service in 1933. Southern Pacific maintained a dominant position in Bay ferry service by gaining control of the South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) ferries in 1887,[11] the Northwestern Pacific ferries in 1929,[12] and the Petaluma and Santa Rosa ferries in 1932.[13] After the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1936 and 1937, Southern Pacific passenger ferry service was reduced to four routes: Ferry Building to Oakland Pier, Ferry Building to Alameda Pier, Hyde Street to Sausalito, and the Northwestern Pacific Ferry Building to Sausalito service. The route from Hyde Street to Sausalito was suspended in 1938 by order of the State Railroad Commission, the last ferry to Alameda ran in 1939, and the Ferry Building to Sausalito service ended February 1941.[14] Many of the large passenger ferries were idled until World War II, when they were mobilized by the federal government to transport military personnel around the bay and shipyard workers from San Francisco to Marinship and Richmond Shipyards. The last Southern Pacific ferry ran between Oakland and San Francisco on July 29, 1958.[15]

## Auto ferries (1909–1956)

[edit]

Ferry Cazadero in 1922

Although earlier ferries had carried teams and wagons, Melrose was launched in 1909 as the first San Francisco Bay ferry built with an unobstructed lower deck specifically intended for automobiles, and an upper deck for passengers. Southern Pacific ferries Melrose and Thoroughfare were designated to carry automobiles to and from San Francisco on the original Creek Route in 1911. Southern Pacific built new facilities to shift auto routing to the Oakland Pier in 1921 and purchased three new Six Minute ferries. In 1922, Golden Gate Ferry Company (GG) began transporting automobiles between Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito Ferry Terminal in Marin County. As of 2025, the Eureka ferry remains as a museum at the Hyde Street Pier. Southern Pacific purchased three more auto ferries with a ferry route linking San Francisco with a Richmond, California, connection to the Lincoln Highway in 1925. Golden Gate established another route between Hyde Street and Berkeley Pier in 1927. Southern Pacific built six diesel-electric ferries and gained control of Golden Gate's Golden-prefix ferries to form the subsidiary Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Company in 1929. Another auto ferry pier operated at the foot of Broadway. Southern Pacific-Golden Gate auto ferries ceased operation shortly after the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge opened. Most of the ferries were sold for use in Puget Sound, but a few were purchased by the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company to shuttle automobiles between Richmond and San Rafael. This last surviving auto ferry route ended when the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956.[16]

## Cross-Bay air service (1914–1986)

[edit]

In 1914, a short-lived seaplane ferry ran between San Francisco and Oakland. From 1930 to 1933, a more successful trans-Bay seaplane ferry was operated by Air Ferries Ltd. It ran from Pier 5 on the San Francisco waterfront to a shoreline barge docked at the foot of Franklin Street along the Oakland Estuary. It also operated between San Francisco and Vallejo. A fatal accident in 1933 put an end to the service.[17]

During the 1960s, SFO Helicopter transported passengers to and from the San Francisco and Oakland airports from various locales around the bay, including the San Francisco waterfront and the Berkeley Marina. After ceasing operations in the 1970s it briefly resumed service in 1983 before going out of business in 1986.[18][19]

## Rebirth of ferries (1959–present)

[edit]

Golden Gate Ferry Sonoma, approaching the San Francisco Ferry Building in 2007

With the abandonment of the last railroad ferries, there was a brief period 1958–1962 with no commuter ferry service at all on the Bay (though tourist-oriented service to Angel Island began in 1959[20]). In March 1962 Red & White Fleet, then known as Harbor Carriers,[21] started commute-hour ferry service from Tiburon to the San Francisco Ferry Building.[22] During a strike by Harbor Carriers employees in 1969, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District chartered a boat to provide replacement service; the success of this experiment led the District to establish Golden Gate Ferry and begin operating service from Sausalito to the Ferry Building in 1970.[23][24] Today Golden Gate Ferry operates modern high speed ferryboats between San Francisco and four different landings in Marin County.

In 1973 Alcatraz Island opened to the public as a museum and ferry service from San Francisco began under a concession granted by the National Park Service.[25]

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused a section of the Bay Bridge road deck to collapse, closing it to all traffic. In response, ferry service was quickly set up between piers in Oakland and Alameda and San Francisco (following almost the same path as the 19th-century "creek route" ferries). This service continued to operate with sponsorship from the City of Alameda and Port of Oakland after the bridge reopened the following month.[26]

In 2011 the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) was set up to take over the Oakland/Alameda route and other routes between San Francisco and the East Bay, forming the San Francisco Bay Ferry system; over the following decade it added several additional routes.[27] WETA contracts with the private Blue & Gold Fleet for the operation of these services. Blue & Gold additionally operates its own tourist-oriented ferry and sightseeing services; together these make the company the largest ferry transportation provider in the Bay Area as of 2022[update].[28]

## Current ferry routes

[edit]

San Francisco Bay Ferry Hydrus in 2017 Terminals  | Current operator  | Year begun  | Service notes

|
|
|

Sausalito | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | Golden Gate Ferry | 1970[29] |
Sausalito | ↔ | San Francisco Pier 41 | Blue & Gold Fleet | 1982[30] | Mid-day hours only[31]
Tiburon | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | Golden Gate Ferry | 1962[23] |
Angel Island | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | Golden Gate Ferry | 2021[29][a] |
Angel Island | ↔ | Tiburon | Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry | 1959[20] | Weekend-only in winter[34]
Larkspur | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | Golden Gate Ferry | 1976[29]
Mare Island and
Vallejo | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 1986[26][b] |
Richmond | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 2019[36]
Treasure Island | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | Prop SF | 2022[37] |
Alameda Main Street and
Oakland Jack London Square | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 1989[26] |
Alameda Main Street and
Oakland Jack London Square | ↔ | South San Francisco | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 2012[38] | Weekday commute hours only[39]
Alameda Seaplane Lagoon | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 2021[40] | Weekdays only[41]
Alameda Harbor Bay | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 1992[26] | Weekdays only[42]
San Francisco Pier 41 | ↔ | San Francisco Ferry Building | San Francisco Bay Ferry | 2021[43][c] | Weekends only[44]
Alcatraz Island | ↔ | San Francisco Pier 33 | Hornblower Cruises | 1973[25] |

## Annual ridership

[edit]

FY*  | San Francisco Bay Ferry  | Golden Gate Ferry

|
|

Alameda/
Oakland  | Harbor Bay  | Richmond  | South San Francisco  | Vallejo/
Mare Island  | Alameda
Seaplane  | Larkspur  | Sausalito  | Tiburon
2006–07 | 443,000  | 130,000  | —  | —  | 897,000  | —  | 1,477,762  | 547,173
2007–08 | 459,000  | 145,000  | 848,000  | 1,414,588  | 565,255
2008–09 | 400,000  | 143,000  | 690,000  | 1,370,400  | 578,635
2009–10 | 421,000  | 147,000  | 682,000  | 1,338,764  | 583,331
2010–11 | 455,130  | 154,000  | 697,000  | 1,432,039  | 599,180
2011–12 | 545,393  | 177,159  | 5,141  | 668,770  | 1,526,375  | 669,039
2012–13 | 606,960  | 203,131  | 40,505  | 713,300  | 1,605,989  | 718,885
2013–14 | 821,633  | 246,695  | 84,098  | 826,445  | 1,677,050  | 793,533
2014–15 | 911,473  | 266,304  | 107,389  | 858,665  | 1,727,872  | 812,819
2015–16 | 1,149,085  | 311,313  | 125,946  | 959,939  | 1,753,484  | 791,638
2016–17 | 1,183,188  | 321,289  | 136,320  | 1,000,773  | 1,692,741  | 768,942  | 61,394
2017–18 | 1,311,041  | 332,283  | 144,735  | 1,056,342*  | 1,660,272  | 726,010  | 191,855
2018–19 | 1,384,300  | 355,713  | 84,576  | 142,749  | 1,081,665  | 1,644,783  | 629,954  | 195,467
2019–20 | 1,006,824  | 246,657  | 158,199  | 103,798  | 783,379  | 1,712,507  | 1,148,981  | 139,535
2020–21 | 102,482  | —  | 24,688  | 137,328  | —  | 89,861
2021–22 | 479,196  | 113,207  | 158,986  | 24,075  | 484,686  | 145,786  | 690,362
Sources:[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]

## Ferryboat roster

[edit]

Passenger Ferry General Frisbiein in 1909 Passenger Ferry Oakland (as the Chrysopolis) ran from 1875 to 1940

### Present

[edit]

* Golden Gate (7 vessels)
* Golden Gate (II)
* Del Norte
* Marin
* Mendocino
* Napa
* San Francisco
* Sonoma
* WETA (16 vessels)
* Argo
* Bay Breeze
* Carina
* Cetus
* Dorado
* Gemini
* Hydrus
* Intintoli
* Lyra
* Mare Island
* Peralta
* Pisces
* Pyxis
* Scorpio
* Taurus
* Vela
* Angel Island–Tiburon
* Angel Island
* Bonita
* Tamalpais
* Blue & Gold (20+ vessels)
* Golden Bear
* Oski
* Royal Star
* Zelinsky
* Red & White (5 vessels)
* Enhydra
* Harbor Princess
* Harbor Queen
* Royal Prince
* Zalophus
* NWP[citation needed]
* Ukiah

### Past

[edit]

#### Historical ferryboat table

[edit]

Name[56] | Operator  | In Service[56] | Retired  | Gross Tons[56] | Length (feet)[56] | Horse- power[56] | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Alameda | SF&A / CPRR / SP  | 1866  | 1898  | 813  | 193  | 350  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Alameda | SP  | 1914  | 1943  | 2302  | 273  | 2500  | side-wheel passenger ferry; sold to USN as YHB-25 after wartime shipyard service[56]
Alvira | Davie  | 1889  | 1916  | 469  | 144  | 200  | stern-wheel passenger ferry
Amador | CPRR / SP  | 1869  | 1904  | 985  | 199  | 300  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Antelope | SF&NP  | 1871  | 1888  | 581  | 202  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry built 1848[9]
Bay City | SPC / SP  | 1878  | 1929  | 1283  | 230  | 800  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Berkeley | SP  | 1898  | 1958  | 1945  | 261  | 1450  | passenger ferry
Boston | Gray  | 1852  | 1852  |  |  |  |
Bridgit | Sacramento Northern Railway | 1912  | 1913  |  | 186  |  | interurban car ferry[6]
Caleb Cope | Gray  | 1852  | 1852  |  |  |  |
Calistoga | Monticello / GG / SP  | 1907  | 1939  | 2680  | 298  | 2600  | built as Florida; rebuilt as auto ferry in 1927; sold to USN as YFB-21[56]
Capital | CPRR / SP  | 1876  | 1896  | 1989  | 277  | 900  | side-wheel passenger ferry: Steamboat built in 1866 by John Gunder North for the California Steam Navigation Company; on the Sacramento - San Francisco run until 1876.[57]: 125
Cazadero | NS / NWP  | 1903  | 1941  | 1682  | 257  | 1600  | converted to barge in 1941[8]
City of Long Beach |  |  |  |  |  |  | [58]
City of Sacramento | Monticello / GG / SP  | 1918  | 1941  | 3016  | 297  | 5900  | auto ferry; sold to Puget Sound Navigation; requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 2[59]
Claremont | Key  |  |  |  |  |  |
Clinton | Contra Costa / NPC  | 1853  | 1877  | 194  | 128  | 125  | side-wheel passenger ferry; sunk in collision in 1877;[8] built by Domingo Marcucci[60]: 15
Contra Costa | Contra Costa / SF&A / NPC  | 1857  | 1882  | 449  | 170  | 150  | side-wheel passenger ferry,[8] built by John G. North[61]: 127–128, 135
Contra Costa | SP  | 1914  | 1930  |  |  |  | Carquinez Strait train ferry[6]
El Capitan | CPRR / SP  | 1868  | 1925  | 982  | 194  | 250  | side-wheel passenger ferry
El Paso | SP / Richmond-San Rafael  | 1924  | 1956  | 1953  | 234  | 1400  | auto ferry transferred from SP service in 1938
Encinal | SP  | 1888  | 1930  | 2014  | 245  | 1000  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Erastus Corning | Brown  | 1852  | 1852  |  |  |  | [2]
Eureka | NWP / SP  | 1923  | 1957  | 2420  | 277  | 1500  | Steam engine side-paddle ferry; Vessel originally built in 1890 as the railway ferry Ukiah with capacity for 10 freight cars;[6] conversion to a passenger ferry began in 1922 & was completed in 1923; after being converted to passenger use, "Ukiah" was renamed "Eureka";[8] preserved at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park[8]
Feather River | WP  | 1913  | 1933  | 1578  | 218  | 2500  | built as Edward T. Jeffery; sold to SP as Sierra Nevada in 1933[62]
Fresno (now MV Willapa)  | SP  | 1927  | 1940  | 2468  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Garden City | SPC / SP  | 1879  | 1929  | 1080  | 208  | 625  | side-wheel passenger ferry
USAT General Frank M. Coxe | United States Army | 1922  | 1947  | 539  | 144  |  | military personnel ferry
General Frisbie | Monticello  | 1901  | 1927  |  |  |  | passenger ferry[10]
General McPherson | United States Army | 1867  | 1887  | 104  |  |  | Fort Alcatraz ferry[63][64]
General Sutter | Gray  | 1851  | 1852  |  |  |  | [2]
Gold | P&SR  | 1903  | 1920  | 334  | 140  | 200  | stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built in 1883; burned 8 November 1920[7]
Gold | P&SR / NWP  | 1921  | 1935  | 317  | 155  | 150  | stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built as Fort Bragg in 1899[7]
Golden Age | GG / SP  | 1928  | 1937  | 779  | 227  | 1200  | diesel auto ferry
Golden Bear | GG / SP  | 1927  | 1937  | 779  | 227  | 1200  | diesel auto ferry
Golden Coast | GG / SP  | 1903  | 1937  | 616  | 175  | 1200  | auto ferry built as Yerba Buena; then Harry E. Speas[56]
Golden Dawn | Key /GG / SP  | 1905  | 1937  | 612  | 180  | 2000  | former Key System passenger ferry San Francisco rebuilt as auto ferry[56]
Golden Era | Key / GG / SP  | 1908  | 1937  | 673  | 194  | 2000  | former Key System passenger ferry Fernwood rebuilt as auto ferry[56]
Golden Gate | GG / SP  | 1922  | 1937  | 598  | 207  | 1300  | diesel auto ferry
Golden Poppy | GG / SP  | 1927  | 1937  | 779  | 227  | 1200  | diesel auto ferry
Golden Shore | GG / SP  | 1927  | 1937  | 779  | 227  | 1200  | diesel auto ferry
Golden State | GG / SP  | 1926  | 1937  | 780  | 227  | 1200  | diesel auto ferry
Golden Way | Key / GG / SP  | 1907  | 1937  | 1138  | 189  | 2000  | former Key System passenger ferry Claremont rebuilt as auto ferry[56]
Golden West | GG / SP  | 1923  | 1937  | 594  | 214  | 1300  | diesel auto ferry
Grace Barton | Whitney  | 1890  | 1916  | 194  | 100  | 60  | stern-wheel passenger ferry
Hayward | Key  |  | 1945  |  |  |  | requisitioned for wartime shipyard service
Hector | Gray  | 1852  | 1852  |  |  |  | [2]
James M. Donahue | SF&NP / NWP  | 1875  | 1921  | 730  | 228  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry[9]
Jenny Lind | Gray  | 1850  | 1853  | 61 [61]: 139  |  |  | [2] Wrecked by an explosion on April 13, 1853.[61]: 139
Kangaroo | Gray  | 1851  | 1852  |  |  |  | [2]
Klamath | SP / Richmond-San Rafael  | 1924  | 1956  | 1952  | 234  | 1300  | auto ferry transferred from SP service in 1938
Lagunitas | NS / NWP  | 1903  | 1921  | 767  | 280  | 400  | stern-wheel freight car ferry[8] (capacity 8 freight cars)[6]
Las Plumas | WP  | 1957  |  |  |  |  | diesel railcar ferry
Lake Tahoe | SP  | 1927  | 1940  | 2468  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Louise | SF&O / CPRR  | 1870  | 1877  | 368  | 148  | 125  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Mare Island | Berkeley  | 1870  | 1877  | 338  | 124  | 125  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Marin | SF&NP / NWP  | 1909  | 1934  | 101  | 97  |  | passenger ferry built as Requa and renamed after repairing fire damage in 1911[9]
Melrose | SP  | 1909  | 1931  | 2662  | 273  | 1340  | side-wheel auto ferry
Mendocino | NWP  | 1927  | 1939  | 2467  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Napa Valley | Monticello / GG / SP  | 1910  | 1940  | 2185  | 231  | 2600  | auto ferry
Newark | SPC / SP  | 1877  | 1923  | 1783  | 268  | 1200  | side-wheel passenger ferry rebuilt as Sacramento in 1923[56]
New Orleans | SP  | 1924  | 1938  | 1952  | 234  | 1400  | auto ferry sold as Russian River in 1938
Oakland | San Antonio / Contra Costa / SF&O / CPRR  | 1859  | 1874  | 418  |  | 200  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Oakland | CPRR / SP  | 1875  | 1940  | 1672  | 265  | 200  | side-wheel passenger ferry built as a side-wheel steamboat Chrysopolis in 1860, by John G. North;[56] rebuilt as a double ended ferry-boat in 1875 by Patrick Henry Tiernan;[65] destroyed by fire in 1940.[61]: 34–40, 136, 142
Ocean Wave | Santa Fe  | 1901  | 1933  |  |  |  |
Peralta |  | 1857  | 1857  |  |  |  | [66]
Peralta | Key  | 1926  | 1933  |  |  |  | passenger ferry; burned 6 May 1933
Petaluma | P&SR  | 1884  | 1914  | 264  | 135  | 250  | stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built as Resolute in 1884; burned 22 March 1914[7]
Petaluma | P&SR / NWP  | 1914  | 1935  | 448  | 148  | 250  | stern-wheel passenger & freight ferry built in 1914 using the engine of the burned ferry Petaluma[7]
Piedmont | SP  | 1883  | 1940  | 1854  | 257  | 257  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Ramon | Sacramento Northern  | 1913[6] | 1954  |  |  | 600  | interurban car ferry[67]
Ranger | Chipman & Aughinbaugh  | 1853  | 1854  | 29  |  |  | passenger ferry destroyed by boiler explosion 8 January 1854
Red Jacket | Minturn  | 1852  | 1857  |  |  |  | [2]
Redwood Empire | NWP  | 1927  | 1939  | 2470  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Rosalie | Davie  | 1893  |  | 318  | 137  | 350  | passenger ferry
Russian River | Richmond-San Rafael  | 1938  | 1956  | 1952  | 234  | 1400  | former auto ferry New Orleans purchased in 1938
Sacramento | SP  | 1923  | 1954  | 2254  | 268  | 1400  | side-wheel passenger ferry rebuilt from Newark in 1923[56]
San Antonio | San Antonio / Contra Costa / SF&O  | 1858  | 1871  | 659  |  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry
San Jose | Key  |  |  |  |  |  |
San Leandro | Key / SP  | 1923  | 1958  | 1653  | 225  | 1325  | passenger ferry requisitioned for wartime shipyard service and then to United States Army[68]
San Mateo | SP  | 1922  | 1940  | 1782  | 217  | 1400  | auto ferry
San Pablo | Santa Fe  | 1900  | 1933  | 1535  |  |  | passenger ferry[69]
San Pedro | Santa Fe  | 1911  | 1933  | 1720  |  |  | passenger ferry; became USN YFB-46[69]
San Rafael | NPC  | 1877  | 1901  | 692  | 220  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry sunk in collision in 1901[8]
Santa Clara | SP  | 1915  | 1945  | 2282  | 273  | 2500  | side-wheel passenger ferry requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Marinship
Santa Rosa | NWP  | 1927  | 1939  | 2465  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Saucelito | NPC  | 1877  | 1884  | 692  | 220  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry burned at San Quentin in 1884[8]
Sausalito | NPC / NS / NWP  | 1894  | 1932  | 1766  | 256  | 1200  | side-wheel freight car and passenger ferry[8]
Sehome | Monticello  | 1909  | 1918  |  |  |  | passenger ferry built as stern-wheel Mountain Queen in 1877; rebuilt with side-wheel propulsion in 1889; rebuilt with propeller in 1914; sunk in collision with General Frisbie[10]
Shasta | SP  | 1922  | 1940  | 1782  | 217  | 1400  | auto ferry
Sierra Nevada | SP / Richmond-San Rafael  | 1933  | 1956  | 1578  | 218  | 2500  | formerly WP passenger ferry Feather River purchased 1933; requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 1; converted to auto ferry when sold by SP in 1947
Solano | CPRR / SP  | 1879  | 1930  |  | 484  |  | Carquinez Strait train ferry[6]
Sophie MacLane | SF&A  | 1858  | 1864  | 242  | 148  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Stockton | SP  | 1927  | 1940  | 2467  | 243  | 1800  | diesel auto ferry
Tamalpais | NPC  | 1857  | 1900  | 365  | 150  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry built as Petaluma of Saucelito[8]
Tamalpais | NPC / NS / NWP  | 1901  | 1941  | 1631  | 245  | 1800  | side-wheel passenger ferry; sold to USN in 1941 as floating barracks at Mare Island[8]
Telephone | WP  | 1912  | 1913  |  |  |  | [62]
Thoroughfare | CPRR / SP  | 1871  | 1909  | 1012  | 248  | 400  | side-wheel freight car ferry (capacity 18 cars)[6]
Thoroughfare | SP  | 1912  | 1935  | 2604  | 273  | 1300  | side-wheel auto ferry
Tiburon | SF&NP / NWP  | 1884  | 1925  | 1248  | 240  |  | side-wheel passenger ferry[9]
Transit | CPRR / SP  | 1875  | 1934  | 1566  | 314  | 500  | side-wheel freight car ferry (capacity 20 cars)[6]
Washoe | SF&O / CPRR  | 1864  | 1878  | 580  |  | 250  | side-wheel passenger ferry
Yerba Buena | Key  |  |  |  |  |  | requisitioned for wartime shipyard service to Richmond yard 3 and then to United States Army
Yosemite | SP  | 1923  | 1939  | 1782  | 217  | 1400  | auto ferry

#### Relocated ferryboats

[edit]

Several ferries that had seen service on San Francisco Bay were relocated after the bay bridges were built. Yosemite was sold to the Argentina-Uruguayan Navigation Touring Company, renamed Argentina, and served a route crossing the Rio de la Plata. Seventeen were purchased by the Puget Sound Navigation Company:[56]

* City of Sacramento
* Fresno (renamed Willapa)[68]
* Golden Age (renamed Klahanie)
* Golden Bear
* Golden Dawn
* Golden Poppy (renamed Chetzemoka)
* Golden Shore (renamed Elwha)
* Golden State (renamed Kehloken)
* Golden West
* Lake Tahoe (renamed Illahee)
* Mendocino (renamed Nisqually)
* Napa Valley (renamed Malahat)
* Peralta (renamed Kalakala)
* Redwood Empire (renamed Quinault)
* San Mateo
* Santa Rosa (renamed Enetai)
* Shasta
* Stockton (renamed Klickitat)

Golden West was promptly resold to San Diego and renamed North Island for service between San Diego and Coronado. Golden Bear was salvaged for parts after being damaged when a towline parted off the Oregon coast on 15 November 1937. The others went on to serve in the waters of northwestern Washington and southwestern British Columbia. After serving seven years as Elwha, Golden Shore was sold to San Diego in 1944 and renamed Silver Strand on the San Diego-Coronado route.[56] The City of Sacramento operated on the Seattle-Bremerton route in the 1940s, then on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route from 1952 to 1963 as the MV Kahloke, and finally on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route from 1964 to 1976 as the MV Langdale Queen. The Peralta, rebuilt as the MV Kalakala, operated on various Puget Sound crossings and on the Seattle-Victoria-Port Angeles route. The City of Long Beach, renamed the City of Angeles, operated out of Port Angeles and the Stockton, which became the Klickitat, operated on the Keystone-Port Townsend route until 2007. Mendocino (renamed Quinault) and Redwood Empire (renamed Nisqually) were retired in 2003 and scrapped in 2009. Santa Rosa was renamed Enetai, returned to San Francisco Bay in 1968, and is preserved at Pier 3.[9]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Replaced service between Angel Island and Pier 41 provided by private operators since 1961[32][33]
2. ^ Mare Island stop added 2017[35]
3. ^ Service between the Ferry Building and Pier 41 was previously provided as an extension of the Vallejo and Oakland/Alameda routes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hogle, Gene (1931). NAC Green Book of Pacific Coast Touring. National Automobile Club. p. 41.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ford 1977, pp. 18–19
3. ^ Port of Oakland-History Archived 2007-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Forgotten Pioneers: Irish Leaders in Northern California, Thomas F. Prendergast, The Minerva Group, Inc., 2001, p.261
5. ^ a b Ford 1977, pp. 22–27
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Graves, Roy (1954). "Railroading on San Francisco Bay". The Western Railroader. 17 (175). Francis A. Guido: 1–11.
7. ^ a b c d e Stindt 1985, p. 128
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dickson 1974, p. 139
9. ^ a b c d e f Stindt 1978, p. 256
10. ^ a b c "San Francisco Bay Ferryboats - Yesterday". Joe Thompson. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
11. ^ Ford 1977, p. 59
12. ^ Kneiss 1956, p. 137
13. ^ Schmale 2009, p. 9
14. ^ "NWP Interurban Service Ends Tomorrow; Buses to Take Over Marin Transit". Sausalito News. February 27, 1941. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
15. ^ Ford 1977, pp. 201–209, 284–285, 289
16. ^ Ford 1977, pp. 90, 131, 162–173, 342
17. ^ "People and Planes - January '98 Aviation History Department - HistoryNet". www.historynet.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
18. ^ "Air Tickets History: San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines".
19. ^ "SFO Helicopter Airlines Schedules and Fares". November 1, 1983. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
20. ^ a b "About". Angel Island Tiburon Ferry Company. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
21. ^ "Legacy Business Registry Staff Report: Red and White Fleet" (PDF). San Francisco Office of Small Business. April 10, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
22. ^ Percy, Michael (November 30, 1965). "Tiburon Ferry Still Runs In Red". San Rafael Daily Independent Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
23. ^ a b Prial, Frank (May 2, 1971). "Ferryboat Return Pleases San Francisco Commuters". The New York times. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
24. ^ "Silver Anniversary for Golden Gate Ferry". sfgate.com. August 12, 1995. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
25. ^ a b "Alcatraz, Now Empty, Silent and Desolate, Is Opened to the Public". The New York Times. October 27, 1973. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
26. ^ a b c d "Water Emergency Transportation Authority Draft Final Transition Plan" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. June 18, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
27. ^ "2020 Short Range Transit Plan" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. pp. 11–12. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
28. ^ "About". Blue & Gold Fleet. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
29. ^ a b c "Ferry Timeline". Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
30. ^ "Lease of public tides and submerged lands". City of Sausalito. December 1, 1995. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
31. ^ "Sausalito Ferry". Blue & Gold Fleet. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
32. ^ "Golden Gate Bridge district begins Angel Island ferry route". Marin Independent Journal. December 14, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
33. ^ "Harbor Tours Adds Trip to Angel Island". The San Francisco Chronicle. July 9, 1961.
34. ^ "Schedule". Angel Island Tiburon Ferry Company. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
35. ^ "Mare Island Ferry service begins on March 6, 2017" (PDF) (Press release). Water Emergency Transportation Authority.
36. ^ "Richmond Ferry Service Launches". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
37. ^ "San Francisco Celebrates Official Launch of Treasure Island Ferry Service | Office of the Mayor". sfmayor.org. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
38. ^ "New South San Francisco Service Launches June 4, 2012 | San Francisco Bay Ferry". Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
39. ^ "South San Francisco Ferry Route". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
40. ^ Potter, Pat (July 6, 2021). "Celebrating New Ferry". Alameda Sun. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
41. ^ "Alameda Seaplane Ferry Route". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
42. ^ "Harbor Bay Ferry Route". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
43. ^ "New Ferry Schedules (Effective July 1, 2021)". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
44. ^ "Pier 41 Short Hop Ferry". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
45. ^ "Short Range Transit Plan FY2012 – FY2021" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. 2012. Appendix A. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
46. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. August 29, 2013. Attachment 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
47. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. July 10, 2014. Attachment 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
48. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. August 24, 2015. Attachment A (Total Passengers Current FY To Date). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
49. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. September 3, 2015. Attachment A (Total Passengers June 2015). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
50. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. August 4, 2016. Attachment A (Total Passengers Current FY To Date). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
51. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. September 1, 2016. Attachment A (Total Passengers June 2016). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
52. ^ "Meeting of the Board of Directors". Water Emergency Transportation Authority. September 6, 2018. Attachment A (Monthly Operating Statistics Report June 2018). Retrieved April 29, 2019.
53. ^ "Statistics & Ridership". Golden Gate Ferry. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
54. ^ "Monthly Operating Statistics Report June 2020" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
55. ^ "Monthly Operating Statistics Report June 2022" (PDF). Water Emergency Transportation Authority. August 17, 2022. p. 5. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
56. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Ford 1977, pp. 340–348
57. ^ Scott, Erving M. and Others, Evolution of Shipping and Ship-Building in California, Part II, Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, Volume 25, February 1895, pp.122-129; from quod.lib.umich.edu accessed March 10, 2015
58. ^ Pickens, Steve. "The Rogue's Gallery". www.evergreenfleet.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
59. ^ History of the MV Langdale Queen, ex-MV Kahloke, ex-SS City of Sacramento, ex-SS Asbury Park
60. ^ Scott, Erving M. and Others, Evolution of Shipping and Ship-Building in California, Part I, Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, Volume 25, January 1895, pp.5-16; from quod.lib.umich.edu accessed March 10, 2015
61. ^ a b c d MacMullen, Jerry, Paddle-Wheel Days in California, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1970.
62. ^ a b Ford 1977, p. 197
63. ^ Water Transportation. Annual Report of the Quartermaster General, U.S.A. For the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1887 (Report). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1887. pp. 160–161. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
64. ^ Vessels Owned by the Quartermaster's Department. Official Register of the United States a Containing List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military and Naval Service on the First of July, 1887 (Report). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1887. p. 276. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
65. ^ North, E. M. (April 16, 1899). "Evolution of Shipping and Shipbuilding in California". The Overland Monthly. Samuel Carson: 151. Retrieved April 16, 2018 – via Google Books.
66. ^ Ford 1977, p. 20
67. ^ Demoro, Harre W. (1986). California's Electric Railways. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. p. 14\. ISBN 0-916374-74-2.
68. ^ a b Peter Fimrite (April 28, 2005). "Ferry tale -- the dream dies hard: 2 historic boats that plied the bay seek buyer -- anybody". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
69. ^ a b "Bethlehem Steel Company, San Francisco CA". Tim Colton. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Dickson, A. Bray (1974). Narrow Gauge to the Redwoods. Trans-Anglo Books. ISBN 0-87046-010-2.
* Ford, Robert S. (1977). Red Trains in the East Bay. Interurbans Publications. ISBN 0-916374-27-0.
* Harlan, George H. (1967). San Francisco Bay Ferryboats. Howell-North Books.
* Kemble, John Haskell (1978) [1957]. San Francisco Bay: A Pictorial Maritime History. Bonanza Books.
* Kneiss, Gilbert H. (1956). Redwood Railways. Howell-North.
* Schmale, John & Kristina (2009). Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5959-9.
* Stindt, Fred A. (1978). The Northwestern Pacific Railroad. Stindt, Fred A.
* Stindt, Fred A. (1985). The Northwestern Pacific Railroad, Volume Two. Fred A. Stindt. ISBN 0-9615465-0-6.

## External links

[edit]

* San Francisco Bay Area portal

* Golden Gate Transit Archived November 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
* Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco Ferry official website
* Baylink (official Vallejo ferry website)
* San Francisco Bay Ferryboats
* "So Where Are They Now? The Story of San Francisco's Steel Electric Empire". Bay Crossings. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
* Cable Car Guy \- list of preserved historical ferries of San Francisco Bay
* A guide to the Southern Pacific Company records, 1908-1935
* The Northwesterner, Ferryboat Issue, Spring-Summer 1995, published by The Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society, Santa Rosa CA

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