I had never heard the story of the Solano Train Ferry until I watched this episode of California’s Gold from 2006. But I’ve traveled several times along the train tracks on the south shore of the Carquinez Strait and passed by the site of Port Costa, and I’ve always wondered about the many wooden pilings left standing in the water just offshore. This particular adventure starts out in Benicia but ends up in Antioch, not very far at all from the Big Break Regional Shoreline park which I recently visited. If you love trains, ships, and history this is the perfect episode for you!

Huell’s off to the San Francisco Bay area to learn about the largest train ferry ever built. The Solano train ferry shuttled trains and passengers back and forth between Port Costa and Benicia. It once served as a vital link in the Central Pacific and and later the Southern Pacific Railroad Lines.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)