The Solano was a large railroad ferry, built as a reinforced paddle steamer with independently powered sidewheels by the Central Pacific Railroad, that carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California, daily for 51 years from 1879 to 1930. When launched, the Solano was the largest ferry of its kind in the world, a record held for 35 years until 1914 when she was joined by her sister ship, the Contra Costa, which was 13 feet longer. Design The Solano was designed by Arthur Brown, the superintendent of bridges and buildings for Central Pacific Railroad, who reinforced the ferryboat much like a rail bridge, using four wooden Pratt trusses longitudinally under the deck of her four sets of rails. She was powered by two 2,000-horsepower walking beam steam engines. Each engine, with a 5-foot bore and 11-foot stroke cylinder, drove a paddle wheel that in turn drove the ship through the water. With two side paddle wheels operating independently, the Solano had the maneuverability it needed to handle the currents (about 8 mph) of Carquinez Strait. With two pilot rooms, one at each end, there was no need to turn the ship around for return trips. The ferry slips and approaches were also designed by Arthur Brown. The slip at Benicia reached out into the strait diagonally downstream, whereas the slip at Port Costa, being further downstream from Benicia, pointed directly upstream. The distance across was about one mile, only thirteen lengths of the Solano; the designed time in transit including starting and stopping was nine minutes. The 100-foot long apron or linkspan on each slip had four sets of rails, matching the four sets on the ferry to facilitate loading and unloading, and was hinged and balanced by weights and pontoons to accommodate the nine-foot tides. The Solano, named for the county in which Benicia sits, was built in 1879 in Oakland, California near the end of Long Wharf. She was long and wide and was capable of carrying on her four tracks an entire 24-car passenger train plus locomotive or a 48-car freight train and locomotive. She commenced trials on 24 November 1879 from Meigg's Wharf, with 75 selected guests, including Charles Crocker and Arthur Brown, on a trip around Alcatraz and arrived at Benicia with great fanfare, which included a military band and a twenty-six gun salute. She could travel at