By 1887 SPC was a major California transportation concern ; and Southern Pacific paid six million dollars to merge it into their California transportation system . An 1893 winter storm caused a landslide in the Santa Cruz Mountains requiring major reconstruction to restore service . The Alameda ferry terminal burned in 1902 and was replaced with the modern terminal which survived until ferry service was discontinued by the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in 1939 . The gauge line had 23 locomotives , 85 passenger cars and 500 freight cars before the conversion to standard gauge began . The transition to standard gauge was interrupted by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . The line through the Santa Cruz Mountains suffered major damage including a lateral slip of in the tunnel where it crossed the San Andreas fault . The bridge across San Leandro Bay was damaged and abandoned . Conversion to standard gauge was completed in 1909 . narrow gauge locomotives numbered 9 , 23 , and 26 were eventually acquired by the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company . Other SPC gauge equipment was sold to the Carson and Colorado Railway , the White Pass and Yukon Route , the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad , the Pacific Coast Railway , the Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company , and the Northwestern Pacific Railroad
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
South Pacific Coast Railroad