San Francisco and Alameda Railroad ( SF&A ) was a short-lived railroad company in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area . The railroad line opened 1864-1865 from Alameda Terminal on Alameda Island to Hayward , California , with ferry service between Alameda Terminal and San Francisco started in 1864 . After being bankrupted by the 1868 Hayward earthquake , it was acquired by the Central Pacific Railroad in 1869 . Part of the SF&A line between Alameda Terminal and San Leandro served as part of the First Transcontinental Railroad starting in September 1869 ( though most was replaced by the San Francisco and Oakland Railroad by November 1869 ) , while the southern section was abandoned in 1873
1868 Hayward earthquake
1868 Hayward earthquake
San Francisco and Alameda Railroad