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Now
famous for the silent films of the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company studios,
between 1912 and 1916 Niles provided a backdrop for the early films of
stars like Charlie Chaplin and "Bronco Billy" Anderson. The town's fame
as an early railroad terminal is perhaps less known, but it was just a
few miles east of Niles, in September of 1869, that the transcontinental
railroad was actually completed, joining the East and West coasts by rail
for the first time. A junction of two early Bay Area railroads, Niles boasted
a small roundhouse, turntable, and yard. Both of these early railroads
later became part of the expanding Southern Pacific empire. By 1909, Niles
had become an important junction of four diverging routes- north to Hayward
and Oakland, south to Milpitas and San Jose, east through Niles Canyon
to Tracy, and west to Centerville (and via Centerville to Newark, the Dumbarton
Bridge, and Redwood City).
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The
first depot in Niles, a long, single-story structure completed in 1870,
included a restaurant and saloon for the convenience of train passengers.
In 1900, Southern Pacific instituted a "dry law", closing all of the saloons
in railroad eating-houses. Without the bar, the restaurant closed in mid-1901,
and the depot- a relic of a country with fewer rules- closed three years
later.
The "new" Niles Depot, opened in 1901, featured colonnade style architecture. It was built of redwood cut in the Santa Cruz Mountains and milled in Southern Pacific sawmills. Unlike most of the other colonnade style depots the railroad built between 1901 and 1913, the columns in the "new" Niles depot were topped by ornate carved wood decoration. Southern Pacific discontinued the last regularly scheduled passenger train to the 1901 Niles depot on January 22, 1941. Thereafter, the depot served as a freight agency for the railroad until the removal of the freight agent in 1974.
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But
in 1981, the Niles depot, too, fell to retirement- one of the dwindling
number of colonnade depots remaining on the railroad. When Southern Pacific
announced it would demolish the building, a grass roots, volunteer-based
effort began to raise funds to save and restore it. Their efforts paid
off. Today, the restored Niles depot is one of three colonnade style depots
along the Amtrak line from San Jose to Colfax. The other two colonnade
style depots are at Suisun City and Colfax. Of the more than twenty colonnade
style depots built, about half exist today.
Due to the numerous sharp curves in Niles Canyon and the steep grades and slow speed on its original 1869 line from Niles to Tracy, Southern Pacific abandoned and began dismantling the line in 1982. Since then, the non-profit Pacific Locomotive Association has rebuilt the western portion of the line and operates the Niles Canyon Railway tourist trains through the canyon using steam locomotives and historic equipment. Passengers aboard the Altamont Commuter Express trains ride on the parallel former Western Pacific line east of Niles that was completed in 1910.
Today,
the historic 1901 Niles depot is owned by the city of Fremont and houses
a railroad museum and model railroad layouts operated by the non-profit
Niles Depot Historical Foundation.
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Birdseye View of Niles, California
Circa 1910 Note 1904 Niles passenger depot with train in station and Niles freight depot to upper right of passenger depot (blocked by freight cars). Niles Main Street Association Collection |
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Close-Up View (of Birdseye View) of 1904 Niles Passenger Depot and
Niles Freight Depot
Circa 1910 Note that there is no 70' open shed extension on freight depot whichshows in later photos. Niles Main Street Association Collection |
