The Big Curve, Three Quarries, and The Abandoned Spur at Augusta Drive

The rear portion of a seemingly endless freight train rounds the curve at Valle Vista heading to Moraga in this northeast view from Jan. 24, 1948. The curve held much historical importance for the railway and Valle Vista.

L119-05-Moreau Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 82723sn, (Image 1 of 23)

SN 661 leads a freight into the curve at Valle Vista in this southwest view, circa 1950. This is the point where the SN rose way above Canyon Rd.

L119-10-Tom Gray Photo, Tom Gray, (Image 2 of 23)

The curve is the place where ballast was produced to help build the railway in the 1911-1913 timeframe, south view.

L119-15-LL Stein Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 75175sn, (Image 3 of 23)

This northwest 1935 oblique continues the landmarking along the SN in Valle Vista. The two quarries on the curve are seen toward the right edge of the image.

L119-20-Pacific Aerial Surveys Photo, Courtesy East Bay Regional Park District, USNPS-11-D, (Image 4 of 23)

First Oakland Mayor Horace Walpole Carpentier granted the deed to the railway for the right-of-way in 1911. Although contributing to completion of the western section of the first transcontinental telegraph, he took advantage of Spanish landholders like the Moragas to give up much of their property to pay for his legal services. Image detail follows.

L119-25-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 4103sn, (Image 5 of 23)

A detail of L119-25 shows the two main quarries and associated structures in 1914.

L119-30-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 4103sn, Detail, (Image 6 of 23)

This south view of MW 302 and Salt Lake City and Utah 751 are captured during a BAERA-sponsored excursion on July 4, 1950. The background valley changed little from that seen in L119-15 as a result of the take over of the land by eminent domain by the East Bay Water Company in the mid-1920s.

L119-35-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 93778sn, (Image 7 of 23)

Turning to the north, this undated view of the curve shows major structures in Moraga such as the Moraga Barn and Willow Springs School already in place.

L119-40-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 51837sn, (Image 8 of 23)

The same north view as L119-40 documents little change in the background except for the date, July 8, 1956, as SN 1005 and Salt Lake City and Utah 751 round the curve on one of the last southend excursions circa 1955-1956.

L119-45-Moreau Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 93952sn, (Image 9 of 23)

The northeast view on the right shows the original paved bridge over Moraga Creek circa 1913, while the insert on the left taken by Roy Proffer from Oct. 24, 1954 shows how high above Canyon Rd. the railway rose. On today’s landscape, the Lafayette-Moraga Trail descends from the right-of-way to meet the road.

L119-50-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 56052sn, left, 75173sn, right, (Image 10 of 23)

Of the many northeast views taken of SN passenger trains rounding the curve, a favorite is Art Alter’s image of the school train heading back to Oakland on May 16, 1940. In this sequence, Train 27 consisted of cars 1012, 224, 228, 1210, and 1017.

L119-55-Art Alter Photo, Hanft Collection, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 53950sn, (Image 11 of 23)

SN 660 is seen pulling MW 302 around the curve in this northeast image of a NORCAL-sponsored excursion, Oct. 24, 1954. A fire started under MW 302 on the trip out of Oakland earlier in the day ending its career as a motor-driven passenger car.

L119-60-Arthur Lloyd Photo, Courtesy Arthur Lloyd, (Image 12 of 23)

Another northeast image from the same NORCAL-sponsored excursion, Oct. 24, 1954, here in color with the train north of the position seen in L119-60.

L119-65-Courtesy Charles Smiley, (Image 13 of 23)

The last topic in this review is the quarry seen in the background of this north view of a two-car passenger train heading to Oakland in 1941.

L119-70-Vernon Sapper Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 75179sn, (Image 14 of 23)

Close-ups of the quarry pop up in many images, here in a southwest view of a three-car train led by SN 1007 with Upper San Leandro Reservoir prominently situated in the background, June 15, 1940.

L119-75-Wilbur C Whittaker Photo, Courtesy Tom Gray, (Image 15 of 23)

Another view of the quarry in this circa 1956-1957 northeast view as SN 1005 and Salt Lake City and Utah 751 pose for the camera during this late south-end excursion. The question of interest is what path SN trains took to get to the quarry from the mainline.

L119-80-Arthur Lloyd Photo, Courtesy Arthur Lloyd, (Image 16 of 23)

According to this map drawn by Les Krames for the publication “Moraga’s Pride” based on information gathered by Brother Dennis Goodman and the Moraga Historical Society, the spur took off from the mainline north of the curve along what is today Augusta Dr.

L119-85-From the collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, (Image 17 of 23)

To verify the location of the spur, an annotated version of a detail from this vertical aerial from 1928 will be compared in the next image to that of the same area in 2016.

L119-90-Courtesy Earth Sciences and Map Library, University of California, Berkeley , (Image 18 of 23)

Now a detail of L119-90 with a matched 2016 counterpart. The information on these figures supports Les Krames’ drawing. Appreciate that the aerial does not establish if track still existed along the abandoned spur.

L119-95-Courtesy Earth Sciences and Map Library, University of California, Berkeley and Google, (Image 19 of 23)

This west view from 1935 provides additional support for the placement of the take-off of the spur from the mainline.

L119-100-Pacific Aerial Suveys, Courtesy East Bay Regional Park Dstrict, USNPS-11-E, (Image 20 of 23)

On the ground confirmation starts with this circa 1937 southeast view prominently displaying the outlines of the former rail ties at the feet of photographer Paul Smith.

L119-105-Paul Smith Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 75186sn, (Image 21 of 23)

Paul Smith also took a few northeast-directed photographs of the remnants of spur track as it crossed Canyon Rd, also circa 1937.

L119-110-Paul Smith Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives, 75185sn, (Image 22 of 23)

Today the quarry can be appreciated from the ground, left, more so than from the Lafayette-Moraga Trail, top right. It may be difficult to prove that the rail found in the area is from the original spur, but it provides a reminder as to the importance of the railway to this area of Valle Vista.

L119-115-Stuart Swiedler Photos, (Image 23 of 23)