Prototype Route

Route of the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad, c. 1910. (Santa Cruz Trains / George Pepper Collection)

At its peak, the PVCRR had trackage (30" narrow gauge) running from its terminus in Watsonville, CA, south along the Monterey Bay to a wharf in Moss Landing. From here, the railroad headed south east through the Salinas Valley toward Spreckels, where the PVCRR operated a depot and a small yard that serviced the large sugar beet refinery just outside of Spreckels.

The line also included a few branch lines. The Alisal Branch, which diverged to the north east from the PVC mainline at Watsonville Junction, provided a connection to a limestone quarry used in the construction of the large refinery in Spreckels, as well as access to various livestock farms where used sugar pulp was sold as cattle feed. The Salinas Branch, which ran west from the Alisal Branch at Spreckels Junction, allowed for passenger service between Salinas and Spreckels. Finally, the Buena Vista Branch ran from the Spreckels yard south east along the Salinas River, providing direct access to the sugar beet farms of the region.