Clinging To The Cliffs

The Ocean Shore Railroad, in order to gain access to the towns of El Granada, needed to conquer the steep cliffs of the Devils Slide. As shown in the previous post, the Ocean Shore Railroad had constructed the line through the Devils Slide, but still had to conquer the last few cliffs beside it. Leaving off from where we left off at the entrance from the Devils Slide Trail (formerly the Cabrillo Highway) pulling into the Tom Santos Tunnel Southern Portal entrance, where the Ocean Shore Railroad once curved to pull into the rest of the line. 

As shown in the screenshot above, it is clearly visible where the Ocean Shore Railroad used to go, but look at the size of those cuts along the berm! From there, the Ocean Shore Railroad then curved into the wide ocean canyon.

The Ocean Shore Railroad ROW then curves onto a small gravel road.

If you wish to drive this section, I highly discourage it but it is accessible via the Cabrillo Highway into the small gravel road. The Ocean Shore Railroad had to use various tight curves in order to gain access into the areas below Pacifica. In the very right, we can see the gravel road end and give way to an abandoned right of way, likely untouched since the 1930s after the rails were pulled up. 

The Black Line represents the Right Of Way, and the Red Line represents what once was the Trestle

The Ocean Shore Railroad then curved among a beam to the other side of the canyon, crossing the small watershed creek with a trestle. This trestle likely collapsed sometime in the 1930s or was removed in the 1920s. The infrastructure before removal provided as a bypass road from the Pedro Mountain Road in the days after the Ocean Shore Railroad. The railroad would then pass through a very noticeable cut, accessible by the local beach parking lot. 

In the picture above, observe how the railroad right of way is currently maintained as some sort of dirt path. The railroad from the left, would curve towards the straight line of the track (not the dirt road, mind from the other picture) and pass through a cut, before re-entering the other section of cliffs. Observe the Cabrillo Highway on the bottom left. 

This picture views how the Ocean Shore Railroad reached the ocean plains via the cliffs

If you wish to access this portion of the Right Of Way, it is accessible by the local beach as stated. In the picture above, the Cabrillo Highway uses much of the Ocean Shore Railroad's former right of way. The windiness of the track displays how much the Ocean Shore Railroad engineers had to accomplish, as well as carving out a substantial ledge on the edge of cliffs. 

The railway then had to pass through a series of tall cuts along the cliffside, before finally reaching the ocean plains edge. We will continue on for a short bit before ending for the week. The Cabrillo Highway utilized the former Ocean Shore Railroad right of way, due to the lack of any other road access to the area, besides the tight hairpin curve monstrosity that was the Pedro Mountain Road. 

The first glimpse of the coastal plains shows a bountiful agriculture industry, which was one of the reasons why the Ocean Shore Railroad first had financial success in the beginning. It was thought that the agriculture and passenger industry could sustain the Ocean Shore Railroad forever, but it was never accounted for the variable of funds from investors. The railroad follows the Cabrillo Highway until it curves, taking an abandoned berm lined only by a wooden fence. 

A close up on the abandoned berm reveals that yet another trestle crosses another watershed runoff creek. The tracks then go into the city of Montara, the site of a former Ocean Shore railway station. That will do it for today, I'll come back whenever I feel like it!