A postcard circa 1900 of the ferry Solano, built and operated by the Central Pacific Railroad to move entire trains between these ports on its transcontinental line in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before her sister ship, the Contra Costa, was constructed in 1914, the Solano - named for the county in which Benicia is located - was the largest ferry ever built.
The Solano was built in 1878 in Oakland, California, 424 feet (129 metres) long and 116 feet (35 metres) wide with four tracks capable of carrying entire passenger trains or a 48-car freight train and locomotive. It was in service from 1879 to 1930.
By 1927 the two ferries could not cope with the capacity need and on 31 May 1928 the Southern Pacific, successor to the Central Pacific in operations of the ferries, ordered the building of a railway bridge from Benicia to Martinez just east of Port Costa to replace them. The bridge was opened in November 1930 and continues to serve Union Pacific and Amtrak. Following the opening of the bridge, the Solano and Contra Costa were dismantled and sold for scrap. However, remains of the Solano can still be seen where she was scuttled to create a breakwater near Antioch, California. Lots more here
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