Memorial plaque 150 Years of Service on the Oldest Railroad in the West

A plaque commemorating one hundred and fifty years of service on the oldest railroad in the West is mounted on the wall of the Caltrain station near the entrance at Fourth and King Streets. Before this rail line connected San Francisco to San Jose, the trip required travelers to endure long hours by stagecoach or steamship. After three separate attempts to organize a rail company failed, construction finally began in May eighteen sixty-one on the forty-nine-mile San Francisco and San Jose Railroad.