San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway
railroad in California, United States
The San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway, later briefly reorganized as the San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad, was an electric interurban railroad in the U.S. state of California. In conjunction with the Monticello Steamship Company, the railway offered a combined rail- and ferry-service called the "Napa Valley Route."
Construction
In 1901, Col. J.W. Hartzell and his brother H.F. Hartzell secured a franchise to build an electric railway line, which allowed them the right to build on city streets and along county roads. The line paralleled much of the already existing route of the Napa Valley Railroad. In April 1902, the Benicia, Vallejo & Napa Valley Railroad Company was incorporated. The line originated at the port of Vallejo where it met the ferry connecting to San Francisco. From there, it headed northwards for a total of 41.7 miles (67.1 km) to terminate at Calistoga, passing through Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, and St. Helena. Construction of the railroad commenced in 1903 and trains began running from Vallejo to Napa following a grand opening on July 4, 1905. The line was extended to Yountville by 1907, to St.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway” as railroad in California, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as railroad in California, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7413898. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1905.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway primary sources, San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway archive and Francisco research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.