The Central California Railway Company, a subsidiary of Southern Pacific, completed the Dumbarton Cut-off in 1910, reducing the rail route distance between Oakland and San Francisco by 26.1 miles (42.0 km).
Prior to the completion of the Cut-off, transcontinental freight destined for San Francisco was unloaded in Oakland and ferried across the Bay, or trains detoured through San Jose and Santa Clara, using the Peninsula Corridor to San Francisco.
The Dumbarton Rail Bridge, a swing through-truss span, was the first structure built across San Francisco Bay.
The Dumbarton Cut-off includes a second, smaller swing through-truss to the east of the Dumbarton Rail Bridge.

Some portions of the timber trestles had been replaced with concrete structures in the 1960s and 1970s.
However, San Francisco gradually became a less important hub for rail transportation, and the Port of Oakland was better-suited to handle containerized shipping.
The last freight train used the Dumbarton Cut-off in 1982.
The Central California Railway Company, a subsidiary of Southern Pacific, completed the Dumbarton Cut-off in 1910, reducing the rail route distance between Oakland and San Francisco by 26.1 miles (42.0 km). Prior to the completion of the Cut-off, transcontinental freight destined for San Francisco was unloaded in Oakland and ferried across the Bay, or trains detoured through San Jose and Santa Clara, using the Peninsula Corridor to San Francisco. The Dumbarton Rail Bridge, a swing through-truss span, was the first structure built across San Francisco Bay. The Dumbarton Cut-off includes a second, smaller swing through-truss to the east of the Dumbarton Rail Bridge.
Some portions of the timber trestles had been replaced with concrete structures in the 1960s and 1970s. However, San Francisco gradually became a less important hub for rail transportation, and the Port of Oakland was better-suited to handle containerized shipping. The last freight train used the Dumbarton Cut-off in 1982.
Dumbarton Rail Corridor