Lafayette Loop Overview and the Many Guises of West Lafayette

East view, Lafayette, Oct. 14, 1956. The SN is four months away from being abandoned from 40th and Shafter to a point 410 feet west of Lafayette, mile post 23.9. In effect, this ended service to the western edge of the Lafayette Loop. Today we are reminded of the right-of-way as the Loop is accentuated by the presence of the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. More about the Loop next.

L40-05-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 5208-7, (Image 1 of 16)

The Lafayette Loop sits at the east flank of central Lafayette. The gentle grade of Las Trampas Creek encircles the Loop and was taken advantage of by the SN from the Burton Valley into Saranap to avoid steep grades and Snake Hill. From this distance, the placement of the SN West Lafayette power sub-station, green arrow, and the two transmission towers near Las Huertas Road, orange arrows, can be appreciated. East view, Oct. 14, 1956

L40-10-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 5208-7, (Image 2 of 16)

The east section of the Loop, white arrow, was developed more rapidly relative to the preservation of orchards to the west, orange arrow, in the mid-20th century. The yellow arrow marks a point on the SN right-of-way, now the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. The orange arrow also marks a point along Las Trampas Creek. Images courtesy of East Bay Municipal Utility District, left, and Contra Costa County Public Works, right.

L40-15-USDA AAA Western Divsion and HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA, (Image 3 of 16)

The more rapid development around the SN Lafayette station in particular could be accounted for by its proximity to central Lafayette, its exclusion from the original Moraga Rancho and the policies of the Moraga Company, and the absence of tracts of land deeded to the railroad by individuals.

L40-20-Courtesy California Board of Equalization, 862 7 2 and 2A , (Image 4 of 16)

The location of the four SN flag stops in the Loop, yellow tags, and the main roads, white tags, are seen in this detail of an east view from 1946. Today Raliez is now called Reliez. Its meaning is unclear as told in the excellent review by Ray Peters in the Lafayette Historical Society News, Vol. 38, No. 1, Jan. 2011.

L40-25-RL Copeland Photo, Courtesy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 7348 Detail, (Image 5 of 16)

Images of the West Loop, the topic for the rest of this discussion, are extremely rare and notoriously difficult to place. This southeast view labelled “Lafayette, June 1958” is a good example. If this is from the Loop, it would have to be on the west side since the rails on the east side were in use until Aug. 1958.

L40-30 Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 60532sn, (Image 6 of 16)

On at least one SN excursion, photo opportunities were made available at this location as documented by this image of SN 1005. The image was not dated nor was location indicated.

L40-35 Roy Proffer Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 60354sn, (Image 7 of 16)

Lining up the last two images documents that the photos were taken relatively close to one another, and confirms that the empty path in L40-30 was indeed the former SN right-of-way, now the Lafayette-Moraga Trail.

L40-40-Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 60532sn and 60354sn , (Image 8 of 16)

An even better image of the same scene as L40-35 was taken by the organizer of BAERA SN excursions, Arthur Lloyd. He labelled the negative as West Lafayette, and dated it Aug. 10, 1952.

L40-45-Arthur Lloyd Photo, Courtesy Arthur Lloyd , (Image 9 of 16)

A detail of L40-45 shows the two transmission towers indicated by the orange arrows in L40-10, southeast of the Las Huertas Road grade crossing, making the view toward the southeast. This narrows the location to between Las Huertas Road and Hope Lane along what is today the Lafayette-Moraga Trail.

L40-50-Arthur Lloyd Photo, Courtesy Arthur Lloyd, Detail , (Image 10 of 16)

This undated, but earlier southeast image, shows a grade crossing, most likely with Las Huertas Road. Compare with the previous images, and look carefully for the western-most electrical tower to the left of the track between the last two trees in the orchard.

L40-52-Warren Wing Photo, WC Whittaker Collection, Courtesy Arnold Menke, (Image 11 of 16)

The transmission towers in the right portion of the image have supplied Walnut Creek and west since established by the Great Western Power Company after creating Lake Almanor in 1912. Samuel Naphtaly, a founder of the Oakland and Antioch Railroad and successors, was a key figure at Great Western, and this provided a source of electricity for the SN.

L40-55-Copyright California Department of Transportation, 5208-7 Detail, (Image 12 of 16)

While riding the freights in the late 1940s, Dave Gumz captured this northwest view of Hope Lane, today east of the intersection of Hope Lane and Brookdale Court. The building to the right is absent from aerials before WWII and after 1955 such as L40-15, where an extension of the orchard is in its place.

L40-60-Dave Gumz Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 60353.1sn, (Image 13 of 16)

The building, however, is present in aerials from 1946, denoted by the blue arrow in this detail from an east view from that year. The history of this structure or its function have not been further explored. The orange arrow, denoting the grade crossing sign for Topper Court, is the next destination proceeding toward the West Lafayette flagstop.

L40-65-RL Copeland Photo, Courtesy Contra Costa County Historical Society, 7348 Detail, (Image 14 of 16)

The Topper Court grade crossing is the setting for SN 1014 on the last Sunday of passenger service, Jun. 29, 1941, east view. The telephone and power line details match up perfectly with the ones in the next image.

L40-70-Roy Covert Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 49342sn, (Image 15 of 16)

One week earlier, Jun. 22, 1941, SN 1014 as number 12, the designated east-bound school train during the weekdays, makes it to the shelter at the West Lafayette flagstop. This southeast image captures a rare view of the West Lafayette hills and will be the point of departure for the next portion of the West Loop.

L40-75-Dudley Thickens Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum, 60291sn, (Image 16 of 16)