Santa Ana and Newport Railway

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The Santa Ana Rail Road was formed by the Newport Wharf and Lumber Company on August 23, 1889 to build a railway connection from the lumber company wharf in Newport Beach, California to the national rail network in Santa Ana, California. The 11.71-mile (18.85 km) rail line was built in 1890 and operated as a freight line until passenger service was begun in 1891. Southern Pacific formed the Santa Ana and Newport Railway (SA&N) on November 7, 1892 to acquire the line from the lumber company on February 11, 1893. On March 28, 1899 SA&N purchased the unbuilt Santa and Westminster Railway incorporated on August 5, 1890, and built a station on 2nd Street in Santa Ana to hold the franchise for an 9-mile (14 km) line connecting Santa Ana and Westminster, California. Construction of a 10.76-mile (17.32 km) branch from Newport to Smeltzer began in 1899, but was incomplete when Southern Pacific merged the SA&N on November 23, 1899, and did not begin operation until 1 January 1900.^[1]