The rail line now called Caltrain was started in the 1860s to create a
faster alternative to stagecoaches and ships between the key cities of
San Francisco and San Jose. Operated by Southern Pacific for many years,
the Peninsula Commute Service is the oldest continuously operating
passenger railroad in the West and boasts seven depots in the National
Register of Historic Places. This indomitable iron horse has filled a
vital transportation role, from evacuating San Franciscans during the
1906 earthquake to getting commuters to work. With the dawn of the 21st
century, Caltrain reinvented itself yet again with its innovative Baby
Bullet express trains.