View looking south.
Calaveras Blvd. ovepass may be clearly seen.
View looking south.
Calaveras Blvd. ovepass may be clearly seen.
The Western Pacific Railroad was the first to arrive in Milpitas. The line was
built in the present Southern Pacific right-of-way about two hundred feet east of
Main Street. All traces of the depot, located southeast of St. John's Catholic Church,
have vanished. Once several canneries operated along Main Street and a steady stream
of freight cars rolled past filling with cases of canned peas, dried apricots, prunes,
and fresh strawberries. Later, the trains carried hay to feed the horses of San Francisco,
Oakland, and San Jose.
In 1999, there are plans for the trains once again to stop in Milpitas. This time
they will carry commuters to destinations north and south. This will form an important
transportation hub near the intersection of Main Street and Great Mall Parkway when
the Santa Clara County Light Rail system completes a station at that intersection.