The Solano was a large railroad ferry, built as a reinforced paddle steamer with independently powered sidewheels by the Central Pacific Railroad, that carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California daily for 51 years, from 1879 to 1930. When launched, the Solano was the largest ferry of its kind in the world, a record held for 35 years until 1914 when she was joined by her sister ship, the Contra Costa, which was 13 feet (4.0 m) longer.
Postcard of ferryboat Solano loaded with freight cars crossing the Carquinez Strait in California, c. 1910
The Solano, largest ferryboat in the world (1906)
Postcard of the railroad ferry Solano, showing her four sets of tracks
Solano's sister ship: Contra Costa c. 1917
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait located in the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait is eight miles (13 km) long and connects Suisun Bay, which receives the waters of the combined rivers, with San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of the San Francisco Bay.
Looking east, the Carquinez Bridge in the foreground and the Benicia–Martinez Bridge in the background
Suisun Bay (bottom), Carquinez Strait (with bridges crossing it), and San Pablo Bay (upper center), with Point Reyes in the background
View of the Carquinez Strait with the Benicia-Martinez Bridge on the right
Annotated satellite image of the San Francisco Bay Area, featuring San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Strait, 2004
