El Capitan (ferry)

El Capitan was the largest ferry on San Francisco Bay when built in 1868
History
Name	El Capitan
Owner	1868-1885: Central Pacific Railroad 1885-1925: Southern Pacific
Operator	1868-1885: Central Pacific Railroad 1885-1925: Southern Pacific
Port of registry	San Francisco,  USA
Builder	Patrick Tiernan, San Francisco
Completed	1868
In service	1868-1925
Out of service	1925
Identification	Official Number: 8230
General characteristics
Class and type	passenger ferry
Tonnage	982
Displacement	669
Length	194 ft (59 m)
Beam	33.6 ft (10.2 m)
Depth	14.5 ft (4.4 m)
Installed power	Total 250 hp from 4 fire tube boilers
Propulsion	side wheels powered by a vertical beam engine steam engine
Crew	14
Notes	[1]

El Capitan was a side-wheel steam-powered passenger ferry operated on San Francisco Bay. The ferry was built for the Central Pacific Railroad in 1868 in anticipation of completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The ferry offered connecting service to San Francisco for train passengers arriving in Oakland, California. El Capitan collided with the Central Pacific ferry Alameda in dense fog on 20 February 1879. The hull flooded from a hole forward of the port side paddle box, and the ferry sank onto a mud bar. She was towed to a shipyard for repair the following day. El Capitan spent its last decade crossing the Carquinez Strait between Crockett and Vallejo before being retired in 1925.^[2]

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