The Pacific Coast Railway reached San Luis Obispo on Aug. 8, 1876, after beginning in 1873 as a horsedrawn rail line on the Port Hartford Pier at Port San Luis. Three-foot-gauge steam engines hauled trains carrying farm, dairy, and oil products to ships at the port, while also bringing passengers, lumber, machinery, and household goods to the fast-growing communities along the route, which eventually extended to Los Olivos in 1887. In its peak passenger year of 1912, more than 62,000 fares were collected. Regular use of the railroad declined during the depression years, and the line was scrapped in 1942 after nearly seventy years of valuable service to this part of California.