The Sacramento, Placer and Nevada Railroad right of way marks Theodore Dehone Judah’s attempt to advance his vision of a transcontinental railroad. Conceived in 1854 and constructed in 1861, the line was designed by Judah as chief engineer and ran about thirteen miles from Folsom to Wildwood, beginning operation in September 1862 and ceasing in late 1864. Judah, a railroad engineer from Connecticut, had earlier worked as chief engineer for the Sacramento Valley Railroad, surveyed a route across the Sierra Nevada, helped secure support from four Sacramento merchants later known as the Big Four, and lobbied Congress to pass the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad. After those merchants marginalized his role, he began this separate railroad from Ashland Station in Folsom as a shorter step toward his Sierra route, but the line was too short for much commercial value and its track gauge was three and one half inches wider than the later standard. Judah left California to seek eastern financing for his plan, contracted yellow fever while traveling by ship with a crossing in Panama, and died before his dream was fulfilled by others.