Railroad Tracks on the Beach in Malibu, circa 1915

Completed in 1908, this 15-mile standard gauge railway was built by May Rindge, the matriarch of the Rindge family that owned the expansive Rancho Malibu, starting in 1892. Called the Hueneme, Malibu and Port Los Angeles Railway, the tracks stretched from Las Flores Canyon (the eastern point) to Yerba Buena Canyon (the western point). The railway was used to move supplies around the ranch and ship goods from the Malibu wharf, although its chief purpose was to keep the Southern Pacific Railroad company from gaining right-of-way access to the private lands of the Rancho Malibu. The railway was in use until about 1920, and completely dismantled by 1942. As evidenced by this photograph, the tracks were at a continual risk of being buried by beach sand, and high surf and landslides meant that the railway required constant repair.