Muir Trestle, Railway bridge in Martinez, California.

Muir Trestle is a railway bridge in Martinez, California, that carries trains across Alhambra Valley on concrete supports rising approximately 75 feet (23 meters) above ground. The steel structure spans around 1,600 feet (488 meters) and continues to handle active rail traffic today.

In 1897 John and Louie Muir sold the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railroad a 60-foot right of way across their pear orchard for $10 in gold, with lifetime free travel on AT&SF lines. The steel trestle was finished in early 1900 and the line opened that May. The AT&SF merged into BNSF in 1995, which runs the Stockton Subdivision today.

The trestle takes its name from John Muir, whose pear orchard it crossed; his daughter Wanda and her husband Tom Hanna ran the plantation until 1950. Muir and his wife Louie granted the right of way in 1897 partly because the rail link opened new markets for their fruit, and they received free lifetime travel on the AT&SF lines.

The bridge remains active for train operations and can be viewed from designated spots near the John Muir National Historic Site. Visitors should approach from public areas to safely observe the structure and watch trains pass through the valley.

The bridge was constructed directly through a working pear orchard, creating a complex situation between farmers and railroad engineers at the time. This unusual overlap shows the compromises needed when new rail lines had to cross active farmland.