OPB,

There are some others out there who can give you all the details on the North Channel Line, but here's some basics:

Yes, the WP served the north side of the Stockton Port using this line. I believe that they were the only railroad with a spur on the north side of the Channel. (They served the south side using the ROW of the old Alameda and San Jouquin, branching off the Santa Fe just west of the ATSF depot.)

The line was built late. I'm not sure when, but I was told that the roundabout routing was due to an inability to get land closer in. The line last long enough that it required I-5 to be built with a bridge over the tracks, but not much longer than that. That bridge has now been sealed and is a secure storage site for corporate records.

I don't know traffic volumes, but I've been told the line was most often worked with switchers. There is a track diagram on page 152 of Jeff Asay's "Track and Time" book.

Eugene