When the Central Pacific Railroad started construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1863, all their locomotives, box cars, rails and railroad supplies were shipped via this route. It was slow, but a ship going around Cape Horn to California could carry high weight and high volume products cheaper than any other route. Nearly all the ships that were abandoned in San Francisco Bay came by the Cape Horn route. Since the route back to the East coast was so long and return cargo almost nonexistent, the ships which arrived in San Francisco initially tended to stay there as the crew and passengers abandoned the ship for the gold fields. As it became clear what was needed in San Francisco and the rest of California, some of the newer ships were put back into service with higher paid crews. Some were crewed by disillusioned gold diggers seeking a cheap way back home. Many ships were used for shorter runs to Pacific ports for food supplies or lumber—essentially all that was available then. During October 1849, 63 vessels left San Francisco; 25 sailed for South America, primarily Valparaíso or Callao; 10 vessels sailed for the Hawaiian islands (20–30 days each way), 9 went to Oregon and 9 to other non-Pacific ports. The high fares initially charged for paddle steamer passages to Panama induced some captains to allow passengers to work their way back to the East Coast for a low cost return. This made it possible to put a crew together at a "reasonable" cost.