How could the Royal Navy operate in a full 1859 Pig War?

If the Pig War had become a real war in 1859, how effectively could the Royal Navy operate on the Pacific side?

Quite effectively, because Britain had Pacific-based ships, experience, and Esquimalt while the United States had little west-coast naval infrastructure.

The Royal Navy already maintained ships and practiced operations in the Pacific, while most United States naval infrastructure remained on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Britain could use Esquimalt and did not need a very large force to gain local superiority along the American west coast. The absence of the Panama Canal made American reinforcement much harder. The approaching Civil War could also turn the conflict into a wider political crisis in which Britain might cooperate pragmatically with northern opponents.