California Interurbans and Streetcar Railroads

California interurbans were the most prolific in the West, and the Golden State ranked third overall in total mileage, 1,295. Many of the systems that developed there were far better planned than eastern lines, in the sense that they understood even before construction began that complementing the major railroads instead of paralleling them was important for a few reasons; first, that by doing so they had a better chance to negotiate into interchange rates, and second that they could operate as feeder freight systems to provide lucrative traffic from areas in which the railroad did not operate. This worked quite well, so well in fact that many interurbans not only derived much of their revenue from freight service but also eventually became subsidiaries of major railroads lasting many years after the industry died out in the 1930s and 1940s.

Bakersfield & Kern Electric Railway: The Bakersfield & Kern Electric Railway dates back to 1902 and operated between the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway's depot (located in Bakersfield) and Southern Pacific's station located in East Bakersfield. After its purchase by the San Joaquin Light And Power Company in 1910 the interurban became one of the top-notch operations in the country with double-tracking spanning the entire line. In 1933 the line was sold by San Joaquin Light and Power and nine years later in February of 1942 the operation was shifted entirely to bus service.

Interurban Electric Railway (IER): The Interurban Electric Railway was a Southern Pacific company that served Berkeley, Oakland and San Leandro (the "East Bay" of the San Francisco Bay Area). It began operations in 1911 and used large, heavyweight streetcars. Its routes included the CaliforniaStreet Line, Shattuck Avenue Line, Ninth Street Line, Ellsworth Street Line, Dutton Avenue Line, Alameda Lines, Horseshoe Line and 18th Street Line. The IER operated until 1941 when the remnants of the interurban were taken over by the Pacific Electric Railway.

Pacific Cement & Aggregates: The Pacific Cement & Aggregates Company was actually a cement plant serving Davenport. It operated a short interurban operation as well as a freight system that moved its products to market using electric motors. The railroad remained in service until the 1970s.

Eureka Municipal Railway: The Eureka Municipal Railway was created in 1888 during the city's booming years. It updated to electric operation in 1903 and by 1915 the system was operating five different lines radiating out from the city. It lasted until early 1940 when the interurban system was replaced by buses. For more information on the Eureka Municipal Railway please click here.

Fresno Traction: Fresno Traction has its earliest roots dating back to early 1889 as the Fresno Street Railroad. In 1901 this railroad was taken over by the Fresno City Railway and after the system was electrified in 1902 its name was changed to the Fresno Traction Company. At its peak the system was operating a 50-mile network. The interurban lasted until May 20, 1939 when it was converted to bus service.

Nevada County Traction Company: The Nevada County Traction Company was a short interurban operation serving Grass Valley and Nevada City. It was a shortlived operation lasting only until November 5, 1923.

Los Angeles Interurban Railway: The Los Angeles Interurban Railway or LAIU was one of several interurbans serving the city. It began operations in 1903 and lasted until 1910 when virtually all of L.A.'s interurbans were folded into the "Great Merger" coming under the control of the Pacific Electric Railway, a Southern Pacific Railroad company. Other systems included in the Great Merger included the Los Angeles Railway, Los Angeles Traction Company, California-Pacific Railway and the Los Angeles-Pacific Railway. For more information on the LAIU and other classic Los Angeles interurbans please click here.

Tidewater Southern Railway: The Tidewater Southern Railway served, , Stockton and Modesto and was originally incorporated in 1910. Later it also connected Turlock and Hilmar. The Tidewater Southern became a Western Pacific Railroad subsidiary in 1917 and while it was initially built as an interurban its passenger services were abandoned in 1932 entirely and became a freight-only operation. The TS remained a mostly independent railroad until the 1960s when the WP mostly absorbed the system. Today, most of the railroad remains in service under Union Pacific, one of the few interurbans to still see most of its original property in service.

East Bay Transit: East Bay Transit, began serving Oakland in 1886 and is still operating today. The original streetcar service became the Key System in 1893, which ultimately would serve most of the surrounding communities. In 1956 the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) was created to takeover the failing Key System, which began operations in 1960. The service remains an important transportation artery for commuters today.

San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, Consolidated Railway: The aforementioned Key System originally began as the ,San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, Railway, which was incorporated in 1902. It served downtown ,Berkeley and the nearby ferry pier. It changed its name to the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, Consolidated Railway in 1908 and again in 1912 to the ,San Francisco-Oakland, Terminal Railway. The operation went bankrupt in 1923 and was then reorganized as the Key System.

Ontario & San Antonio Heights: The Ontario & San Antonio Heights was a predecessor of the Pacific Electric Railway becoming part of the PE's vast Northern District.

Riverside & Arlington Railway: The Riverside & Arlington Railway Company began in 1887 and in 1890 took over the operations of the Riverside Railway Company and then the Hall's Addition Railway in 1895. It eventually became part of the Pacific Electric Railway. For more information on the R&A please click here.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company: The Pacific Gas & Electric is an electric and gas utility still operating today but it got into the interurban and streetcar business in 1906 when it took over the operations of the ,Sacramento, Electric, Gas & Railway Company. The interurban operated as the PG&E until 1943 when it was sold to the ,Sacramento, City Lines and later the National City Lines, which abandoned all rail operations on April 1, 1946.

San Diego & Southeastern Railway: The San Diego & Southeastern Railway took over the operations of the Coronado Railroad and National City & Otay Railway. The interurban would go on to serve ,San Diego, National City, Chula Vista and Ota. It operated until 1918 when it became part of the Pacific Electric Railway. For more information on the SD&SE please click here.

San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway: The San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway began operations in 1905 and would ultimately serve Calistoga, Napa, Yountville and St. Helena with a system covering 43 miles. It remained in service until 1937 when passenger operations ended and Southern Pacific picked up the line for freight services (which lasted until 1987). The SFN&C itself lasted until 1957 when it was dissolved.

Peninsular Railway: The Peninsular Railway served San Jose and Palo Alto (today's "Silicon Valley"). It began operations in 1906 as a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific. It reached its peak in 1920 covering 68 miles and today much of the railroad is operated by the Caltrain commuter service.

Northwestern Pacific Railroad: The Northwestern Pacific Railroad was a regional freight railroad serving the Redwood Empire of Northern California. However, until 1941 the NWP also operated an electrified interurban operation serving Marin County. The railroad itself lasted on paper until 1992 when it was dissolved into Southern Pacific.

Santa Cruz, Capitola & Watsonville Railway: The Santa Cruz, Capitola & Watsonville Railway was an interurban operation serving its namesake cities. It lasted only until 1905 when it became part of the Union Traction Company.

Central California Traction: The Central California Traction Company remains in operation today as a shortline, Class III freight railroad dating back to 1905 (although it is currently owned by Union Pacific and BNSF Railway). The railroad began operations as the Central California Traction Company but was purchased by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific and Western Pacific in 1928 becoming Central California Traction. At that time it served as an interurban operation linking Stockton, Lodi and Sacramento. Today it still operates about 15 miles of railroad hauling freight and serving local ports. For more information about the railroad please click here.

Visalia Electric Railroad: The Visalia Electric Railroad was a subsidiary of Southern Pacific serving Tulare County. It began operations on April 22, 1904 and served as an interurban railroad until 1924 when passenger service was discontinued. Its electric operations remained until 1933 when they too were shutdown. The freight services were carried on until 1992 when operations were discontinued altogether.

Sacramento Northern Railway: The Sacramento Northern was an interurban that dated back to the very early 20th century and was assembled by H.A. Butters and the Sloss-Lilienthal interest of San Fransisco (Pacific Gas & Electric). The company would grow into a system that stretched 183 miles serving Hamilton City, Chico, Marysville above Sacramento and reached Oakland/San Francisco to the south. The interurban was one of the best engineered ever built although its profits did not mirror its high level of construction (and probably would not have survived without purchase by the WP). It was renamed the Sacramento Northern Railroad in 1914 after entering bankruptcy. The SN essentially was formed through two systems; the Northern Electric Railway located above Sacramento (serving the area's mentioned above) and the original Oakland & Antioch (later Eastern was added and became known as the OA&E) to the south. The SN became an official subsidiary of the Western Pacific in 1922.

Sacramento Valley West Side Electric Railway: A poorly planned system meant to connect Dixon Junction with the OA&E, through Dixon and on to Marysville. Unfortunately, the system never made it any further north than Dixon a distance of 12 miles. Operations began on January 1, 1915 and operated under contract by the OA&E but with Dixon only carrying a population of 1,000 there was never any profit potential and service was abandoned by August, 1917.

Central California Traction Company: This interurban was another of California's larger and better engineered systems with a profitable freight business, dating back to September, 1907. It too, served Sacramento where it connected with the SN and stretched south to Stockton and Modesto. Its branches served Lodi, Bellota, Manteca, and empire. Early on the system became a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific, Western Pacific, and Santa Fe. It abandoned all passenger services in 1946 and scrapped electrified operations that same year. Today, the shortline is still in service and remains jointly owned by Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.

Pacific Coast Railway Company: This line began operations as a narrow-gauge freight system, changing over to electrified operations in 1908. At its peak it served San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, and Los Olivos. It later extended to Guadaloupe where it interchanged passenger, and some freight, with the SP. With little freight traffic service was abandoned by 1928 in favor of buses.

Watsonville Traction Company: Later known as the Watsonville Railway & Navigation Company its six-mile system between Watsonville and Watsonville Beach operated for just seven years until ending service by 1917.

Pacific Electric Railway: At its peak the PE was the largest interurban ever built in the United States, operating a total of more than 1,000 miles of rails, with about 700 of these miles main line routes. To learn more please click here.

Glendale & Montrose Railway: This interurban began operations in 1908 serving its namesake towns as well as Eagle Rock and La Crescenta, and also reached the outskirts of Los Angeles via trackage rights over the UP. Service was abandoned in 1930.

For a small gallery of photographs highlighting California interurbans and streetcar railroads please click here.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Interurbans Section

You may also be interested in the book California Trolleys In Color Volume 1: San Diego and Los Angeles from author Allen Copeland. The books gives a pictorial history of streetcar systems that operated in the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego during the latter years of the era, the 1940s and 1950s (all of which are in color). If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

Share Your Thoughts