Stockton Electric Railroad
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The Stockton Electric Railroad was the streetcar system serving Stockton, California.[2] The company was under the control of Southern Pacific Railroad until 1939 when it was sold to Pacific City Lines.[3][4] By 1931, the railroad operated 40 streetcars over 28 miles (45 km) of track.[5]
History
[edit]Incorporated in 1891, the company bought the mule-powered Stockton Street Railway Company (which was itself founded in 1871).[6] Electric service began on July 15, 1892 and mules were eliminated the following month.[7][8][9] Southern Pacific acquired the company in 1905, prompting full conversion of the narrow gauge rails to standard gauge.[9] Starting in 1915, the Central California Traction Company began leasing their own streetcar lines in Stockton to the SER,[2] bringing nearly all local operations under their control. Pacific City Lines acquired the railroad's assets in April 1939 and converted operations to buses in September 1941.[10]
Lines
[edit]By 1927, the company operated six lines:[4]
- Main and El Dorado Line
- California and San Joaquin Line
- Vine and Ophir Line
- Center and Aurora Line
- Poplar and Weber Avenue Line
- Pilgrim Street Branch
Rolling stock
[edit]Birney Safety Cars replaced two-truck cars between 1918 and 1921.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Guido 1957, pp. 10.
- ^ a b McGraw-Hill 1920, p. 16.
- ^ Hofsommer 1986, pp. 60, 148.
- ^ a b Guido 1957, p. 8.
- ^ Demoro 1986, p. 202.
- ^ Guido 1957, p. 3.
- ^ "The Electric Road". The Evening Mail. Stockton, California. July 14, 1892. p. 5. Retrieved June 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Old Street Railway". The Evening Mail. Stockton, California. July 16, 1892. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Guido 1957, p. 4.
- ^ "Electric Car Lines to Pass Into Oblivion Sunday". Stockton Record. Stockton, California. September 25, 1941. pp. 13, 21. Retrieved June 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Guido 1957, pp. 7, 10.
Bibliography
[edit]- Demoro, Harre W. (1986). California's Electric Railways. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-916374-74-7.
- Guido, Francis A., ed. (April 1957). "Stockton Electric Railway". The Western Railroader. Vol. 20, no. 6, iss. 210. San Mateo, CA. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- Hofsommer, Donovan L. (1986). The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0890962464.
- McGraw Electric Railway Directory. McGraw-Hill Company. August 1920.
External links
[edit]- Transportation in San Joaquin County, California
- American companies established in 1891
- History of Stockton, California
- Defunct California railroads
- Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiaries
- Passenger rail transportation in California
- Electric railways in California
- 600 V DC railway electrification
- Defunct town tramway systems by city
- Streetcars in California