Trolley Thursday 7/29/21 - Central California Traction, Stockton Electric, and the Red River Logging Company

Welcome, everyone to the last Trolley Thursday (on a Friday, again?) of July, 2021! Over the last few posts, we've been looking at the culmination of electric railways in California's Bay Area and a brief overview of the Central Valley's notable streetcar lines. Today, however, we're going to be a little bit busy. The companies we're going to talk about today are all interconnected and equally short-lived, with the last being the only surviving "traction" railway still operating in California. Of course, the word "traction" there can mean both electric traction and diesel traction. So, sit back with us today as we look at the Stockton Electric, the Red River Logging Company, and the Central California Traction Railways, a Sacramento Delta triple treat!

Trolley Tuesday 2/23/21 - Pacific Electric's Freight Locomotives

Besides having an enormous interurban and suburban fleet, the Pacific Electric Railway (PE) of Southern California maintained an impressive freight locomotive fleet as well. Driven by efforts of their parent company, Southern Pacific Railway (SP), PE made significant expanses in ensuring they could serve as a good regional freight hauler and terminal railroad. This meant maintaining a diverse and often non-standard fleet of electric freight locomotives (and some non-electric ones) from its inception in 1902 all the way to the last electric-hauled freight services in the early 1960s, which was both a blessing and a curse to the ever-progressing but perennially-cash-strapped Pacific Electric. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's take a break from hauling passengers to look at the unsung heroes of LA's interurban mileage, the electric locomotives!