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 7/27/21 - Bakersfield & Kern Electric Railway

Long known as being the Gateway to the Central Valley for many northbound Angelinos, Bakersfield is often thought off as a "drive-through" town with little to actually interest tourists. Its claims to fame are usually through its many famous artists, musicians, and athletes who were born in the city, such as country music stars Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, Disney artist and "Nine Old Man" Marc Davis, too many NASCAR drivers to count, and way too many NFL players to count. However, for the interest of this blog, Bakersfield was also home to a long-lived and cute little local streetcar that helped grow out its little pocket of Kern County through the early 1900s. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's get freshly baked as we look at the B&KERy, otherwise known as the Bakersfield & Kern County Electric Railway!

Trolley Thursday 7/22/21 - The Visalia Electric Railroad

The Central Valley is often not known for being the most interesting place to be in California. If you ever find yourself driving through, you probably are on the fastest way to the Bay Area or the State Capitol, or you're heading east into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to enjoy the beautiful national parks. However, if you ever find yourself going through Tulare County either towards Fresno, Bakersfield, or Sequoia National Forest, pause first in the town of Visalia and look around you. Before the roar of the Tulare Thunderbowl and before Highway 99 was even thought of, there was once a small electric railway that held much promise for its parent company, Southern Pacific (SP), but various factors led to its early demise and its continued existence as a name on a General Electric 44 Tonner diesel locomotive. On today's Trolley Thursday (still on Friday?), let's peel back the citrus skin of the Visalia Electric Railway and savor the juices of its short-lived history.

Trolley Tuesday 7/20/21 - Peninsular Railway of San Jose

Over the past half year, we at Twice Weekly Trolley History have discussed the Southern Pacific Railroads's interurban holdings in excruciating detail, and it seemed like we covered everything. After all, their holdings ranged from legendary Southern California streetcars to the burning trolley-fire that was the East Bay and Marin County interurbans. However, in our discussions there's always been one company that usually avoids being mentioned when SP's trolleys are brought up. Nowadays, San Jose's own Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (or VTA) operates a rather-wide light rail system in Silicon Valley, but one hundred years ago the VTA's job was actually done by the Peninsular Railway, or "the Pin" to locals. Despite only lasting 30 years and being outshone by SP's other interurbans and being prematurely cut short by weather and war, the Pin remained an important asset to the SP and the South Bay and deserves appreciation on today's Trolley Tuesday.

Trolley Thursday 7/15/21 - The Fresno Traction Company

We're now out of the Bay Area on today's Trolley Thursday (on a Friday?) as we head inland to look at the streetcars and interurbans of the Central Valley! We start our journey today with one of the biggest and most-notable cities in the CV, Fresno (Spanish for "ash tree"). Between 1885 and 1939, streetcars were the way to get around town and in 1903, all of these companies were consolidated under the Fresno Traction Company by (who else?) Henry E. Huntington of the Pacific Electric Railway. Under electrification, the city was able to ease out into the suburbs and rostered almost one-hundred electric streetcars until growth stagnated and automobile ownership took over this once-proud backcountry streetcar. On today's Trolley Thursday, let's get on our high horse and ride through the ash trees as we appreciate the brief but bright history of the Fresno Traction Company!