List of California interurban railroads
Encyclopedia
The following street, interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

, or other electric railways operated in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

East Bay

  • Alameda, Oakland and Piedmont Railroad
  • Broadway, Berkeley and Piedmont Street Railroad
  • Brooklyn and Fruitvale Railroad
  • Claremont University and Ferris Street Railway
  • Fourteenth Street Railroad
  • Highland Park and Fruitvale Railway
  • Interurban Electric Railway
  • Key System
    Key System
    The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...

  • Oakland Cable Railway
  • Oakland Railroad
  • Oakland and Berkeley Rapid Transit Company
  • Oakland, Brooklyn and Fruitvale Railroad
  • Piedmont Cable Company
  • San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Consolidated Railway


  • Alameda County Terminal Railway from part of the Alameda County Railway
  • East Shore and Suburban Railway
    East Shore and Suburban Railway
    The Eastshore and Suburban Railway was a formerly independent unit of the historic San Francisco Bay Area Key System which ran streetcar trains in Richmond, California, San Pablo, and El Cerrito...

  • Oakland Traction Company 1906-1912
    • Berkeley Traction Company
    • Oakland Traction Consolidated 1904-1906
      • Oakland Transit Consolidated 1902-1904
        • Oakland Transit Company 1901
          • California Railway 1890-1901
            • Alameda and Oakland Horsecar Railroad 1870-1892
            • Oakland, Alameda and Laundry Farm Railroad 1888-1890
              • Alameda County Railway
          • Central Avenue Railway 1892-1898 Narrow Gauge Oakland
            • Central Avenue Railroad 1889-1892 Narrow Gauge Proposed Cable
          • Oakland Consolidated Street Railway
          • Central Avenue Railway
          • Piedmont and Mountain View Railway
          • East Oakland Street Railway
          • Highland Park and Fruitvale Railroad
          • Oakland Railroad
            • Oakland Cable Railway
            • San Pablo Railroad (San Pablo Avenue Horsecar Railroad)
        • Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway Consolidated
          • Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway
          • Twenty-Third Avenue Electric Railway
      • Webster Street and Park Railway/Webster and Lake Park Railroad

Los Angeles-San Bernardino

  • Alhambra and Pasadena Street Railway
  • Anaheim Street Railway
  • Central and Boyle Heights Railroad
  • City Railway (Pasadena)
  • City Railway (San Bernardino)
  • Colorado Street Railway
  • Colton and San Bernardino Railway
  • Highland Railroad
  • Lake Shore Electric Railway
  • Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway
    • Consolidated Electric Railway
    • Depot Railway of Los Angeles
    • Electric Rapid Transit Company
      • Los Angeles Electric Railway
    • Los Angeles Cable Railway
    • Los Angeles and Vernon Street Railway
    • Mateo Street and Santa Fe Avenue Street Car Company
  • Main Street and Agricultural Park Railroad
  • Monrovia Street Railway
  • Ontario and San Antonio Heights Railway
  • Orange Grove Street Railroad
  • Pacific Railway
  • Pasadena Street Railroad
  • Redlands Street Railway
  • Riverside and Arlington Street Railway
  • San Antonio and Holt Avenue Railroad
  • San Bernardino, Arrowhead and Waterman Railway
  • Santa Ana, Orange and Tustin Street Railway
  • Second Street Cable Railroad
  • Southern California Motor Road Company
  • Temple Street Cable Railway
  • West Pasadena Railway


  • Los Angeles Railway
    Los Angeles Railway
    The Los Angeles Railway was a system of streetcars that operated in central Los Angeles, California and the immediate surrounding neighborhoods between from 1901 and 1963. Except for two short funicular railways it operated on tracks...

     a narrow gauge interurban
    • Central Railroad (of California)
      • City Railroad
        • Central and Boyle Heights Railroad Horsecar Narrow Gauge 1885
      • Spring and West Sixth Street Railroad 1874-1884 Horsecar Narrow Gauge
    • Los Angeles and Redondo Railway
      • Redondo Railway Company
        • Rosencrans Railroad Company
  • Pacific Electric Railway
    Pacific Electric Railway
    The Pacific Electric Railway , also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses...

    • Brooklyn Avenue Railway
    • East Ninth Street Railway
    • Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway
      • California Pacific Railway Narrow Gauge 1899-1901 PE's Torrance Line
      • Los Angeles Traction
      • Los Angeles and Glendale Railway
      • California Pacific Railway
        • Santa Ana and Orange Motor Railway
        • San Gabriel Rapid Transit Railway
    • East Ninth Street Railway
    • Los Angeles and Pasadena Electric Railway/Los Angeles and Pasadena Railway
      • Pasadena and Los Angeles Electric Railway
        • West Pasadena Railway 1887-1894
          • Colorado Street Railway
    • Los Angeles and Redondo Railway
      • Redondo Railway
    • Los Angeles Pacific Company
      • Pasadena and Pacific Railway Company of California
        • Los Angeles County Railroad
        • Ostrich Farm Railway
    • Pacific Electric Railway Company of Arizona
    • Pasadena and Mount Lowe Railway/Mount Lowe Railway
      Mount Lowe Railway
      The Mount Lowe Railway was the third in a series of scenic mountain railroads in America created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe, north of Los Angeles, California. The railway, originally incorporated by Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe as the Pasadena & Mt. Wilson Railroad Co...

      • Pasadena and Mount Wilson Railway
    • Redlands Central Railway
    • Riverside and Arlington Railway
    • San Bernardino Interurban Railway
    • San Bernardino Valley Traction
      • Redlands Street Railway
      • San Bernardino and Highlands Electric Railway
    • Santa Ana and Orange Railway
    • Temple Street Cable Railway/Temple Street Railway Narrow Gauge 1885-1902
    • Terracina and Redlands Street Railway Narrow Gauge Mule Power 1892-1895 Property Sold to PE

Sacramento Valley

  • Sacramento Northern Railway
    Sacramento Northern Railway
    ←The Sacramento Northern Railway was originally a electric interurban railway linking Chico in northern California to the California capitol of Sacramento The original name of the line was the Chico Electric Railway, or CERY. CERY was sold after a few months of operation to the Northern Electric...

     1925-1983 (Chico to Sacramento to Oakland after purchase of the Oakland Antioch and Eastern/SanFrancisco-Sacramento Railroad in 1928.))
    • Sacramento Northern Railroad 1918-1925 (Chico to Sacramento.) Purchased by WP in 1921.
      • Northern Electric Railway 1907-1918 (Chico to Sacramento.)`Name changed to SN in 1918.
        • Northern Electric Company 1905-1907
          • Chico Electric Railway 1904-1905
          • Marysville and Yuba City Street Railway 1889-1906
        • Shasta Southern Railway 1905-1907
        • Vallejo and Northern Railroad 1910-1912
          • Vallejo and Northern Railway 1909-1910
      • Sacramento Terminal Company 1908-1918
      • Northern Electric Railway—Marysville and Colusa Branch 1910-1918
      • Sacramento and Woodland Railroad 1911-1918
    • San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad 1920-1928
      • Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway 1911-1920
        • Sacramento Valley West Side Electric Railway
          Sacramento Valley West Side Electric Railway
          The Sacramento Valley Electric Railroad was a short-lived electric interurban railway in the U.S. State of California. Originating at a connection with the Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway at Dixon Junction, California, the line was projected to run through Woodland to Marysville and up the...

           1915-1917 Dixon
        • Oakland and Antioch Railway 1909-1911
      • West Side Railroad 1911-1921 Proposed to build to Rio Vista
  • Woodland Street Railway

San Diego

  • Coronado Railroad
  • Electric Rapid Transit Street Car Company
  • Los Angeles and San Diego Beach Railway
  • National City Street Car Company
  • San Diego Cable Railway
  • San Diego Electric Railway
    San Diego Electric Railway
    The San Diego Electric Railway was a mass transit system in Southern California, USA, using streetcars and buses.The SDERy was established by "sugar heir," developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels in 1892...

  • San Diego Street Car Company
  • San Diego Street Railway
  • San Diego and Old Town Street Railway
  • San Diego, Old Town and Pacific Beach Railroad
  • San Diego and Pacific Beach Railway
  • San Diego, Pacific Beach and La Jolla Railway

San Francisco

Name From To Successor Notes
Bay Shore and South San Francisco Street Railway Ferries and Cliff House Railway
California Street Railroad 1884 California Street Cable Railroad
California Street Cable Railroad
The California Street Cable Railroad was a long-serving cable car operator in San Francisco, founded by Leland Stanford. The company's first line opened on California Street in 1878 and is still in operation, being the oldest cable car line still in operation.The company remained independent until...

California Street Cable Railroad
California Street Cable Railroad
The California Street Cable Railroad was a long-serving cable car operator in San Francisco, founded by Leland Stanford. The company's first line opened on California Street in 1878 and is still in operation, being the oldest cable car line still in operation.The company remained independent until...

1884 1951 San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

Central Railroad 1863 1893 Market Street Railway
City Railroad 1863 1893 Market Street Railway
Clay Street Hill Railroad
Clay Street Hill Railroad
The Clay Street Hill Railroad was the first successful cable hauled street railway. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in San Francisco in California, and first operated in August 1873....

Ferries and Cliff House Railway
Ferries and Cliff House Railway 1887 1893 Market Street Railway
Front Street. Mission and Ocean Railroad 1863 Sutter Street Railway
Sutter Street Railway
The Sutter Street Railway was originally a horsecar line in San Francisco. In 1877 the line was converted to cable car operation. The line introduced the side grip, and lever operation, both designed by Asa Hovey....

Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railroad 1878 1912 San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

Gough Street Railroad
Market Street Cable Railway 1882 1893 Market Street Railway
Market Street Railway San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

Market Street Railway 1893 1902 United Railroads of San Francisco
Market Street Railway
Market Street Railway
Market Street Railway may be a reference to:*Market Street Railway , a nonprofit organization that supports the operation of the F Market historic streetcar line in San Francisco...

1882 Market Street Cable Railway
Market Street and Fairmount Railway 1886 1893 Market Street Railway
Metropolitan Railway 1891 Market Street Railway
North Beach and Mission Railroad 1862 1893 Market Street Railway
Ocean Beach Railway
Ocean Beach Railway
The Ocean Beach Railway is a heritage railway that operates in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located between John Wilson Drive in the suburb of Saint Kilda and sports grounds near Forbury Park Raceway, and runs parallel with the city's main beach, Ocean Beach...

1885 1893 Market Street Railway
Ocean Shore Railroad
Ocean Shore Railroad
The Ocean Shore Railroad was intended to be built from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, California, via a route along the Pacific coastline.-History:...

1911
Ocean Shore Railway 1911 Ocean Shore Railroad
Ocean Shore Railroad
The Ocean Shore Railroad was intended to be built from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, California, via a route along the Pacific coastline.-History:...

Omnibus Cable Company 1888 1893 Market Street Railway
Omnibus Railroad Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company
Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company Omnibus Cable Company
Park and Cliff House Railway 1888 Ferries and Cliff House Railway
Park and Ocean Railroad 1883 1893 Market Street Railway
Parkside Transit Company 1909 San Francisco Electric Railways
Potrero and Bay View Railroad 1866 1893 Market Street Railway
Presidio and Ferries Railroad 1882 1914 San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

San Francisco Electric Railways 1909 Gough Street Railroad
San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...

San Francisco and San Mateo Railway 1896 San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway
San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway
The San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway was the first electric streetcar company in San Francisco, California. The company was only in business for ten years, starting in 1892 until its merger into the United Railroads of San Francisco ....

San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway
San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway
The San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway was the first electric streetcar company in San Francisco, California. The company was only in business for ten years, starting in 1892 until its merger into the United Railroads of San Francisco ....

1896 1902 United Railroads of San Francisco
South San Francisco Railroad and Power Company 1903
Southern Heights and Visitacion Railway 1892 1893 Market Street Railway
Sutro Railroad 1902 United Railroads of San Francisco
Sutter Street Railway
Sutter Street Railway
The Sutter Street Railway was originally a horsecar line in San Francisco. In 1877 the line was converted to cable car operation. The line introduced the side grip, and lever operation, both designed by Asa Hovey....

1879 1902 United Railroads of San Francisco
Telegraph Hill Railroad 1886 N/A
United Railroads of San Francisco 1902 Market Street Railway

San Jose

  • First Street and San Pedro Street Railroad
  • First Street and Willow Glen Railroad
  • North Side Horse Railroad
  • People's Railroad
  • San Jose and Alum Rock Park Motor Company
  • San Jose and Santa Clara Railroad
  • South-East-Side Horse Railroad
  • Willow Glen Railroad

Other cities and towns

Eureka
  • Eureka Street Railroad


Fresno
  • Fresno Railroad
  • Fresno City Railway
  • Fresno City, Belmont and Yosemite Railroad
  • Fresno Traction Company


Paso Robles
  • Paso Robles Street Railway


Sacramento
  • Central Electric Railway
  • Central Street Railway
  • Highland Park Railway
  • Sacramento City Street Railroad


San Luis Obispo
  • San Luis Street Railway
  • San Luis Obispo Street Railway


Santa Barbara
  • Santa Barbara Street Railroad
  • Santa Barbara and Citizens' Street Railroad


Santa Cruz
  • East Santa Cruz Street Railway
  • Pacific Avenue Railroad
  • Santa Cruz, Garfield Park and Capitola Electric Railway


Santa Rosa
  • Santa Rosa Street Railway
  • South Side Street Railway


Stockton
  • Stockton Electric Motor Railway


  • California Midland Railroad (of 1905) Marysville
  • California Terminal Company 1911
    • Lakeport and Richardson's Bay Railroad
  • Central California Traction
    Central California Traction
    The Central California Traction Company is a Class III short-line railroad operating in Northern California. It is owned jointly by the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. The railroad extends from the Port of Stockton to Lodi, California...

     Route downtown Sacramento to Stockton and competed directly with SP and WP between the two cities. Later owned by WP. Converted to diesel. Currently an active Class III freight railroad. Trackage in rural Sacramento County in year 1995 was in nearly inoperable condition. Electric interurban operation ended in 1933.
  • Glendale and Montrose Railway
    Glendale and Montrose Railway
    The Glendale and Montrose Railway Company was an interurban electrified railway in Southern California, in the United States of America.It was built from Glendale through Montrose to Eagle Rock in 1909 and to La Crescenta in 1913. Its trains traversed Union Pacific tracks to reach Los...

  • Holton Interurban Railway later SP
  • Modesto Interurban Railway 1909-1911 later MET
  • Monterey, Fresno and Eastern Railroad
    • Watsonville Transportation Company 1903-1907 3'6" Narrow Gauge
  • Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway abandoned 1930
    • Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway 1896-1913
  • Nevada County Traction Company
    Nevada County Traction Company
    The Nevada County Traction Company was an interurban electrified railway in Nevada County, part of the U.S. State of California in the United States of America. It connected Grass Valley and Nevada City, a total of about six miles of track, using streetcar technology...

  • Orange Grove Street Railway 1888-1896
  • Second Street Railroad Narrow Gauge Horsecar Pomona
  • Pacific Gas and Electric Company
    Pacific Gas and Electric Company
    The Pacific Gas and Electric Company , commonly known as PG&E, is the utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of the northern two-thirds of California, from Bakersfield almost to the Oregon border...

    • West Sacramento Electric Company 1914 (Proposed)
  • Peninsular Railway
  • Sacramento Valley Electric Railroad
  • San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad abandoned, in phases during period 1938-1956
    • San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway
      San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway
      The San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway, later briefly reorganized as the San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad, was an electric interurban railroad in the U.S. State of California....

       1911-1936 Electric interurban Napa city to Calistoga.
      • San Francisco, Vallejo and Napa Valley Railroad 1906-1911
        • Vallejo, Benicia and Napa Valley Railroad 1902-1910
  • Santa Rosa Railroad 1903-1923 (Later Northwestern Pacific Railroad part of SP)
    • Santa Rosa Street Railway (Later Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad
      Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad
      The Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad was an electric interurban railway in Sonoma County, California, United States. It operated between the cities of Petaluma, Sebastopol, Forestville, and Santa Rosa...

      )
      • Union Street Railway Narrow Gauge (Sonoma County) 1893-1897
        • South Side Street Railway/South Side Railway Narrow Gauge Horsecar 1888-1893
  • Second Street Cable Railway
    Second Street Cable Railway
    The Second Street Cable Railway was a cable car system which opened in Los Angeles in 1885. Running from Second and Spring Streets to First Street and Belmont Avenue, it was a single track system, with sidings where a down-hill car could coast past an up-hill car...

     closed in 1890
  • Shasta Springs Scenic Railroad 1888 cable
  • Shipyard Railway
    Shipyard Railway
    The Shipyard Railway was an electric railroad line, rapidly constructed during World War II to transport workers to and from the Kaiser Shipyards located in the city of Richmond, California....

  • Sierra Madre Street Railway 1887-1890/1891 Narrow Gauge Mule car Los Angeles
  • South Beach and Mission Railway c. 1862 San Francisco
  • Southern California Motor Road Company Narrow Gauge 1886-1892 Leased to SP San Bernardino-Colton
  • Southern California Rapid Transit District
    Southern California Rapid Transit District
    The Southern California Rapid Transit District , was the successor to the original Metropolitan Transit Authority after it virtually went bankrupt...

     Metro Rail 1975-1986 now part of Los Angeles Metro Rail
  • Stockton Electric Railway 1881/1891-1905
    • Stockton Street Railway 1874-1881/1891 Horsecar
  • Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad
    Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad
    Established in 1908, the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad provides service to several companies around the Stockton, California area. Being located in Stockton places the STE in an ideal situation for the consolidation and distribution of freight. This includes PDM Steel, Lipton, and Salt...

     now a Freight Railroad 1908 - Present
  • Tidewater Southern Railway
    Tidewater Southern Railway
    The Tidewater Southern Railway was a short line railroad in Central California in the United States. For most of its history, it was a subsidiary of the Western Pacific Railroad...

     (TS) Stockton to Modesto. Later owned by WP and electric operation converted to diesel. Still active trackage.
    • Tidewater and Southern Transit Company 1912
      • Tidewater and Southern Railroad 1910-1912
  • Tuscan Mineral Springs Corporation Electric Railway 1903-? Red Bluff-Tuscan Springs
  • Union Traction Company of Santa Cruz Narrow Gauge 1904-?
    • East Santa Cruz Railroad Horsecar
    • Santa Cruz, Capitola and Watsonville Railway
  • Ventura and Ojai Railway 1901-? Horsecar
  • Visalia and Tulare Railroad abandoned 1900
  • Visalia Electric Railroad
    Visalia Electric Railroad
    The Visalia Electric Railroad, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad, began as an electric interurban railroad in Tulare County, in the U.S. State of California. The railroad was incorporated on April 22, 1904....

     1904-1992, to SP in 1992.
    • Chowchilla Pacific Railway
  • Volcano Northern Railroad 1903 (Amador County)
  • Visalia Rail Road to SP in 1899
  • Watsonville Railway and Navigation Company 1905
  • Watsonville Traction Company
    Watsonville Traction Company
    The Watsonville Traction Company, later renamed the Watsonville Railway and Navigation Company, was an interurban electrified railway in the U.S. State of California in the United States of America. A line between Watsonville and Watsonville Beach, of six miles in length, was constructed in 1910...

  • West Coast Land Company aka San Luis Street Railway Narrow Gauge Horsecar 1890-1906
    • San Luis Obispo Street Railway

Proposed lines

  • Bakersfield and Ventura Railway Electric 1902
  • Bay and Coast Railway 1899 Narrow Gauge Electric & Common Carrier
  • Bay Counties Electric Railroad 1905-1907
  • Bay Counties Power Company Electric 1902
  • Benicia Land and Terminal Railway 1914 Electric
  • Big Four Electric Railway 1912-1914
  • California Electric Railway 1909
  • California Pacific Railroad (of 1901) Los Angeles-San Pedro
  • California Rapid Transit Railroad 1907 San Francisco-San Jose-Monterey & San Jose-Martinez
  • California Terminal Railway 1914-1915/1916 San Francisco-Marin/Sonoma/Napa/Yolo/Sacramento Counties
  • Sausalito Incline Street Railway 1914 Cable/Electric Sausalito
  • Scotts Creek Railway 1908 Santa Cruz County
  • Sierra County Railroad 1911 Sacramento-Sierra
  • Sonoma and Lake County Electric Railway Lakeport-Cloverdale 1907
  • Sonoma and Lake County Railroad (of 1907) Lakeport-Cloverdale
  • Highland Pacific Railroad 1909
    • Sonoma and Lake County Railway 1909 Lakeport-Cloverdale-Preston
  • Southern California Beach Railway 1912-1914 Colton-San Diego
  • Stockton and Bay City Short Line Railroad 1911-1912 Stockton-Byron-Antioch-Oakland
  • Stockton and Lodi Terminal Railroad 1895 Stockton-Lodi
  • Tidewater Northern Railway 1909-1910 Santa Monica-Ventura
  • Tulare County Power Company 1911-1912
  • Turlock Traction Company 1911 Turlock-Denair
  • Union Belt Railway 1906 Sacramento
  • University Heights Motor Road 1886-1888 San Diego
  • Vallejo Traction Company 1910 Vallejo
  • Valley Railroad 1912 Red Bluff-Woodland-Davis-Dixon to connect with Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railway
  • Ventura Terminal Railway 1907/1908
  • Yosemite Park Electric Railway 1904
  • Yucaipa and Oak Glen Railroad 1908 Standard or Narrow Gauge Electric Yucaipa-Redlands
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