List of California street railroads

The following street, interurban, or other electric railways operated in California.

East Bay

Alameda, Oakland and Piedmont Railroad
Broadway, Berkeley and Piedmont Street Railroad
Brooklyn and Fruitvale Railroad
Claremont University and Ferris Street Railway
Highland Park and Fruitvale Railway
Interurban Electric Railway
Key System
Oakland and Berkeley Rapid Transit Company
Oakland, Brooklyn and Fruitvale Railroad
San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Consolidated Railway
Alameda County Terminal Railway from part of the Alameda County Railway
East Shore and Suburban Railway
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
        Piedmont Cable Company
        Broadway and Piedmont Railroad
        
        Fourteenth Street Railroad
      - East Oakland Street Railway
      - Highland Park and Fruitvale Railroad
      - Oakland Railroad Company
        Oakland Cable Railway
        San Pablo Railroad (San Pablo Avenue Horsecar Railroad)
    - Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway Consolidated
      - Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards Electric Railway
      - Twenty-Third Avenue Electric Railway
  - Webster Street and Park Railway/Webster and Lake Park Railroad
Shipyard Railway

Los Angeles–San Bernardino

Sacramento Valley

Sacramento Northern Railway 1925–1983 (Chico to Sacramento to Oakland after purchase of the Oakland Antioch and Eastern/San Francisco–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 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

San Francisco

Name	From	To	Successor	Notes
Bay Shore and South San Francisco Street Railway			Ferries and Cliff House Railway
California Street Railroad	1878	1884	California Street Cable Railroad
California Street Cable Railroad	1884^[1]	1951	San Francisco Municipal Railway
Central Railroad	1863^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
City Railroad	1863^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Clay Street Hill Railroad	1873	1888	Ferries and Cliff House Railway	World's first successful cable hauled street railway
Ferries and Cliff House Railway	1887^[3]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Front Street, Mission and Ocean Railroad	1863		Sutter Street Railway
Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railroad	1878^[2]	1912^[1]	San Francisco Municipal Railway
Gough Street Railroad
Market Street Cable Railway	1882^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Market Street Railway	1918	1944	San Francisco Municipal Railway
Market Street Railway	1893^[3]	1902^[1]	United Railroads of San Francisco
Market Street Railway	1860	1882	Market Street Cable Railway
Market Street and Fairmount Railway	1886^[3]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Metropolitan Railway	1891^[3]		Market Street Railway
North Beach and Mission Railroad	1862^[3]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Ocean Beach Railway	1885^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Ocean Shore Railroad	1911^[1]	1920		After abandonment, tracks on Potrero Avenue retained by San Francisco Municipal Railway H Potrero route.
Ocean Shore Railway	1906	1911	Ocean Shore Railroad
Omnibus Cable Company	1888^[3]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Omnibus Railroad			Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company
Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company			Omnibus Cable Company
Park and Cliff House Railway	1887	1888	Ferries and Cliff House Railway
Park and Ocean Railroad	1883^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Parkside Transit Company		1909^[1]	San Francisco Electric Railways
Potrero and Bay View Railroad	1866^[2]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Presidio & Ferries Railway	1881^[4]	1913^[4]	San Francisco Municipal Railway
San Francisco Electric Railways	1909^[1]		Gough Street Railroad^[5]
San Francisco Municipal Railway	1912	—		Operational. Original lines abandoned; oldest routes currently operating date from 1917.
San Francisco and San Mateo Railway	1892	1896^[3]	San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway
San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway	1896^[3]	1902^[1]	United Railroads of San Francisco
South San Francisco Railroad and Power Company	1903^[1]	1938
Southern Heights and Visitacion Railway	1892^[3]	1893^[3]	Market Street Railway
Sutro Railroad	1896^[6]		Sutter Street Railway
Sutter Street Railway	1879^[3]	1902^[1]	United Railroads of San Francisco
Telegraph Hill Railroad		1886	N/A
United Railroads of San Francisco	1902^[1]	1918	Market Street Railway

San Jose

Interurban Railways

Peninsular Railway Company

Streetcar Companies

San Jose Railroads
- San Jose and Santa Clara County Railway
- San Jose Railway Company
  - San Jose Railroad Company
  - Willow Glen Railroad Company

Other cities and towns

Bakersfield

Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway

Eureka

Eureka Street Railroad

Fresno

North Bay Area

San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad abandoned, in phases during period 1938–1956
- San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway 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)
Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad
- Petaluma Street Railroad^[7]
- Santa Rosa Street Railway^[8]
  - Central Street Railway narrow gauge horsecar (Sonoma County)^[9]
  - Union Street Railway narrow gauge horsecar (Sonoma County) 1893–1897^[9]
    - South Side Street Railway/South Side Railway narrow gauge horsecar 1888–1893^[8]

Paso Robles

Paso Robles Street Railway

Sacramento

San Luis Obispo

Santa Barbara

Santa Cruz County

Stockton

Stockton Electric Motor Railway
California Midland Railroad (of 1905) Marysville
California Terminal Company 1911
- Lakeport and Richardson's Bay Railroad
Central California Traction 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.
Stockton Electric Railroad 1881/1891–1905
- Stockton Street Railway 1874–1881/1891 horsecar
Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad now a freight railroad, 1908–present
Tidewater Southern Railway (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

Various

Glendale and Montrose Railway
Holton Interurban Railway later SP
Modesto Interurban Railway 1909–1911 later MET
Monterey, Fresno and Eastern Railroad
Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway abandoned 1930
- Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway 1896–1913
Nevada County Traction Company
Orange Grove Street Railway 1888–1896
Second Street Railroad narrow gauge horsecar Pomona
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
- West Sacramento Electric Company 1914 (proposed)
Second Street Cable Railway closed in 1890
Shasta Springs Scenic Railroad 1888 cable
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 Metro Rail 1975–1986 now part of Los Angeles Metro Rail
Tuscan Mineral Springs Corporation Electric Railway 1903–? Red Bluff–Tuscan Springs
Ventura and Ojai Valley Railroad 1887^[10] - connected to SP coastal line and owned by SP soon afterwards. Abandoned and railbanked in two sections: Ojai Valley Trail and Ventura River Trail.
Visalia and Tulare Railroad abandoned 1900
Visalia Electric Railroad 1904–1992, to SP in 1992.
- Chowchilla Pacific Railway
Volcano Northern Railroad 1903 (Amador County)
Visalia Rail Road to SP in 1899
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
Owens River Valley Electric Railway^[11]
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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j McGraw Electric Railway Manual. McGraw Publishing Company. 1914. pp. 11–26.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Poor, Henry V. (1891). Manual of the Railroads of the United States. pp. 1157–1163.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u McGraw Publishing Company, American Street Railway Investments, 1903, pp. 9-14
^ ^a ^b "Presidio & Ferries Railroad". The Western Railroader. Vol. 23, no. 2, iss. 242. February 1960. p. 11. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
^ Report - San Francisco (Calif.). Bureau of Engineering - Google Boeken. 1929. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
^ Trimble, Paul C. (2004). Railways of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 9780738528878.
^ Borden 1960, p. 5.
^ ^a ^b Borden 1960, p. 3.
^ ^a ^b Borden 1960, p. 4.
^ "Ojai Valley Museum History Timeline". Ojaivalleymuseum.org. April 7, 1917. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
^ Myrick 1992, pp. 313–315.

Bibliography

Borden, Stanley T. (April 1960). "Petaluma & Santa Rosa Electric R.R." The Western Railroader. Vol. 23, no. 4.
Fickewirth, Alvin A. (1992). California Railroads. San Marino, California: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-106-8.
Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History. Vol. IV. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-385-4. OCLC 13456066. OL 2716499M.
Hamm, Edward Jr. (1979). When Fresno Rode the Rails. Glendale, California: Interurbans Press, Ira Swett publisher. ISBN 0-916374-37-8.
Myrick, David F. (1992). Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California. Vol. I: The Northern Roads (Revised ed.). Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0-87417-193-8.
Swett, Ira (1971) [1949]. Swett, Ira (ed.). Sacramento Northern Railway, Interurbans Press Special #9 and Special #26 and reprints. Glendale, CA.: Interurbans Press.
Henry V. Poor, Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1889, appendix, pp. 38–41
Poor's Manual of Railroads, Poor's Directory of Railroad Officials and Manual of American Street Railways, August 1890, pp. 1183–1187
Poor's Railroad Manual, Poor's Directory of Railroad Officials, 1892, pp. 249–254

[mcgraw-1914-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j McGraw Electric Railway Manual. McGraw Publishing Company. 1914. pp. 11–26.

[Poors-1891-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Poor, Henry V. (1891). Manual of the Railroads of the United States. pp. 1157–1163.

[mcgraw-1903-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u McGraw Publishing Company, American Street Railway Investments, 1903, pp. 9-14

[WestRRer-4] "Presidio & Ferries Railroad". The Western Railroader. Vol. 23, no. 2, iss. 242. February 1960. p. 11. Retrieved July 14, 2025.

[5] Report - San Francisco (Calif.). Bureau of Engineering - Google Boeken. 1929. Retrieved September 14, 2012.

[6] Trimble, Paul C. (2004). Railways of San Francisco. Arcadia Publishing. p. 23. ISBN 9780738528878.

[FOOTNOTEBorden19605-7] Borden 1960, p. 5.

[FOOTNOTEBorden19603-8] Borden 1960, p. 3.

[FOOTNOTEBorden19604-9] Borden 1960, p. 4.

[10] "Ojai Valley Museum History Timeline". Ojaivalleymuseum.org. April 7, 1917. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.

[FOOTNOTEMyrick1992313–315-11] Myrick 1992, pp. 313–315.

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[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

v t e Streetcar systems in California
Operating	San Francisco Cable cars Muni Metro E F OC Streetcar
Defunct	Bakersfield Chico Eureka Fresno Long Beach Los Angeles Cable cars and funiculars Los Angeles Railway Pacific Electric Waterfront Red Car Marysville/Yuba City Monterey Oakland/Berkeley Ontario/Upland Mule cars Streetcar Palo Alto Pasadena Pomona Redlands Richmond Riverside Sacramento San Bernardino San Diego San Jose San Pedro Santa Barbara Santa Cruz Santa Monica South San Francisco Stockton
See also	List of California street railroads

East Bay

Los Angeles–San Bernardino

Sacramento Valley

San Diego

San Francisco

San Jose

Interurban Railways

Streetcar Companies

Other cities and towns

Proposed lines

See also

References

Bibliography