Central California Traction Company

The Central California Traction Company (reporting mark CCT) is a Class III short-line railroad operating in the northern San Joaquin Valley, in San Joaquin County, California. It is owned jointly by the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.

Central California Traction Company
Overview
Parent companyUnion Pacific
BNSF Railway
HeadquartersStockton, California
Reporting markCCT
LocaleSan Joaquin Valley, California
Dates of operation1905 (1905)–
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification1,200 V DC third rail (countryside)
600 V DC overhead line (within city limits)[1]
none since 1946
Length78 miles (126 km)[2]
Other
Websitewww.cctrailroad.com

Service

The railroad operates between Stockton and Lodi. CCT also operates the Stockton Public Belt Railway around the Port of Stockton.

It connects to the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad company freight lines that serve greater Stockton. Several miles of the CCT track through Acampo are being used to store rolling stock, primarily Centerbeam flatcars that carry lumber, as of 2009.

CCT locomotive model BL21CG, built by Brookville Industries

History

The Central California Traction Company was founded on August 7, 1905, as an alternative city streetcar line to the Stockton Electric Railroad. Streetcar service began in 1906.[3] The company soon had greater ambitions and became a 1,200-volt DC electric interurban railway,[2] opening a line from Stockton to Lodi on September 2, 1907, and reaching Sacramento on September 1, 1910.[1]

In 1928, the railroad was sold by the original owners and was then jointly purchased by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad.[4] The Stockton streetcar operations were taken over by Stockton Electric Railway (by then an SP Subsidiary) in 1929.[5] Interurban service ceased on February 4, 1933,[1] but local streetcars continued to run in Sacramento continued until the service was acquired by National City Lines in 1943.[6] Electric service ended on December 22, 1946.[1]

The railroad operated over the same line from Lodi and Stockton to Sacramento until 1966 when the Sacramento belt line was closed, then trains were run over Southern Pacific's line into Sacramento. In 1998, service to Sacramento was suspended.[6] Since then the tracks remain between Stockton and Sacramento, being kept for future operational options.

One of the Central California Traction Company train stations survives in Acampo, just north of Lodi. This station was converted into a residence, with altered interior walls and an expansion.

Locomotive roster
Model Road no.
GE 44-ton switcher 25
26
GE 70-ton switcher 30
31
32
ALCO S1 40
41
42
ALCO S2 45
EMD GP7u 44
ALCO S4 50
EMD GP7 70
90
700
ALCO RS-1 80
Brookville BL12CG 1201 & 1202
EMD SW1500 1222
1501
1502
1503
1504
NRE 3GS21B BNSF 1243, 1247 & 1270
Brookville BL20CG 2101
EMD GP18 1790
1795

See also

References

Notes
  1. Robertson 1998, pp. 99–100
  2. Demoro 1986, p. 202
  3. Van Ommeren 2004, p. 54
  4. Hilton & Due 2000, p. 207
  5. Fickewirth 1992, p. 148
  6. Burg 2006, p. 89

Bibliography
  • Burg, William (2006). Sacramento's Streetcars. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738531472.
  • Demoro, Harre W. (1986). California's Electric Railways. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-74-2.
  • Fickewirth, Alvin A. (1992). California railroads: an encyclopedia of cable car, common carrier, horsecar, industrial, interurban, logging, monorail, motor road, shortlines, streetcar, switching and terminal railroads in California (1851-1992). San Marino, CA.: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-106-8.
  • Hilton, George W.; Due, John F. (2000) [1960]. The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
  • Middleton, Wm. D. (2000) [1964]. The Interurban Era. Kalmbach Publishing Co. Milwaukee, WI. ISBN 978-0-89024-003-8.
  • Robertson, Donald B. (1998). Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History - Volume IV - California. Caldwell, ID: The Caxton Printers. ISBN 0-87004-385-4.
  • Stanley, David G.; Moreau, Jeffrey J. (2002). The Central California Traction Company. Lompoc, CA: Western Star Distributors. ISBN 1-930013-06-X.
  • Stindt, Fred A. (1996). American Shortline Railway Guide - 5th Ed. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-290-9.
  • Van Ommeren, Alice (2004). Stockton in Vintage Postcards. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738528786.
  • Walker, Mike (1997). Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada - Post Merger Ed. Faversham, Kent, United Kingdom: Steam Powered Publishing. ISBN 1-874745-08-0.
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