Central California Traction Company Explained

Central California Traction Company
Parent Company:Union Pacific
BNSF Railway
Headquarters:Stockton, California
Marks:CCT
Locale:San Joaquin Valley, California
Electrification: (countryside)
(within city limits)
none since 1946

The Central California Traction Company 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.

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, .

History

The Central California Traction Company was incorporated on August 7, 1905. Streetcar service began on March 3, 1906 with 9miles of trackage in Stockton.[1] The company also had greater ambitions and became an electric interurban railway, opening a line from Stockton to Lodi starting on September 2, 1907. The original line into Lodi ran down Lodi Avenue, turning north on Sacramento Street and reaching as far north as Turner Road. In 1908, current on the third rail system was raised from 550 volts to 1,200 volts. The extension to Sacramento began service on September 1, 1910.

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. The Stockton streetcar operations were taken over by Stockton Electric Railroad (by then an SP Subsidiary) in 1929. Interurban service ceased on February 4, 1933,[2] but local streetcars continued to run in Sacramento until the service was acquired by National City Lines in 1943. Electric service ended on December 22, 1946.

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. Tracks into Sacramento's city center were removed that year. In 1998, service to Sacramento was suspended. 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

ModelRoad no.
GE 44-ton switcher25
26
GE 70-ton switcher30
31
32
ALCO S140
41
42
ALCO S245
EMD GP7u44
ALCO S450
EMD GP770
90
700
ALCO RS-180
Brookville BL12CG1201 & 1202
EMD SW15001222
1501
1502
1503
1504
NRE 3GS21BBNSF 1243, 1247 & 1270
Brookville BL20CG2101
EMD GP181790
1795

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Stockton's Big New Street Car System . 26 May 2024 . Stockton Daily Evening Record . Newspapers.com . March 3, 1906 . Stockton, California . 8.
  2. News: California Traction Ends Passenger Rail Service . 24 May 2024 . The Sacramento Bee . Newspapers.com . February 4, 1933 . Sacramento, California . 3.