Central California Traction Company

Central California Traction Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Railroad
Founded	August 7, 1905 (1905-08-07)
Headquarters	Stockton , United States
Area served	Northern San Joaquin Valley, California
Products	Rail freight transportation
Owner	Union Pacific, BNSF Railway
Website	www.cctrailway.com

The Central California Traction Company is classified as a Class III short-line railroad that operates within the northern region of the San Joaquin Valley, specifically in San Joaquin County, California. Ownership of the company is shared between Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.

Service

This railroad line extends from Stockton to Lodi, and it also manages the Stockton Public Belt Railway which serves the area surrounding the Port of Stockton. It has interchange connections with the freight lines of the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad, which provide service throughout the greater Stockton area. Additionally, several miles of track located near Acampo are designated for the storage of rolling stock, primarily Centerbeam flatcars used for lumber transportation (as noted in 2009).

History

Established on August 7, 1905, the company commenced streetcar operations on March 3, 1906, initially covering 9 miles of track within Stockton. It grew into an electric interurban railway system by inaugurating the Stockton to Lodi route on September 2, 1907. The original path through Lodi followed Lodi Avenue and Sacramento Street leading to Turner Road. In 1908, the voltage for the third rail was upgraded from 550 volts to 1,200 volts. Service was extended to Sacramento starting September 1, 1910.

In 1928, ownership was acquired jointly by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad, and Western Pacific Railroad. The streetcar operations in Stockton were transferred to the Stockton Electric Railroad—a subsidiary of Southern Pacific—in 1929. Interurban service was discontinued on February 4, 1933; however, local streetcar service in Sacramento persisted until it was taken over by National City Lines in 1943. Electric-powered operations ended on December 22, 1946.

The company maintained its rail line connecting Lodi and Stockton with Sacramento until the closure of the Sacramento belt line in 1966. Afterward, trains utilized Southern Pacific’s tracks to enter Sacramento. That same year, tracks leading into downtown Sacramento were dismantled. Service to Sacramento was halted in 1998; nonetheless, tracks between Stockton and Sacramento remain intact for possible future use.

One of the original CCT train stations still exists in Acampo, California, where it has been converted into a private residence with alterations.

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

• List of California Interurban Railroads
• Sacramento Northern Railway
• Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad

Bibliography

• William Burg, Sacramento's Streetcars, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, ISBN 9780738531472
• Harre W. Demoro, California's Electric Railways, Interurban Press, 1986, ISBN 0-916374-74-2
• Alvin A. Fickewirth, California Railroads: An Encyclopedia, Golden West Books, 1992, ISBN 0-87095-106-8
• Ralph Lea & Janice Roth, "The Central California Traction Company," Lodi Historian, Spring 2004, Vol.15 No.2, Lodi Historical Society
• Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide - 5th Ed., Kalmbach Publishing, 1996, ISBN 0-89024-290-9
• Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center, Sacramento's Elmhurst, Tahoe Park and Colonial Heights, Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 9780738555904, p.84
• David G. Stanley & Jeffrey J. Moreau, The Central California Traction Company, Western Star Distributors, 2002, ISBN 1-930013-06-X
• Alice Van Ommeren, Stockton in Vintage Postcards, Arcadia Publishing, 2004, ISBN 9780738528786
• Mike Walker, Steam Powered Video's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - California and Nevada - Post Merger Ed., Steam Powered Publishing, 1997, ISBN 1-874745-08-0

External links

• Official website of the Central California Traction Company−CCT
• Extensive resources on Trainweb.org: CCT Information
• Trainweb.org: Updated roster of CCT locomotives
• Cencalrails.railfan.net: Collection of CCT photographs
• Western Pacific Railroad Museum — location of CCT Caboose #24
• Tidewatersouthern.com: Details on CCT Steeple Cab locomotive #100
• Davesrailpix.com: Archive of interurban images including CCT and TS