Central California Traction's ex Alameda Belt/ATSF GP7 No. 44 entering the yard in Lodi.
(Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of California, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
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.
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.
Interurban passenger cars pass over the Mokelumne River c. 1915–1930.
(Scanned postcard from eBay auction, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
History
The Central California Traction Company was incorporated on August 7, 1905. Streetcar service began on March 3, 1906 with nine miles (14 km) of trackage in Stockton. 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, 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.
CCT locomotive model BL21CG, built by Brookville Industries.
(Media Contact: Nahal Mogharabi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Locomotive roster
| Model | Road no. |
|---|---|
| GE 44-ton switcher | 25 |
| GE 44-ton switcher | 26 |
| GE 70-ton switcher | 30 |
| GE 70-ton switcher | 31 |
| GE 70-ton switcher | 32 |
| ALCO S1 | 40 |
| ALCO S1 | 41 |
| ALCO S1 | 42 |
| ALCO S2 | 45 |
| EMD GP7u | 44 |
| ALCO S4 | 50 |
| EMD GP7 | 70 |
| EMD GP7 | 90 |
| EMD GP7 | 700 |
| ALCO RS-1 | 80 |
| Brookville BL12CG | 1201 & 1202 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1222 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1501 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1502 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1503 |
| EMD SW1500 | 1504 |
| NRE 3GS21B | BNSF 1243, 1247 & 1270 |
| Brookville BL20CG | 2101 |
| EMD GP18 | 1790 |
| EMD GP18 | 1795 |
Overview
Parent company: Union Pacific, BNSF Railway
Headquarters: Stockton, California
Reporting mark: CCT
Locale: San Joaquin Valley, California
Dates of operation: 1905 – present
Technical
Track gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification: Third rail, 1,200 V DC (countryside); Overhead line, 600 V DC (within city limits); none since 1946
Length: 52.1 miles (83.8 km)
Other
Website: www.cctrailroad.com
