Streetcars in Sacramento
Open-knowledge reference entry
The use of streetcars in Sacramento began with horse car lines built in the city in 1870. Several companies operated electric streetcars in the city after 1890 until operations were consolidated under Pacific Gas & Electric starting in 1906. Like most American cities, automobile adoption and deferred maintenance led to all streetcar lines being converted to buses by 1947. A second-generation light rail system began operations in 1987 as RT Metro, later rebranded as SacRT light rail, which includes street running segments similar to traditional streetcar operations.
Horsecars
An early omnibus line operated between Third and R Streets to Second and K Streets from 1858 to 1862.
Horse railway service under the City Street Railway began on August 20, 1870; fares were 5¢. Two extensions to the system opened in 1880: one fourteen blocks to the City Cemetery and one on Front Street to the Central Pacific Railroad station.
The Highland Park Railway began running in December 1887, running between Highland Park and 20th and O Streets.
Electric traction
The Central Street Railway experimented with storage battery trams in 1888, though power densities were not found sufficient for sustained service. The company would establish the first trolley traction line in Sacramento around February 1891.
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