Northern Electric Railway

Historical Background

The Northern Electric Company was incorporated on June 14, 1905. Its trackage consisted of a line from Chico to Sacramento, branches from Oroville Junction and Chico to Hamilton, and street car tracks in Chico. In December 1907, the firm was absorbed into the Northern Electric Railway Company. This line operated almost 160 miles of track from Sacramento to Chico and Oroville, as well as street railway trackage in Sacramento. The Northern Electric Railway constructed trackage for the Sacramento Terminal Company, which it controlled, in 1909-1910, and acquired the Vallejo and Northern Railroad in December 1912. This latter company had been projected to run between Vallejo and Sacramento, with branches to Suisun and Vacaville. In reality, the Vallejo and Northern constructed only 1.8 miles of trackage in Sacramento and a line between Suisun and Vacaville. The Northern Electric Railway Company entered receivership in October 1914. In 1918 it was sold at auction to the newly-formed Sacramento Northern Railroad Company.

Additional information on the Northern Electric Railway can be found in Ira Swett's Sacramento Northern, Interurbans Special 26 (Los Angeles: Electric Railway Publications, 1962) reprinted in 1998 by Pentrex Media Group.

From the guide to the Northern Electric Railway Company Collection, 1906-1922, (California State Railroad Museum Library)