Nevada County Traction Company

The Nevada County Traction Company was an interurban electrified railway in Nevada County, part of the U.S. State of California in the United States of America. It connected Grass Valley and Nevada City, a total of about six miles of track, using streetcar technology. Construction was in 1901; founder and promoter John Martin intended to build a system connecting the area to Sacramento, the state capital, but this was never begun. Abandonment was in 1923.

History

The Nevada County Traction Company began as an idea of its primary promoter: John Martin. He was the President of the Marysville Gas and Electric Company, and also had control over the power production of six California cities. Beginning in May of 1901 the railroad ties and rails had been ordered, and construction began a month later on June 6, 1901. On that date a groundbreaking ceremony took place, with the general manager of the railroad: G.H. Fairchild, promising that the railroad would be completed by September 9th, 1901. After the railroad was completed there were rumors that the railroad would expand to the Bay Area, considering the relationship between the railroad's directors and their ownership of Gas and Electric companies throughout the state; These hopes however were never realized. The railroad would operate for over a decade before it was purchased alongside its competitor the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad, by the California Midland Railroad, which was a subsidiary of the San Francisco and Northwestern Railway. Despite its purchase, the railroad continued to operate normally for several more years until 1923, when the railroad applied to the state railroad commission and asked for permission to discontinue their electric railway service, due to the increase in automobile usage in the area.