HERITAGE MAKES A COMEBACK new Silver Line BY MICHAEL T. BURKHART/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR T
HE REEMERGENCE of new streetcar systems in American cities began more than 30 years ago in San Diego, so it’s only fitting that a heritage operation would eventually follow. Vin- tage trolley operations began in 2011 on existing streetcar tracks circling downtown San Diego. The new Silver Line
serves the Padres ballpark,
Gaslamp Quarter, Convention Center, and the old Santa Fe (Amtrak) depot.
Electric
Streetcars in San Diego streetcar
service in San
Diego dates to 1888, according to the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The early 1900s saw impressive growth
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under entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, with several new lines opening. At its peak, the San Diego Electric Railway operated more than 165 miles of track throughout the region. The growth of automobile ownership in southern Cal- ifornia, however, caused a steady de- cline in trolley riders. The first buses were introduced in 1921, and by 1930 more than 200 buses were added to the fleet to replace streetcar service. Like many other parts of the country, World War II provided a short reprieve for the trolleys, and ridership surged. “Modern” PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) cars arrived in 1937, but by 1946, abandonments began again as
routes were taken over by buses. The San Diego Electric Railway was sold to the Western Transit Company in 1948, which continued the campaign to phase out the streetcars completely. All re- maining streetcar routes in San Diego were officially retired on April 24, 1949, making it the first southwestern city to completely abandon rail in favor of all- bus transit. The modern PCC fleet was sold off in part to the El Paso City Lines for the international loop service to Juárez, Mexico. Others found their way to various museums and new owners. Just over 30 years after the last streetcar ran, trolleys returned to San Diego, marking the emergence of new
San Diego’s
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