Fresno is not likely the first city in California which comes to mind regarding streetcar service. The first such lines to serve the city came via horsedrawn streetcars in downtown beginning 1889. Numerous companies would establish over the following decades which merged into the Fresno City Railway Company in 1901. This company would rebrand as the Fresno Traction Company by 1903 and continue to operate streetcar lines through the 1930s. In 1939 Fresno Traction would shutter streetcar service in favor of running buses. In 1961 the then rebranded Fresno City Lines would be purchased by the city of Fresno and has since become what is now known as Fresno Area Express.
Numerous elements of the Fresno Traction streetcar service can still be found in Fresno. This blog serves as an analysis of the history of streetcar in service in the city and features where to find numerous related infrastructure artifacts. Pictured as the blog cover is the Fresno Street Subway (constructed in 1909) during the late 1930s servicing both California State Route 41 and Fresno Traction traffic.
Detailing the history of Streetcar service in Fresno
When one thinks of interurban rail transportation in California usually the first city which comes to mind is San Francisco. Most would never assume a place like Fresno which presently does not have a large mass transit service ever had an interurban railroad, but that wasn't the case for much of early history of the city. By 1874 the Fresno County Seat was moved from Millerton on the San Joaquin River to Fresno Station which was a then new siding of the Central Pacific Railroad which had only been founded two years prior. Fresno Station did not formally incorporate into the city of Fresno until 1885 despite being the County Seat.
Upon incorporation the city of Fresno began to consider transportation options as the population was approaching 10,000 people. In 1889 the Fresno Street Railroad began operating horse drawn streetcars along H Street, Mariposa Street, K Street and Tulare Street. The 1891 Thomas Atlas of Fresno County (Range 20 East, Township 14 South) below shows some of the earliest horse drawn streetcar lines in Fresno.
Prior to the turn of the twentieth century two additional streetcar companies would begin operating in Fresno. The Fresno City, Belmont, and Yosemite Railroad began building line extensions northward. Fresno City Railroad built a line extension to the south Fresno city limit in addition to the County Fairgrounds east of downtown on Ventura Avenue (future California State Route 180). In 1901 all three streetcar companies were consolidated into the Fresno City Railway Company.
The Fresno City Railway Company began converting all existing lines to 61-pound rails in anticipation of conversion to electric street cars. In 1903 the Fresno City Railway Company was renamed to the Fresno Traction Company. Also, in 1903 the San Joaquin Light & Power Company was founded with the purpose of providing electricity to the Fresno Traction Company.
Detailing the history of Streetcar service in Fresno
When one thinks of interurban rail transportation in California usually the first city which comes to mind is San Francisco. Most would never assume a place like Fresno which presently does not have a large mass transit service ever had an interurban railroad, but that wasn't the case for much of early history of the city. By 1874 the Fresno County Seat was moved from Millerton on the San Joaquin River to Fresno Station which was a then new siding of the Central Pacific Railroad which had only been founded two years prior. Fresno Station did not formally incorporate into the city of Fresno until 1885 despite being the County Seat.
Upon incorporation the city of Fresno began to consider transportation options as the population was approaching 10,000 people. In 1889 the Fresno Street Railroad began operating horse drawn streetcars along H Street, Mariposa Street, K Street and Tulare Street. The 1891 Thomas Atlas of Fresno County (Range 20 East, Township 14 South) below shows some of the earliest horse drawn streetcar lines in Fresno.
Prior to the turn of the twentieth century two additional streetcar companies would begin operating in Fresno. The Fresno City, Belmont, and Yosemite Railroad began building line extensions northward. Fresno City Railroad built a line extension to the south Fresno city limit in addition to the County Fairgrounds east of downtown on Ventura Avenue (future California State Route 180). In 1901 all three streetcar companies were consolidated into the Fresno City Railway Company.
The Fresno City Railway Company began converting all existing lines to 61-pound rails in anticipation of conversion to electric street cars. In 1903 the Fresno City Railway Company was renamed to the Fresno Traction Company. Also, in 1903 the San Joaquin Light & Power Company was founded with the purpose of providing electricity to the Fresno Traction Company.
The Fresno Traction Company was authorized to build 196 miles of streetcar lines which would connect as far north was Wawona in Yosemite National Park, east to Trimmer Springs and south to Selma. One of the first line expansions was along what is now the median of Huntington Boulevard.
Much of the future expansion of the streetcar lines in Fresno was delayed or outright cancelled after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake which caused damage over most of Central California. In 1909 the Fresno Street underpass was completed which linked streetcar service west of the Southern Pacific Railroad freight line.
Much of the future expansion of the streetcar lines in Fresno was delayed or outright cancelled after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake which caused damage over most of Central California. In 1909 the Fresno Street underpass was completed which linked streetcar service west of the Southern Pacific Railroad freight line.
The Southern Pacific Railroad purchased controlling interest in the Fresno Traction Company in 1910 and began converting the lines to 75-pound rails. The Roeding Park streetcar line was complete by 1912 and expansion northward towards the San Joaquin River began with the notable Wishon Avenue underpass being built by 1914. The streetcar lines reached the now defunct community of Fresno Beach where modern Scout Island is located on the San Joaquin River by 1915.
Of note, in 1914 the Fresno Interurban Railway was founded with the intent of building an electric streetcar line to Clovis. Eventually a line was constructed from Fulton Street in downtown northward towards Fresno State campus (now Fresno City College), but the system was never completed. Fresno Interurban Railway declared bankruptcy in 1918 and right of way was bought out by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad ("ATSF") for a spur freight line in 1922.
Streetcar service in Fresno continued until 1939 when there was about 42 miles of rail service line throughout the city. The Fresno Traction Company didn't dissolve but rather converted from electric rail lines to bus service and took on the new name of Fresno City Lines. In 1961 the city of Fresno took controlling interest of the bus services, and the Fresno City Lines became the Fresno Municipal Bus Service. In 1969 the name was changed again to Fresno Transit which later took on the present name of Fresno Area Express in 1989.
Fresno.gov; Fresno Area Express History
This below snipped image of a 1938 Thomas Bros Map of downtown Fresno shows the major streetcar lines. The Fulton Street line can be seen originating from Hamilton Avenue. A historic plaque currently present on the Huntington Boulevard Line is marked on the image.
This snip from the northern Fresno portion of the 1938 Thomas Bros map shows the streetcar lines and the 1914 Wishon Avenue underpass of the ATSF line (presently Burlington North, Santa Fe).
One of the major component pieces of the Fresno Traction Company was Fulton Street. Originally US Route 99 was aligned directly west of Fulton Street on Broadway which kept the differing traffic away from each other. US Route 99 for the most part seems to have avoided much of the Fresno Traction Company streetcar lines aside from the one near Roeding Park and the Belmont Traffic Circle.
Much of Fulton Street was closed to vehicular traffic in 1964 to make way for a pedestrian mall which covered most of the right-of-way of the Fresno Traction Company line. In October 2017 Fulton Street was reopened to vehicular traffic which offers a glimpse of what the streetcar line would have looked like. The below photos (taken during 2019) of Fulton Street from Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly Ventura Avenue) north to Divisadero Street. Major line junctions would have been present at Tulare Street, Mariposa Street, Fresno Street and Stanislaus Street.
As noted above there is a historic plaque about the Fresno Traction Company on Huntington Boulevard at 1st Street. Said plaque details the purpose of the Huntington Boulevard line shuttling traffic east to unincorporated Sunnyside and was erected in 1983. The below photos were taken in 2019 looking east on Huntington Boulevard median which was the streetcar line:
There is a second historic plaque at Huntington Boulevard and 1st Street which also details the history of Huntington Boulevard. Much of the plants on Huntington Boulevard were placed in 1910 and the first building permit was issued in 1914.
Following the conversion of the Fresno Traction Company into Fresno City Lines the streetcar tracks were dismantled, and some right-of-way was converted into new roadway. In the case of the 1914 Wishon Avenue underpass it previously had only been used for streetcar service. This is underpass is presently used for one-way southbound automotive traffic. These photos of Wishon Avenue and the 1914 Wishon Avenue Underpass were taken during 2019.
The Wishon Avenue Underpass given it was intended to be used by streetcars is prone to flooding in wet winters. This photo below illustrates the poor drainage grade of the modern roadway.
When I visited the Wishon Avenue Underpass I attempted to replicate the position of the photo (the vintage black and white below) posted by the California Landmark Foundation. The vintage photo was taken on February 25, 1939, and features car #89 heading southbound towards downtown Fresno.
For comparison's sake a monochrome version of the modern photo shows the Wishon Avenue Underpass has had virtually no structural changes since 1939.
At the 1700 block of South Cherry Avenue just along the turn US Route 99 once took onto Broadway is the wreckage of two Fresno Traction Company streetcars which burned in 2013.
The larger car is a somewhat rare step-less Dragon Car which operated typically on weekends that had a low clearance of 7 inches. The smaller car is the typical Birney Model that operated on Fresno Traction Company lines. The Dragon Car was hauled to the site in 1935 and became the Standard Diner. It isn't clear if the second car was hauled in at the same time or at a later date. The Standard Diner became Trolley Car Carole's in 1968 which continued to operate for couple more decades. The Fresno Bee reported in 2013 that Trolley Car Carole's had burned down.
Below is a picture of Standard Diner when it was in operation.
The 1909 Fresno Street Subway until recently still appeared as much as it did at the peak of streetcar Service. Note: the second photo below was taken some time between late 1934 and 1939. I know this to be the case due to the California State Route 41 shield which is posted on Fresno Street facing eastbound. California State Route 41 and California State Route 180 would have multiplexed on Fresno Street as part of their original downtown alignments. The 1909 Fresno Street Subway has been modernized with much of the pedestrian features removed in modern times.
Some of the other vintage Fresno Streetcar photos I have found browsing online are posted below. The first picture is of car #72 which appears to have been in service primarily on McKenzie Avenue. I'm not certain but the underpass in the background might be on Fresno Street.
The photo below is of car #88 which displays "Fulton" on the front.
This photo below is of a car house at some point between 1901 and 1903 when streetcar service was operated under the banner of the "Fresno City Railway Company."
This picture below is of car #62 on Fulton Street. Car #62 is displaying "Blackstone" on its front side.
This photo is of Fulton Street at Kern Street looking northbound from the center of the streetcar lines.
Of note, in 1914 the Fresno Interurban Railway was founded with the intent of building an electric streetcar line to Clovis. Eventually a line was constructed from Fulton Street in downtown northward towards Fresno State campus (now Fresno City College), but the system was never completed. Fresno Interurban Railway declared bankruptcy in 1918 and right of way was bought out by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad ("ATSF") for a spur freight line in 1922.
Streetcar service in Fresno continued until 1939 when there was about 42 miles of rail service line throughout the city. The Fresno Traction Company didn't dissolve but rather converted from electric rail lines to bus service and took on the new name of Fresno City Lines. In 1961 the city of Fresno took controlling interest of the bus services, and the Fresno City Lines became the Fresno Municipal Bus Service. In 1969 the name was changed again to Fresno Transit which later took on the present name of Fresno Area Express in 1989.
Fresno.gov; Fresno Area Express History
This below snipped image of a 1938 Thomas Bros Map of downtown Fresno shows the major streetcar lines. The Fulton Street line can be seen originating from Hamilton Avenue. A historic plaque currently present on the Huntington Boulevard Line is marked on the image.
This snip from the northern Fresno portion of the 1938 Thomas Bros map shows the streetcar lines and the 1914 Wishon Avenue underpass of the ATSF line (presently Burlington North, Santa Fe).
One of the major component pieces of the Fresno Traction Company was Fulton Street. Originally US Route 99 was aligned directly west of Fulton Street on Broadway which kept the differing traffic away from each other. US Route 99 for the most part seems to have avoided much of the Fresno Traction Company streetcar lines aside from the one near Roeding Park and the Belmont Traffic Circle.
Much of Fulton Street was closed to vehicular traffic in 1964 to make way for a pedestrian mall which covered most of the right-of-way of the Fresno Traction Company line. In October 2017 Fulton Street was reopened to vehicular traffic which offers a glimpse of what the streetcar line would have looked like. The below photos (taken during 2019) of Fulton Street from Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly Ventura Avenue) north to Divisadero Street. Major line junctions would have been present at Tulare Street, Mariposa Street, Fresno Street and Stanislaus Street.
As noted above there is a historic plaque about the Fresno Traction Company on Huntington Boulevard at 1st Street. Said plaque details the purpose of the Huntington Boulevard line shuttling traffic east to unincorporated Sunnyside and was erected in 1983. The below photos were taken in 2019 looking east on Huntington Boulevard median which was the streetcar line:
There is a second historic plaque at Huntington Boulevard and 1st Street which also details the history of Huntington Boulevard. Much of the plants on Huntington Boulevard were placed in 1910 and the first building permit was issued in 1914.
Following the conversion of the Fresno Traction Company into Fresno City Lines the streetcar tracks were dismantled, and some right-of-way was converted into new roadway. In the case of the 1914 Wishon Avenue underpass it previously had only been used for streetcar service. This is underpass is presently used for one-way southbound automotive traffic. These photos of Wishon Avenue and the 1914 Wishon Avenue Underpass were taken during 2019.
The Wishon Avenue Underpass given it was intended to be used by streetcars is prone to flooding in wet winters. This photo below illustrates the poor drainage grade of the modern roadway.
When I visited the Wishon Avenue Underpass I attempted to replicate the position of the photo (the vintage black and white below) posted by the California Landmark Foundation. The vintage photo was taken on February 25, 1939, and features car #89 heading southbound towards downtown Fresno.
For comparison's sake a monochrome version of the modern photo shows the Wishon Avenue Underpass has had virtually no structural changes since 1939.
At the 1700 block of South Cherry Avenue just along the turn US Route 99 once took onto Broadway is the wreckage of two Fresno Traction Company streetcars which burned in 2013.
The larger car is a somewhat rare step-less Dragon Car which operated typically on weekends that had a low clearance of 7 inches. The smaller car is the typical Birney Model that operated on Fresno Traction Company lines. The Dragon Car was hauled to the site in 1935 and became the Standard Diner. It isn't clear if the second car was hauled in at the same time or at a later date. The Standard Diner became Trolley Car Carole's in 1968 which continued to operate for couple more decades. The Fresno Bee reported in 2013 that Trolley Car Carole's had burned down.
Below is a picture of Standard Diner when it was in operation.
The 1909 Fresno Street Subway until recently still appeared as much as it did at the peak of streetcar Service. Note: the second photo below was taken some time between late 1934 and 1939. I know this to be the case due to the California State Route 41 shield which is posted on Fresno Street facing eastbound. California State Route 41 and California State Route 180 would have multiplexed on Fresno Street as part of their original downtown alignments. The 1909 Fresno Street Subway has been modernized with much of the pedestrian features removed in modern times.
Some of the other vintage Fresno Streetcar photos I have found browsing online are posted below. The first picture is of car #72 which appears to have been in service primarily on McKenzie Avenue. I'm not certain but the underpass in the background might be on Fresno Street.
The photo below is of car #88 which displays "Fulton" on the front.
This photo below is of a car house at some point between 1901 and 1903 when streetcar service was operated under the banner of the "Fresno City Railway Company."
This picture below is of car #62 on Fulton Street. Car #62 is displaying "Blackstone" on its front side.
This photo is of Fulton Street at Kern Street looking northbound from the center of the streetcar lines.
Version History
- Originally published on July 27, 2019.
- First updated on January 22, 2025.
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