September 1892.
The San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy ) was a mass transit system
in Southern California using streetcars and (in later years)
buses. The SDERy was established by "sugar heir,"
developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels in 1892 . The
railroad's original network consisted of 5 routes, delineated
as follows:
the Fifth Street and Logan Heights Lines;
the First and "D" Streets Lines;
the Depot Line;
the Ferry Line; and
the "K" Street Shuttle.
The company would establish additional operating divisions as
traffic demands led to the formation of new lines. The company
also engaged in limited freight handling primarily as an interchange
with Spreckels' San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A) from
1923 to 1929 .
At its peak, the SDERy's routes would operate throughout the
greater San Diego area over some 165 miles (266 kilometers )
of track. Steadily-declining ridership, due in large part to
the phenomenal rise in popularity of the automobile, ultimately
led the company to discontinue all streetcar service in favor
of bus routes in 1949 . The demise of some streetcar companies
in the United States has been tied by some to the alleged General
Motors streetcar conspiracy , in which a consortium of General
Motors ,Standard Oil , and others formed a front company, National
City Lines , in order to buy streetcar lines, shut them down,
and replace them with buses. The plot of Touchstone Pictures
'1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit is loosely based on this
theory. The few surviving pieces of rolling stock are on display
at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, the San Diego
Electric Railway Association in National City , and the Orange
Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California .
"Before you can hope to get people to live anywhere...you
must first of all show them that they can get there quickly,
comfortably, and above all, cheaply. Transportation determines
the flow of population. "J.D. Spreckels
Picture: Double-decker Car No. 1, the first such electrically
operated car in the United States, makes the inaugural run with
many of the City's notables aboard. SDERy double-decker Car
No. 1 pauses at the intersection of 5th Street & Market
Street during its inaugural run on September 21, 1892.
March 2006
City Sightseeing San Diego initiates operation with double decker
buses for tourism.
