Western Pacific ownership wrought several immediate changes.  Steam locomotive 1 was replaced in 1917, when the Tidewater purchased Western Pacific 126. A 4-6-0 built by the Rome Locomotive Works, this locomotive had been built in 1891 for the Denver and Rio Grande and had come to the WP via the Boca and Loyalton. It was renumbered as second Tidewater Southern 1 and saw use in construction of the railroad south of Modesto following its arrival in February 1918.  In addition, the original Sharps Lane entry into Stockton was abandoned and replaced with the alignment following the former Alameda and San Jouquin line past the Santa Fe depot.

While passenger revenues declined, freight continued to grow. June of 1921 saw the purchase of a 60-ton GE steeplecab motor numbered 106, TS' first brand-new freight power and a virtual twin to Sacramento Northern's 650-654 locomotives. This engine joined with the recently remotored 100 to power growing freight trains. The Tidewater also began the practice of borrowing WP power as needed. The most common visitor was WP 124, a small 2-8-0 that had been built in 1882 for a part of the Southern Railway family and had been a stable-mate of TS 1 on the Boca and Loyalton. WP 125, a small 4-6-0, would also be leased from late 1928 to late 1930, and nearly became a Tidewater locomotive. At this time, the TS also owned two cabooses numbered 301 and 302. These hacks would be replaced by two second-hand cabooses using the same numbers in 1939.

By 1922, the Stockton-Modesto trains were reduced to 22 per day. On occasions when demand was high, the TS borrowed two Holman-built trailers from the CCT. Period of high demand became rarer and rarer, however. Despite excellent service, increasing use of automobiles bit further into passenger revenues. The onset of the Depression marked the beginning of the end, as it did for so many interurbans. Service in 1928 stood at 18 daily trains, but by 1932, the TS only offered 8 trains per day. The last electric interurban ran on May 26,1932, ending 19 years of service. Passengers were carried in a daily mixed freight pulled by steam and electric locomotives. The beautiful Jewett cars are widely reported to have served for a time, demotored, as caboose/coaches.  However, TS records seem to indicate they were not used in this service regularly, if at all, and instead sat in storage until at least 1934 or 1935.  At some point, they were detrucked and set up as section houses at the junction point of Hatch.  Today, one, the 200, sits awaiting restoration in a shed at the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista Junction.  Car 202 still sits on a ranch in the Hatch area.  The fate of 201 and the express motor 300 are unknown.

Tidewater Southern Railway

Death of an Interurban...1918-1946

History of the

Next chapter...

Doing the Job
1947-1966
diesels take over as the road upgrades for the future

With the end of interurban service, the line into Stockton was cut back to Mineral Baths, about a mile north or Ortega. According to some sources, this first abandonment of TS trackage was quickly followed by the severing of the Hilmar line south of Chemurgic, although this is probably in error as timetables showed this line in place in the 1950's.  When built, this had been considered the mainline when the Tidewater still had its sights set on Fresno.  However, by the early 1920's (according to the early abandonment sources), it had been demoted to branchline status, although it was still treated as the mainline in timetables.  Aside from the line from Chemurgic to Hilmar, no more lines of the Tidewater Southern would be abandoned until over 50 years later.

(There are actually many questions about the Hilmar line and its status.  While several sources indicate it was a branch removed in the mid-late 1930's, TS Employee Timetables as late as 1955 not only list the Hilmar line as being in service, but indicate it, and not the Turlock line, is the mainline.  The line from Hatch to Turlock is listed as the Turlock Branch.  In addition, several persons knowlegable in TS history have stated that no depot ever existed in Hilmar.  However, an issue of WP Mileposts shows a depot labeled as the Hilmar Depot standing and with tracks in 1953 and official TS records indicate a depot in Hilmar as part of land sales in the town in the mid-1950's.  To further muddy the waters, Ben Cantu of the Tidewater Southern Historical Society published, in the Society's Tidewater Journal, of finding a depot-like building in Hilmar on the former TS alignment, although this was later determined to be unlikely that the building was the Hilmar depot.  Further information would be welcome.)

The overhead began coming down with the end of interurban service (preceded by the removal of the Manteca Branch's overhead in 1930 so it could be reused for a new connector on the Sacramento Northern), however the city of Modesto would play a vital role in keeping some of the Tidewater under wire.  Fearing smoke-belching steam trains on its major road, Ninth Street, the city passed an ordinance forbidding the operation of steam locomotives on its streets.  Thus, the railroad was forced to retain 2.1 miles of electrified trackage between south Modesto and Aurora station in the north, along with associated yard trackage.  Electric motors 100 and 106 continued to haul the freight trains, steam locomotive and all, down Ninth Street and perform local switching, occaisionally supplemented by SN 601 or a CCT motor.

With the removal of the wire, more Western Pacific steam locomotives were used to augment the 1 in handling the abundant fruit and vegetable traffic. Besides ever- present WP 124, ten-wheelers from the 90 series were often seen running through Modesto. In 1940, the Tidewater purchased Sierra Railroad 32, a Baldwin 2-6-2. This locomotive had been built in 1923, mainly for the Angles Branch and on smaller Sierra trains, and was well suited for the one-time interurban's light trackage. In 1941, it was renumbered 132 to avoid confusion with WP 32 when the locomotive was in Stockton for servicing. Since Tidewater engines were at the Stockton roundhouse alongside WP engines, this was deemed prudent. It is interesting to note, however, TS 1 was never renumbered to avoid confusion with WP 1.

During WWII the TS would borrow whatever diesel and steam locomotives it could from the WP to handle booming war-time traffic. During this time, the TS traded its steeplecab 106 to the WP's Sacramento Northern Railway in exchange for the use of SN motors 601 and 602 for the duration of the war. Borrowed WP SW1s and S1s started the wave of dieselization on the Tidewater, however it wasn't until after the war that the company's own diesels began to arrive.

The Stockton Mineral Baths, shown here in a 1920's postcard.  Trains from both the Tidewater Southern and Stockton Electric stopped at the baths.  With the end of interurban service, the TS ceased use of the SE and CCT lines beyond this point into central Stockton, but maintained its own line to their location for some years after.

Eugene John Vicknair collection