The East Bay Electric Lines was a division of the Southern Pacific Railroad which operated a system of electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The trains served the cities of Berkeley, Albany, Oakland, and Alameda, transporting commuters to and from the large Oakland Pier of the Southern Pacific. A fleet of ferry boats ran between the pier and the docks of the Ferry Building on the San Francisco Embarcadero. The East Bay Electric Lines became the "Interurban Electric Railway" (IER) upon completion of tracks on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge. Southern Pacific ended its transbay commuter train service in July, 1941. The large, heavy cars used by the SP for its commuter trains were at first painted in standard railroad olive green, but were soon painted a bright red and became known as the "big red trains". The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark SP) was an American railroad. ... East Bay Township, Michigan East Bay (California) is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area East Bay (Rhode Island) is a region of Rhode Island This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Berkeley as seen from the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. ... The city of Albany highlighted within Alameda County Albany is a city located in Alameda County, California. ... Nickname: Oaktown, Biggity Biggity O, The Town Motto: Official website: www. ... Nickname: The Island City Motto: Official website: City of Alameda Location Location in the state of California and Alameda County Government County Alameda Mayor Beverley Johnson (D) Geographical characteristics Area Total 59. ... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. ... This article discusses the embarcadero in San Francisco. ... The Bay Bridge, with the skyline of San Francisco in the background. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ...

After service ended in 1941, some of the cars were transferred to the Pacific Electric in southern California where they were in use until that system ceased operations in 1961. Pacific Electric Railway company depot in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1910. ...

See also the Key System; another transbay commuter rail system that served the East Bay during the same era. The Key System (or Key Route) was a company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from the 1900s until 1960 when the system was sold to a newly formed public...

References

Red Trains in the East Bay: The History of the Southern Pacific Transbay Train and Ferry System, Robert S. Ford, 1977, Interurbans Books