With a schedule regulated by the tides and the needs of chickens, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway operated for 81 years as a delightfully quirky egg-hauling enterprise. Modern electric railroad technology paired with ancient low-tech steamboats made possible the overnight shipping of fresh produce to a voracious San Francisco market. The railroad helped Petaluma earn the moniker athe egg basket of the world.a Incorporated in 1903, the railroad provided efficient train service to this fertile farm region. The famous botanist Luther Burbank located his experimental farm near Sebastopol and proclaimed it is natureas achosen spot of all the earth.a The railroad survived the devastating 1906 earthquake, opposition from three larger railroads, the Great Depression, and fierce auto-truck competition. The corporation was, mercifully, abandoned in 1984, and most of the rails were removed by 1988. Happily, recent plans call for a tourist trolley to operate over a portion of surviving Petaluma tracks.

Fascinating history of the numerous electric street railways (interurbans) that once criss-crossed northern California and the San Francisco Bay area. Covers the Interurban Electric Railway (the Big Red Cars), the Key System, the Market Street Railway, the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, the Peninsular Railway, the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railroad, the Sacramento Northern, and the San Francisco, Napa & Calistoga Railway. There is a roster and map for each railroad line. The book also discusses the Bay area ferry lines (with rosters), smaller streetcar lines, and the "what ifs?" represented by BART. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos. With list of car builders and ferryboat builders. 199 pages with index.

Petalumas past is uniquely reflected in its historic architecture. The towns earliest commercial buildings tightly lined the waterfront of the Petaluma River, at one time the busiest transportation corridor in the North Bay. After the railroad arrived, an already thriving dairy and manufacturing city became the nations largest poultry and egg producer. A vital economy brought factories like the impressive Sunset Line & Twine plant, hatcheries, vast warehouses, and grain elevators that have become defining Petaluma landmarks. Its handsome downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is noted for its Italianate cast ironfront commercial buildings, and a variety of preWorld War II residential styles surround it in charming neighborhoods. A favorite of moviemakers, its classic main streets played a
central role in the film American Graffiti.