Consequently, I have become acutely aware of March 2004 as being the 100th anniversary of the trolley-car service that linked Saratoga with communities of the central Santa Clara Valley. I have written and given talks several times on this subject, but, well, a centennial is a centennial and deserving of more ink. June of last year, for instance, was the 100th anniversary of the destruction by fire of Congress Hall, the hotel at Congress Springs, the mineral water source responsible for Saratoga having its name.

The trolley line—today it would be called light rail; we referred to the rolling stock as streetcars—opened as the San Jose­Los Gatos Interurban Railway Co. The first ceremonial trip from San Jose to Los Gatos, through Saratoga, was on March 19, 1904. The service ended 29 years later, almost to the day: March 11, 1933.

For this system, which became the Peninsular Railway Co. in 1909, and others like it, those were intensely significant years. For it was in this era that the automobile developed from a rich man's toy into a necessity of everyday life. The result, of course, was that what had been country roads became arteries that were often clogged with vehicular traffic.

This hit the Peninsular especially hard because when the route was planned, it was decided to have the track go alongside, and sometimes in the middle, of county roads. This made sense at the beginning of the 20th century because the roads mostly were unpaved and the rails represented a real scientific advancement. Came the motor traffic, though, and the rails were pretty much just in the way.

For instance, consider the size of the cars most frequently seen going through Saratoga. These were of the so-called 50-series, largely of wood construction that had been built in 1903. They were 45 feet long; 8 feet, 3 inches wide; and 12 feet, 5 inches high, exclusive of trolley.

As an example, picture one of these monsters going down the middle of North Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, with motor traffic in both directions and cars parked along the curb. There were other locations where the squeeze was felt equally. Needless to say, when the Peninsular ceased operations, there was no show of sentiment, no ceremonial "last rides," no picture opportunities for dignitaries. One day the cars were running and the next day they weren't, the service having been taken over by buses of Peerless Stages Inc. (I always liked "stages" in that name, since it conjured up images of horse-drawn coaches in the Wild West. Peerless' motor-powered vehicles of the time were a cut or two above that, but not a whole lot.)

There are some things about the Peninsular Railway that are worth reflecting on in terms of the service in Saratoga. For one thing, it was said that, in the early days, one could get from here to San Jose in 20 minutes. How far can you get down Saratoga Avenue in that time today, with traffic lights against you—Payne Avenue, maybe?

One of the most memorable experiences involving the Peninsular cars was the annual Blossom Trolley Trip, scheduled at the height of the blooming season in the Valley's expanse of orchards. The cars were also an important mode of transportation for visitors to the Saratoga Blossom Festival.

I also like to think that, in a way, the Peninsular Railway was a major factor in Saratoga getting its Memorial Arch. This was because originally the Saratoga station was in what is now the middle of the main Village intersection. Consequently, with the line's frequent freight traffic, there were unsightly boxcars on a siding in the middle of downtown. A group of local civic leaders formed a charitable company and persuaded the Peninsular to move its station to the site of the present Village Post Office and the tracks to Los Gatos along what later became George Whalen Way. The company purchased the former station site and created the present Blaney Plaza, highlighted by the Memorial Arch. Title to the property was turned over to the Saratoga Foothill Club.

Whether all this would have happened without the trolley-car line is a matter for conjecture. Suffice it to say that the Peninsular Railway left its mark on the public memory.