A Streetcar Named Orange Dummy

The little steam-powered, narrow-gauge streetcar, top, was what passed for intercity rapid transit between Santa Ana and Orange at the turn of the century.

It was operated by the augustly named Inter-Urban Railway Co., but almost everyone called it the Orange Dummy. (“Dummy” is the railroad term for street locomotive.)

Its “smokeless” engine wasn’t. Its wheels were set so close together that young riders could easily make it rock fore and aft. Male passengers were expected to lend a hand when cars slipped off the rails or needed a push.

The dummy ran from the Santa Fe depot in Santa Ana west along Fourth Street to Ross Street, then back to Main Street, then north to La Veta Avenue, then east to Glassell Street and north to Orange’s downtown plaza.

The motorman would stop for you anywhere along the route. The whole trip took about 30 minutes.

The Orange Dummy disappeared as soon as Pacific Electric extended its Red Car lines into Santa Ana in 1906. Eventually the Red Cars disappeared too.

Nowadays to ride the rails between Santa Ana and Orange you must take Metrolink. Its trains began stopping in Orange in June 1994 after the city reopened its old, now refurbished, railroad station, above.

Be sure to take lots of change. The five-minute trip costs $4.50 one way. --STEVE EMMONS

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