Sterling, Dixon and Eastern Electric Railway

Before highways and traffic lights, this was how the region moved.

Picture yourself waiting as the electric railway hums into town—connecting Sterling to Dixon and beyond. For over two decades, this line carried workers, families, and opportunity across the region.

But there’s a quiet twist to this story.

The very progress that helped build the railway also led to its decline. Gravel hauled for new roads made automobile travel easier… and slowly replaced the rails.

This mural captures that fleeting moment—when innovation was both building the future and rewriting it at the same time.