It connected Grass Valley and Nevada City, a total of about six miles (9.7 km) of track, using streetcar technology.
Construction was in 1901; founder and promoter John Martin intended to build a system connecting the area to Sacramento, the state capital, but this was never seen through.
[2] The Nevada County Traction Company began as an idea of its primary promoter: John Martin.
He was the President of the Marysville Gas and Electric Company, and also had control over the power production of six California cities.
[8][9][10] In their application to the state railroad commission to convert operations to buses, the company cited increased automobile usage in the area as suppressing the demand for electricity necessary to run trains.