J (Los Angeles Railway)

This article is about a historical rail line in Los Angeles. For the modern bus rapid transit service, see J Line (Los Angeles Metro).

J
Overview
Owner	Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
Locale	Los Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, and Walnut Park
Termini	Jefferson Boulevard and 10th Avenue Seville Avenue and Palm Place
Stations	82
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Los Angeles Railway Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
History
Opened	1920
Closed	March 31, 1963 (1963-03-31)
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	Overhead line,  600 V DC
Route map Legend 1962–1963 Jefferson and 10th Avenue Jefferson and 7th Avenue Jefferson and 4th Avenue Jefferson and Arlington Jefferson and Cimarron Jefferson and St. Andrews Jefferson and Western Jefferson and Denker Jefferson and Normandie Jefferson and Budlong Jefferson and Vermont   V   Jefferson and McClintock Jefferson and Hoover Jefferson and Figueroa Jefferson and Flower I-110 Harbor Freeway Jefferson and Grand   5   Grand and 30th Grand and 27th Grand and Adams Grand and 23rd Grand and 21st Grand and Washington Grand and 18th Grand and 14th Grand and Pico   5   Grand and 12th Grand and 11th Grand and Olympic Grand and 8th 7th and Grand   R    S   7th and Olive 7th and Hill 7th and Broadway   P    5   7th and Spring 7th and Main 7th and Los Angeles 7th and Maple 7th and San Pedro   R   San Pedro and 9th San Pedro and 11th San Pedro and Pico San Pedro and 14th San Pedro and 16th San Pedro and Washington San Pedro and 21st San Pedro and 16th San Pedro and 23rd San Pedro and Adams San Pedro and 30th San Pedro and Jefferson Avalon and Santa Barbara Avalon and 41st Avalon and 42nd Avalon and Vernon   S    V   Vernon and McKinley Vernon and Central Vernon and Hooper Vernon and Ascot Vernon and Compton Vernon and Morgan Vernon and Long Beach Vernon and Alameda Vernon and St. Charles Vernon and Santa Fe Pacific Crossing   V   Pacific and 46th Pacific and Leonis Pacific and Fruitland Huntington Park Pacific and 55th Pacific and 57th Pacific and Slauson Pacific and Belgrave Pacific and Randolph Pacific and Gage Pacific and Zoe Pacific and Saturn Pacific and Florence Walnut Park Seville and Florence Seville and Live Oak Seville and Grand Seville and Broadway Palm Place This diagram: view talk edit

J was a streetcar line in Los Angeles, California. It was operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1911 to 1945, by Los Angeles Transit Lines from 1945 to 1958, and by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority from 1958 to 1963.

History

Huntington Line (1895–1911)

The Huntington Line was one of the original routes of the Los Angeles Railway. From Downtown, it branched off the Pico Line at 1st and Santa Fe. From there, it followed a route south on Santa Fe Avenue, a private right-of-way, Mateo Street, 9th Street, Santa Fe Avenue, Pacific Boulevard, Florence Avenue, and Seville Avenue to Walnut Park, with an additional branch down Santa Fe to Slauson Avenue. After 1911, a shuttle route continued to run on Mateo Street, but the remainder of the route now entered Downtown Los Angeles via 7th Street. ^[1]

Jefferson Line (1898–1911)

The Jefferson Line was built by the Los Angeles Traction Company, and ran as a meager shuttle route on West Jefferson Boulevard between 4th Avenue and Wesley Avenue (present-day University Avenue) at the University of Southern California, where there were two transfer points for the Los Angeles Railway's University Line. The route was maintained by the Los Angeles Interurban Railway, then the Pacific Electric Railway, who operated the local route until the Great Merger of 1911. From that point on, the Jefferson Line was integrated into the Huntington Line and extended west to 9th Avenue. ^[1]

J Line (1911–1963)

In 1921, the route became known as "J." ^{[2] [3]} The line ran from Jefferson and 9th in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, ^[4] to Seville and Santa Ana Streets in Walnut Park. Cars operated by way of West Jefferson Boulevard, South Grand Avenue, 7th Street, Mateo Street, East Olympic Boulevard, South Santa Fe Avenue, Pacific Boulevard, East Florence Avenue, and Seville Avenue. ^[5] Early on, a short-lived branch line was run east on Jefferson to San Pedro. The line was extended at both ends to new balloon loops in 1939: one at 10th Street and the Palm Place loop. ^[1]

The service was transferred to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1958. In 1962, due to a paving project, rail service east of Seventh and San Pedro was rerouted with a deviation and aligned with the S line south on San Pedro and Avalon, thence left on Vernon through the Jazz District aligned with the V line to Santa Fe Avenue and Pacific Boulevard until service ceased on March 31, 1963. ^{[6] [7]} This line contributed to the success of Huntington Park's Pacific Boulevard business district for many years. ^[1]

Sources

1. "'J'". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
2. "May 1: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2022. 1921: Large letter signs indicating the routes of different lines are placed on top of Los Angeles Railway streetcars.
3. "Cars To Have Letter Signs" (PDF). Two Bells. Vol. 1, no. 48. Los Angeles Railway. May 2, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
4. Walker, Jim (2007). Los Angeles Railway Yellow Cars. Arcadia Pub. p. 104. ISBN   9781531629410.
5. H.P. Noordwal (1938). "Route Map Los Angeles Railway Electric Car and Bus Routes" (Map). Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Los Angeles Railway. "Alternate link" (Map). via Google .
6. "March 31: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
7. LAMTA schedule, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, December 23, 1962

External links

• J Line Archives — Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society
• "Los Angeles Railway". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California.