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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Los Angeles, and Long Beach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Interurban | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Pacific Electric (1902–1958) LAMTA (1958–1961) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rolling stock | PE 1200 Class (last used) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ridership | 1,603,476 (1958) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | July 4, 1902 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | April 9, 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 20.37 mi (32.78 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | 1–4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | Overhead line, 600 V DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Long Beach Line was a major interurban railway operated by the Pacific Electric Railway between Los Angeles and Long Beach, California via Florence, Watts, and Compton. Service began in 1902 and lasted until 1961, the last line of the system to be replaced by buses.
In addition to the Long Beach service, the line served as a trunk for a number of other interurban lines stretching to Whittier, Yorba Linda, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Balboa, San Pedro, and Redondo Beach. It was four tracks wide north of the junction at Watts, with local service on the outer tracks and long-distance trains bypassing the local stations on the inner tracks.
After the end of Pacific Electric service, Southern Pacific continued to operate freight trains on the tracks, and its successor Union Pacific still does between Amoco and Dominguez Junction. Passenger service to the corridor returned in 1990 with the opening of the Blue Line, a modern light rail service using portions of the former right-of-way. When the Regional Connector subway tunnel was completed in 2023, the Blue Line, renamed as the A Line in 2019, was extended northeast to Azusa, becoming the world's longest light rail route. [2]
The line originated at the 6th and Main street station in Los Angeles and exited to the east via an elevated structure over downtown streets to reach San Pedro street at grade. The dual track line went south in the center lanes of the streets. The line then turned east on Olympic Boulevard (East 9th Street) street running to Hooper Street, then turned south and entered the private right of way west of Long Beach Avenue. Two additional tracks joined in the private way from Pacific Electric's 8th Street Yard. This was the start of the four track system to Watts.
The line was within a private right of way from Olympic Boulevard to Willow Street in Long Beach. The four track system went to Watts Junction (103rd street). The remainder of the line was double tracked to Ocean Avenue in Long Beach.
The four track line went south from Olympic Boulevard crossing Washington Boulevard where Long Beach Avenue becomes twin roadways on both side of the rail line.
At Amoco Junction (25th Street), the Santa Monica Air Line branched off to the west and a connection to the Butte Street Freight Yard (Southern Pacific J Yard) went to the east. Continuing to the south, the line crossed the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Harbor District tracks at Slauson Boulevard at grade. The Whittier Line branched to the east at Slauson Junction just south of Slauson Boulevard. A four track steel plate girder bridge carried the track over Firestone Boulevard where the Braham Freight Yard paralleled the line to 91st street.
At Watts Junction (103rd Street) the four track system ended. Here the Santa Ana Line branched to the east and the Redondo Beach via Gardena Line, Torrance Line, and Hawthorne–El Segundo Line branched to the west.
The Long Beach Line (on dual tracks) turned southeasterly from Watts Junction and ran towards Compton between the twin roadways of Willowbrook Avenue. Crossing Rosecrans Boulevard, the line turned to the south. Reaching Greenleaf Boulevard, Willowbrook Boulevard ended and the line proceeded to the south crossing over Compton Creek on a two-track steel Pratt truss bridge. The line then turned southeasterly towards Signal Hill.
At Dominguez Junction the San Pedro via Dominguez Line branched to the south on the west side of Alameda Street. The Long Beach Line crossed Alameda Street and the Southern Pacific San Pedro Branch at grade, and followed the west bank of Compton Creek towards the Los Angeles River.
After the construction of the Long Beach Freeway, the line crossed over the freeway on a two track plate girder bridge then crossed the Union Pacific San Pedro Branch (Cota crossing) at grade. A long single track deck girder bridge carried the line over the Los Angeles River towards Willow Street (North Long Beach). This was the only single track section on the line.
At Willow Street (North Long Beach) the Balboa Line branched to the southeast and the Long Beach Line ran south in the center lane of American Avenue (Long Beach Boulevard) to Ocean Avenue in Long Beach. The line turned west onto Ocean Avenue and followed the same route as the American Avenue–North Long Beach Line to the terminus at the Pacific Electric station at the foot of Pacific Avenue.
For a number of years, the PE operated express "flyer" service along the Long Beach route. The flyer service only made a few stops between Downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach, as compared with regular service that made all stops between Watts and Willowville, and most stops between Willowville and Long Beach. The right-of-way was also served by a pair of local lines: the Watts Line between Downtown Los Angeles and Watts, and the American Avenue–North Long Beach Line between Willowville and Long Beach. [3]
Pacific Electric also provided service along the route to connect to long-distance passenger trains at Southern Pacific's Central Station. Cars ran from the downtown station to Long Beach and continued to San Pedro. It operated from 1924 to 1939 when Union Station opened and consolidated intercity trains at a different location. [4]
Conceiving of the line earlier in the summer, [5] Henry E. Huntington incorporated the Pacific Electric Railway in November 1901 and immediately began work on the Long Beach Line. Service began on July 4, 1902 [6] [7] (with a trial car run over the line the previous day [8] ), initially beginning at 9th and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles (the trackage on 9th Street was acquired from Huntington's Los Angeles Railway in 1904). The terminal was moved to the Pacific Electric Building in 1905, and trains were rerouted over the newly built elevated trackage west of San Pedro Street in 1917. [9] The service was designated line 6. [10]
Skip-stop limited trains were eliminated between February and November 1944. [11] Postwar ridership initially kept strong, but service cuts began as early as 1946. [12]
The Long Beach Line was transferred to Metropolitan Coach Lines in 1953. The service was further was commuted to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority on March 3, 1958; on April 17 it was renumbered to line 36. [12]
Passenger service ended on April 9, 1961, [13] the last of the former Pacific Electric lines to do so. Trains were replaced by the 36 "Long Beach Freeway Flyer" bus, which followed the new Long Beach Freeway north of the Long Beach Boulevard interchange. Local replacement service north of this point was provided by the 33 "Los Angeles–Compton–Wilmington", [14] which had replaced San Pedro via Dominguez Line trains in 1958. A documentary Ride the Last of the Big Red Cars by Interurban Films captured the last week of operations of the Long Beach Line. [15] [16]
Southern Pacific continued to operate freight trains over the line. Their successor, Union Pacific, operates the remainder of the tracks as the Wilmington Subdivision.
A Southern Pacific depot of Mission Revival design was built at Broadway and Pacific Avenue in downtown Long Beach in 1907. It was moved to a nearby Long Beach city maintenance yard alongside the Los Angeles River in 1936, and then moved again in 2015. [17] It was destroyed by a fire in 2016. [18]
An early goal of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission was to reestablish rail service over the former PE right of way. Modern light rail was chosen as the preferred mode, and the line was largely rebuilt to accommodate the service. The Blue Line (later renamed to the A Line) opened in 1990 as the first of a new rail system in Los Angeles. [19]
Service in 1902 commenced with 200 class cars. These were originally built for narrow gauge operation, but were refit for running on standard gauge. [1] The motors on these cars proved to be underpowered, and were quickly replaced with 250 class the following year. [1] The 250 class cars were fitted with couplers in 1907, allowing multiple operation. [1] By 1924 the line was utilizing 1200 class rolling stock. [22]
Glendale–Burbank is a defunct Pacific Electric railway line that was operational from 1904 to 1955 in Southern California, running from Downtown Los Angeles to Burbank via Glendale. Short lines terminated Downtown and in North Glendale, including the popular Edendale Local.
The Sierra Madre Line was a Pacific Electric interurban route which ran 16.52 miles (26.59 km) from the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles to Sierra Madre.
The Pasadena Short Line was a passenger railway line of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Pasadena, California, through Eastside Los Angeles along the foot of the eastern San Rafael Hills to the western San Gabriel Valley. It was in service under the company between 1902 until 1951, though it had operated under different companies back to its beginnings as a horsecar line. The route, designated by the company as line 2, was the key component of the company's Northern Subdivision.
The Upland–San Bernardino Line was an interurban line operated by the Pacific Electric Railway between Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino, California. This line also had shorter service that terminated before the end of the line at Baldwin Park, Covina, and San Dimas. Though service along this line in its entirety was discontinued in November 1941, it stands as the fourth-longest rapid transit line in American history, after the Sacramento Northern Railway's Chico and Colusa services, and the Pacific Electric's own Riverside–Rialto Line.
The Balboa Line was the southernmost route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and the Balboa Peninsula in Orange County by way of North Long Beach, though the route was later cut back to the Newport Dock. It was designated as route 17.
The South Hollywood–Sherman Line was a suburban route of the Pacific Electric Railway. The line ran between Downtown Los Angeles and the suburb of Sherman. The line was named after Moses Sherman, who built the line and the Sherman street car yard on the line in West LA. The large 5.56-acre (2.25 ha) rail facility was on Santa Monica Boulevard just west of La Cienega Boulevard. The yard had a steam power house, a car barn and a shop building.
The Whittier Line was a Pacific Electric interurban line which traveled between Los Angeles and Whittier via Huntington Park, Rivera, and Los Nietos. A branch of the company's original Long Beach Line, operations along the line began in 1903. Due to its indirect route, passenger operations were eventually replaced by bus service on Whittier Boulevard after 1938. Tracks were largely retained for use by freight trains, eventually becoming the Union Pacific La Habra Subdivision. A short segment of the route is expected to be reactivated for passenger service as part of the Southeast Gateway Line.
La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Line was a Pacific Electric interurban line which traveled between Los Angeles and Yorba Linda. Passenger services ran between 1911 and 1938. Initial plans were for the route to continue further east to form a second main line between Los Angeles and San Bernardino, though these would go unfulfilled. After passenger service ended, much of the route was retained for freight service, eventually becoming the Union Pacific La Habra Subdivision.
The Fullerton Line was an interurban route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and Fullerton, California. It opened in 1917 and hosted passenger service until 1938; the line was retained for freight for some time thereafter. After abandonment, the right of way between La Habra and Fullerton was mostly converted to a rail trail or built over.
Redondo via Gardena was a line of the Pacific Electric Railway. One of two routes to Redondo Beach, this one was faster than the Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey Line as a result of its routing along the quadruple-tracked Watts main line.
San Pedro via Dominguez was a 25.39-mile (40.86 km) interurban transport route, part of the Pacific Electric system in Greater Los Angeles. Its termini were the Pacific Electric Building in Downtown Los Angeles and San Pedro in the south.
San Pedro via Gardena was an interurban line of the Pacific Electric Railway. This was the railway's original route to San Pedro. The line was essential in the establishment of light industry in Torrance. The route closely paralleled the present-day Harbor Transitway.
The Hollywood Line was a local streetcar line of the Pacific Electric Railway. It primarily operated between Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, with some trips as far away as Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles. It was the company's busiest route prior to the opening of the Hollywood Subway. Designated as route 32, the line operated from 1909 until 1954.
The Hawthorne–El Segundo Line was an interurban railway route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It was built to transport oil from the Standard Oil Refinery in El Segundo and also saw passenger service. Unlike most corridors which hosted Pacific Electric passengers, the line remains largely intact as the Union Pacific El Segundo Industrial Lead.
The Watts Line was a local line of the Pacific Electric Railway that operated between the Pacific Electric Building in Downtown Los Angeles and the Watts Station at 103rd Street in Watts. It was the primary local service for the Southern District, which also included the Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Ana and Whittier interurban lines. The route operated along the Southern Division's Four Tracks route, with the Watts Line using the outer tracks and the Long Beach line and other limited stop lines using the inner tracks.
Amoco Junction was a junction on the Pacific Electric Railway's Southern District. It was located in Nevin, South Central Los Angeles at 25th Street and Long Beach Boulevard. It was named after a nearby American Olive Company (AmOCo) plant. It was the junction where the Santa Monica Air Line split off from the Watts, Long Beach and other Southern District Lines. It was one of several points at which a tower crossed the quadruple tracks between Downtown Los Angeles and Watts. Despite being a junction, many lines did not stop at Amoco, which was only served by local cars and the Air Line. Service was provided to Amoco Junction between 1904 and 1958. Though it is located along the route of the Los Angeles Metro A Line, it is not a stop or station on it, nor did it become a station on the Expo Line that replaced the Santa Monica Air Line.
The Long Beach–San Pedro Line is a former Pacific Electric interurban railway service in Los Angeles County, California. Unlike most of the company's services, trains did not travel to Downtown Los Angeles and instead provided a service between Long Beach and San Pedro. It was designated as line 9.
The Venice Boulevard Line was a local streetcar line of the Pacific Electric. It operated between Downtown Los Angeles and Vineyard Junction, where riders could transfer to interurban cars. Nearly all Venice Short Line cars did not accept local passengers, leaving this as the primary streetcar service along its namesake boulevard.
Streetcars in Redlands transported people across the city and region from 1889 until 1936. The city's network of street railways peaked around 1908 before the patchwork of separate companies was consolidated under the Pacific Electric.
The Pacific Electric Railway established streetcar services in Long Beach in 1902. Unlike other cities where Pacific Electric operated local streetcars, Long Beach's system did not predate the company's services. Long Beach's network of streetcars peaked around 1911 with over 30 miles (48 km) of tracks throughout the city. Local services were discontinued in 1940, but interurban service to Los Angeles persisted until 1961. The route of the former main interurban line was rebuilt in the late 1980s as the Metro Blue Line, which operates at-grade with car traffic for a portion of its length.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under the public domain as a work of the State of California .( license statement/permission ). Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes , California Department of Transportation , . Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority .