Echo Park Avenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Pacific Electric | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Los Angeles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini |
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Stations | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Streetcar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Pacific Electric | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Pacific Electric | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1889 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | December 28, 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line length | 4.56 mi (7.34 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Old gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 600 V DC Overhead lines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Echo Park Avenue Line was a Pacific Electric streetcar line in Los Angeles. The railway traveled from 11th and Hill Streets in downtown Los Angeles along the Hollywood Line to Sunset Boulevard where it turned right and proceeded north along Echo Park Avenue to terminate at Cerro Gordo Street in the Echo Park neighborhood. [1] [2]
The route was opened as a horsecar line in 1889 under the Elysian Park Street Railway Company. [1] [3] [4]
Pacific Electric designated the service with the number 32. [5] At the time of the Great Merger of 1911, the line operated only as a shuttle on Echo Park Avenue between Sunset and Cerrito Gordo. [5] Early the following year, the cars were continuing downtown to be through-routed with the Venice Boulevard Line. The inbound terminus was truncated to 9th and Hill in 1916. [5] Between July and September 1926, the terminal was extended to 11th and Hill. Power issues in 1924 forced the route to again operate as a shuttle service on Echo Park between July and November. Through-routing to Venice continued starting in 1932 and persisted until 1950. Evening and Sunday service was converted to bus operations starting in 1939, but was reestablished in 1942 as a wartime measure. [6] Service was reduced to a single franchise car on October 1, 1950, with full abandonment following on December 28. [6] [7]
Venice Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, running from the ocean in the Venice district, past the I-10 intersection, into downtown Los Angeles. It was originally known as West 16th Street under the Los Angeles numbered street system.
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 San Fernando Line was a part of the Pacific Electric Railway system in Los Angeles County, California. It was designed to increase the reach of public transportation from the Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood into the San Fernando Valley, to support land speculation and development expanding Los Angeles.
The Pasadena Short Line was a line of the Pacific Electric Railway, running from 1902 until 1951, between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Pasadena, California. The route went through Eastside Los Angeles along the foot of the eastern San Rafael Hills to the western San Gabriel Valley.
The Santa Monica Air Line was an interurban railroad operated by the Pacific Electric between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles. Electric passenger service operated over the line between 1908 and 1953. After abandonment as a freight railroad, most of the route was converted to light rail for use by the Metro E Line.
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 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 Owensmouth Line was a Pacific Electric interurban service that connected the San Fernando Valley to Downtown Los Angeles. The route was largely developed as the result of real estate speculation.
The Whittier Line was a Pacific Electric interurban line which traveled between Los Angeles and Whittier via Huntington Park, Rivera, and Los Nietos. Due to its indirect route, the line was eventually replaced by bus service on Whittier Boulevard.
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 1953.
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. However, the Southern Pacific Transportation Company continued to operate freight on the tracks, as the Union Pacific Railroad still does between Amoco and Dominguez Junction, and in 1990 the Southern California Rapid Transit District opened the Blue Line light rail along the same right-of-way.
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.
5 or the 5 Car was a streetcar line operated by the Los Angeles Railway, later named the Los Angeles Transit Lines, and by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. From 1920 to 1932, this route was known as the E Car. This was changed as part of a method to distinguish routes that lacked loops at their termini. Consequently, the 5 Car was unique during the LAMTA era in that it did not use PCC streetcars. It used buses from 1955 to 1964, transferring from LATL in 1958, then splitting the line in two in 1961, until all lines were turned over to SCRTD in August 1964.
The Venice Short Line was a Pacific Electric interurban railway line in Los Angeles which traveled from downtown Los Angeles to Venice, Ocean Park, and Santa Monica via Venice Boulevard.
The Western and Franklin Avenue Line was a Pacific Electric streetcar line which traveled from Los Angeles to Hollywood. It operated from 11th and Hill Streets via Hill, Sunset, Santa Monica Boulevard, Western Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Argyle Avenue, Yucca Street, and Vine Street to end at Hollywood and Vine Boulevards. It operated from 1908 to 1940. The Brush Canyon Line branched from this line at Bronson.
The Brush Canyon Line was a short-lived Pacific Electric streetcar branch line in Los Angeles.
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.
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.
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