Sawtelle Line

Last updated
Sawtelle
Los Angeles Pacific Railroad Map 1909.png
Overview
Owner Southern Pacific Railroad
LocaleLos Angeles
Termini
Stations17
Service
Type Interurban
System Pacific Electric
Operator(s) Pacific Electric
Ridership2,286,461 (1938) [1]
History
Opened1901
ClosedNovember 18, 1940 (1940-11-18)
Technical
Line length10.19 mi (16.40 km)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Old gauge narrow gauge
Electrification 600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map

Contents

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Hill Street Station
Subway Terminal
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  J    R    S  
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  N  
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  W  
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  P    9  
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  J    9  
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  W  
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  A  
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Vermont Avenue
  V  
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Berendo Street siding
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Western Avenue
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3rd Avenue siding
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Vineyard
  P  
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Rosemary
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Genesee
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Big Barn
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Sherman Junction
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Alpers
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Beverly Hills
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Country Club
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Buenos Ayres
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High Bridge
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Wolfskill
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Santa Monica
and Sepulveda
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Sawtelle
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30th Street
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Cambridge
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Durham
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Santa Monica
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Ocean Park
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Venice
until
1927
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1916
only
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Playa del Rey
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The Sawtelle Line was an interurban railway route operated by the Pacific Electric Railway that ran between Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California.

History

The line was constructed in segments by the Pasadena and Pacific Railway: Beverly Hills to Santa Monica and Santa Monica to Ocean Park in 1896, 4th and Hill Streets, to Beverly Hills in 1897, [2] and finally Ocean Park to Venice in 1901. In 1908 the entire line was converted to standard gauge, with service beginning on May 1. [3] The line came under control of the Pacific Electric in 1911 under the terms of the Great Merger.

When Pacific Electric took over operations, the service went as far as Venice. Cars ran as far as Playa del Rey between May and August 1916. The line was briefly through routed with the Venice Short Line for three months starting in November 1926, creating a loop service. By February 1927, most trips terminated at Santa Monica, with some cars serving the Ocean Park car house. [4] Annual ridership peaked at 2,644,512 trips in 1929. [1]

Service was virtually discontinued after July 7, 1940, as Pacific Electric only ran a single daily car between Vineyard and Beverly Hills to maintain the franchise. Full abandonment occurred on November 18, 1940. [4]

Route

A streetcar running along Santa Monica Boulevard in Sawtelle prior to Pacific Electric taking over the line, c. 1901 SawtelleCA-SantaMonicaBlvd-1890.jpg
A streetcar running along Santa Monica Boulevard in Sawtelle prior to Pacific Electric taking over the line, c.1901

The Sawtelle Line followed the Venice Short Line as far as Vineyard Junction. At Vineyard Junction, the Sawtelle Line branched northwesterly. Inside the Vineyard grounds, dual tracks ramped upon fill to join a massive grade separation structure that carried the tracks over Pico Boulevard and down on to an unimproved private way in the center of the twin roadways of San Vicente Boulevard.

Continuing northwesterly, in the center of San Vicente Boulevard the dual tracks crossed the major intersections of La Brea, Hauser, and Olympic Boulevards, Fairfax Avenue, as well as Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevards. Then they continued one block west of La Cienega to Sherman Junction (at Le Doix Road), where the Sherman cut-off branched north (in the middle of San Vicente Boulevard) to Sherman (West Hollywood). From Sherman Junction, the Sawtelle Line turned west into private way, in the center of the twin roadways of Burton Way. Running west, the dual tracks crossed Robertson Boulevard, Doheny Drive, and some of the downtown Beverly Hills Streets to reach the Beverly Hills Station (located adjacent to Santa Monica Boulevard near Beverly Drive).

At the Beverly Hills Station, the Sawtelle Line joined the Hollywood–Venice Line, and both lines were identical from that location to their common terminus at Woodward Avenue in Venice.

This line was one of four lines between Downtown and Santa Monica that did not run through Hollywood. This was the shortest route to Santa Monica.

List of major stops

The first Beverly Hills station, c. 1915-1920 Beverly Hills station.jpg
The first Beverly Hills station, c.1915–1920
The former Ocean Park car barn Santa Monica transfer station, July 2017.JPG
The former Ocean Park car barn
StationMile [4] [5] Major connectionsDate openedDate closedCity
Hill Street Station 0 Echo Park Avenue, Glendale–Burbank, Hollywood, Owensmouth, Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey, San Fernando, Sherman, Venice Short Line, Venice via Hollywood, Western and Franklin Avenue, Westgate 19051955Los Angeles
Vermont Avenue2.99 Venice Short Line, Westgate
Los Angeles Railway V
Western Avenue3.99
Vineyard Junction 5.56 Venice Short Line, Westgate
Los Angeles Railway P
1950
Carthay Center7.73
Beverly Hills 10.18 Coldwater Canyon, Hollywood, Venice via Hollywood, Westgate 18961954 Beverly Hills
Sawtelle13.36 Venice via Hollywood, Westgate
West Los Angeles (Purdue Avenue)13.45 Westgate
Brentwood Country Club15.68
Santa Monica17.12 Venice via Hollywood, Westgate Santa Monica
Ocean Park (Pier Avenue)18.49 Venice via Hollywood, Westgate
Venice (Windward Avenue)19.33 Venice via Hollywood, Venice Short Line, Westgate 1927
Playa Del Rey21.9119161916

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References

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg  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 . To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

  1. 1 2 "Santa Monica via Sawtelle Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. Schwieterman, Joseph P. (2004). When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, Western United States. Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN   978-1-931112-13-0.
  3. "Falls and breaks arm". Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. 2 May 1908. p. 20. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. p. 82, 118. ASIN   B0007F8D84.
  5. "Pacific Electric Time Tables" (PDF). wx4's Dome of Foam. Pacific Electric. September 1, 1934. p. 18. Retrieved September 1, 2021.