FIRST INSET: DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
SECOND INSET: THE LOS ANGELES REGION
Note: For the sake of clarity, only interurban (PE) routes are shown on this map.
ROUTES
STREETCAR ROUTES
Operator: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA) ["Yellow Cars"]
J | Jefferson Park – Jefferson Blvd. – Grand Av. – 7th St. – Santa Fe Av. – Pacific Blvd. – Huntington Park |
P | Brooklyn Av. [today: Cesar Chavez Av.] – 1st St. – Broadway – Pico Blvd. – Mid City (Rimpau Loop) |
R | 3rd & Western – 3rd St. – Vermont Av. – 7th St. – Whittier Ave. – East Los Angeles (Brannock Av.) |
S | 8th & Western – 8th St. – Vermont Av. – 7th St. – San Pedro St. – Avalon Blvd. – Central Av. – Watts (Manchester Av.) |
V | East Holliwood (Monroe St.) – Vermont Av. – Vernon Av. – Vernon Yard |
INTERURBAN ROUTES
Operator: Pacific Electric Railway ["Red Cars"]
Note: The two-character codes used to identify routes below and in the maps are for convenience only, and were not used by the operating company.
LB | Long Beach | 6th & Main – Main – 9th St. – Long Beach Av. – Willowbrook Av. – Long Beach |
WA | Watts Local | 6th & Main – Main – 9th St. – Long Beach Av. – Watts |
The last two interurban routes were discontinued on 9 April 1961. The last streetcar lines were discontinued in 1963.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
NETWORK LENGTH
- Streetcar lines: ? km.
- Interurban lines: ? km.
HISTORY
- Horse-drawn streetcars: 1874 - 1896
- Cablecars: 1888 - 1896
- Electric streetcars: 1 July 1891 - 1963
- Interurban railways: 1887 - 9 Apr. 1961
- Light rail: 14 July 1990 - today.
- Subway: 30 Jan. 1993 - today
- Funicular: (1st) 31 Dec. 1901 - 18 May 1969; (2nd) 24 Feb. 1996 - today.
GAUGE
- Streetcars (Los Angeles Railway): 1067 mm.
- Interurbans (Pacific Electric): 1435 mm.
- Light Rail: 1435 mm.
- Subway: 1435 mm.
- Funicular: 762 mm.
TRAM PRESERVATION
The Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, southeast of Riverside, owns and operates a large collection of vintage Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway streetcars over 0.8km dual-gauge and 2.4km standard gauge track.
SOURCES
- "Los Angeles and San Francisco", The Modern Tramway, Nov. 1949 (12: 143), p.221-224.
- Simons, V. "LA Light Rail on the move", Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2017 (80: 953), p.172-175.
- Simons, V. "Los Angeles: Gone but not forgotten", Tramways & Urban Transit, Feb. 2010 (73: 866), p.76-77.
- Simons, V. "Los Angeles: Light rail to the Beach - and beyond", Tramways & Urban Transit, Aug. 2016 (79: 944), p.295-300.
- Simons, V. "Los Angeles - The transformation continues", Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2023 (86: 1032), p.468-470.
- Simons, V. "Los Angeles transformation", Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2009 (72: 864), p.460-463.
- Simons, V. "Update from Los Angeles", Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2013 (76: 905), p.175.
- Skelsey, G. "Hill Street Blues" [The Pacific Electric Railway (PE)], Modern Tramway & Light Rail Transit, Aug. 1988 (51: 608), p.263-269.
- Smith, G.E. "Los Angeles - The S route", The Modern Tramway, Oct. 1961 (24: 286), p.295-298.
- Walker, J. Images of Rail: Pacific Electric red cars. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.
- Wansbeek, C.J. "Los Angeles - Megacity needs more light rail", Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2007 (70: 833), p.172-176.
- Wansbeek, C.J. "Los Angeles - New light rail line brings gold to Pasadena", Tramways & Urban Transit, June 2007 (70: 834), p.217-219.
- Wansbeek, C.J. "Los Angeles - Metrolink: Successful urban rail", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2007 (70: 835), p.258-261.
WIKIS
- Angels Flight
- History of LACMTA
- List of Pacific Electric lines
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
- Los Angeles Metro Rail
- Los Angeles Railway
- Pacific Electric
- Santa Monica Air Line
WEB SITES
- Angels Flight Railway®
- Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California
- Los Angeles (on UrbanRail.Net)
- Metro
- Metrolink
Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2024
Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.
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