Los Angeles Railway

Los Angeles Electric Railway
Background
Locale	Los Angeles, California, and its suburbs
Transit type	Streetcar
Number of lines	20
Operation
Began operation	1901
Ended operation	1963
Operator(s)	Los Angeles Railway
Reporting marks	LARy
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Minimum radius of curvature	?

The Los Angeles Railway (also Yellow Cars, LARy, latterly Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in central Los Angeles, California and the immediate surrounding neighborhoods between 1901 and 1963. Except for two short funicular railways it operated on 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) (narrow gauge) tracks. The company carried many more passengers than the Pacific Electric Railway's 'Red Cars' which served a larger area of Los Angeles. The two companies shared some dual gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) / 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) track along Hawthorne Boulevard, on Main Street and on 4th Street.

History

Early years

The system was purchased by railroad and real estate tycoon Henry E. Huntington in 1898 and started operation in 1901.

At its height, the system contained over 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys, most running through the core of Los Angeles and serving such nearby neighborhoods as Echo Park, Westlake, Hancock Park, Exposition Park, West Adams, the Crenshaw district, Vernon, Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights.

Geographic map of the post-1921 numbered routes

Decline

The system was sold in 1945 by Huntington's estate to National City Lines, a company that was purchasing systems across the USA. The company, along with its investors that included, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation), General Motors were later convicted of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and related products to local transit companies controlled by National City Lines and other companies in what became known as the Great American Streetcar Scandal. National City Lines purchased Key System which also operated streetcars systems in California the following year and then the remains of the Pacific Electric Railway in 1953.

The company was renamed as Los Angeles Transit Lines. The new company introduced 40 new ACF-Brill trolley buses which had originally been intended for the Key System trolley bus system in Oakland which was being converted by National City Lines to buses in late 1948.

Many lines were converted to buses in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The scandal was fictionalized in the movie, 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Framed_Roger_Rabbit

Public ownership and finale

The last remaining lines were taken over by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (a predecessor to the current agency, The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority) along with the remains of the Pacific Electric Railway in 1958. The agency removed the remaining five streetcar lines (J, P, R, S and V) and two trolley bus lines (2 and 3), replacing electric service with diesel buses on March 31, 1963.

Restoration efforts of streetcar service

In May 2011, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the city of Los Angeles, and several stakeholders began conducting studies and public meetings to identify the feasibility of restoring streetcar service downtown [1]. The streetcar restoration efforts will further support in revitalizing Downtown Los Angeles's historic core and connect people to employment centers, shopping districts, civic resources, cultural institutions, historic landmarks and entertainment venues within the project study area. A restoration of the streetcar service is anticipated to underscore the overall downtown renaissance occurring in the downtown area of Los Angeles.

List of Routes

• 2 Line - Rampart area of Echo Park to Montecito Heights; by way of Belmont Avenue, Loma Drive, 3rd Street, Flower Street, 5th Street, Broadway, Pasadena Avenue, Avenue 26, and Griffin Avenue.
• 3 Line - Skid Row to Hollywood; by way of 5th Street, 6th Street, private ROW, 3rd Street, and Larchmont Boulevard.
• 5 and 6 Lines - Hawthorne to Eagle Rock; by way of Hawthorne Boulevard, private ROW, Crenshaw Boulevard, Leimert Boulevard, Martin Luther King Boulevard, Grand Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, Main Street, Broadway, Pasadena Avenue, Avenue 20, Figueroa Street, Cypress Avenue, Eagle Rock Boulevard, and Colorado Boulevard.
• 7 Line - South Los Angeles to Los Angeles Plaza Historic District; by way of Broadway, Main Street, and Spring Street.
• 8 Line - Leimert Park to Los Angeles Plaza Historic District; by way of 54th Street, Broadway, Main Street, and Spring Street.
• 9 Line - Leimert Park to the Wholesale District, by way of 48th Street, Hoover Street, Grand Avenue, Pico Boulevard, Broadway, and 2nd Street.
• 10 Line - Leimert Park to Lincoln Heights; by way of Vernon Avenue, Dalton Avenue, Martin Luther King Boulevard, Grand, Pico Boulevard, Broadway, and Lincoln Park Avenue.
• A Line - Mid City to Echo Park; by way of Adams Boulevard, Kensington Street, Venice Boulevard, Broadway, Temple Street, Edgeware Road, and Douglas Street.
• B Line - Nevin to City Terrace; by way of Ascot Avenue, Hooper Avenue, 12th Street, Main Street, Brooklyn Avenue, Evergreen Avenue, Wabash Avenue, and City Terrace Drive.
• D Line - Westlake to Skid Row; by way of Bonnie Brae Street, 3rd Street, Alvarado Street, 6th Street, and 5th Street.
• F Line - Athens to Boyle Heights; by way of Vermont Avenue, Hoover Street, Santa Barbara Avenue, Grand Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, Main Street, 3rd Street, 4th Place, 4th Street, and Fresno Street.
• G Line - Nevin to South Park; by way of McKinley Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, Griffith Avenue, Washington Boulevard, and Main Street.
• H Line - South Los Angeles to East Hollywood; by way of San Pedro Street, 7th Street, Broadway, 6th Street, Rampart Boulevard, Beverly Boulevard, Heliotrope Drive, and Melrose Avenue.
• J Line - Jefferson Park to Huntington Park; by way of Jefferson Boulevard, Central Avenue, Vernon Avenue, and Pacific Boulevard.
• K Line - Nevin to South Park; by way of Naomi Avenue and Olympic Boulevard.
• L Line - East Hollywood to Mid-City; by way of Lexington Avenue, Madison Avenue, Temple Street, Broadway, and Olympic Boulevard.
• N Line - Koreatown to South Park; by way of 8th Street and 9th Street.
• O Line - South Los Angeles to Lincoln Heights; by way of Main Street.
• P Line - Mid-City to City Terrace; by way of Pico Boulevard, Main Street, 1st Street, Gage Avenue, Hammel Street, and Record Avenue.
• R Line - Hancock Park to East Los Angeles; by way of 3rd Street, Vermont Avenue, 7th Street, Boyle Avenue, and Whittier Boulevard.
• S Line - Watts to East Hollywood; by way of Central Avenue, Florence Avenue, Avalon Boulevard, Vernon Avenue, Vermont Street, 3rd Street, and Western Avenue.
• U Line - Nevin to West Adams; by way of Central Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, Vermont Street, and 27th Street.
• V Line - Nevin to East Hollywood; by way of Santa Fe Avenue, 7th Street, and Vermont Street.
• W Line - Mid-City to Highland Park; by way of Washington Boulevard, Figueroa Street, 6th Street, Broadway, Avenue 20, Figueroa Street, and York Boulevard.

The Los Angeles Railway also operated two short funicular railways: Angels Flight at 3rd Street between Hill and Olive, and the lesser-known Court Flight at Court between Broadway and Hill.

Gallery

• 

  The LARy's Soto Street sub station, circa 1913.

• 

  LARy #863, built in 1912 by the American Car and Foundry Company, is seen here having been retrofitted with steel side panels and folding doors. The unit could carry up to 44 passengers.

• 

  Unit #1407, one of 250 streetcars built for the LARy by the St. Louis Car Company, turns up Marmion Way. The air-operated folding doors were added in the 1930s to permit one-man operation.

• 

  A P Line trolley crossing Alameda Street at 1st Street in Little Tokyo as it heads for Boyle Heights in circa 1918.

See also

• Angels Flight
• San Diego Electric Railway
• Southern California Rapid Transit District

References

• Copeland, P. Allen (2002). California Trolleys In Color, Volume 1: San Diego and Los Angeles. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, Inc.. ISBN 1-58248-076-1. 
• Post, Robert C. (1989). Street Railways and the Growth of Los Angeles. San Marino, CA: Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-104-1. 
• Swett, Ira (1951). Los Angeles Railway Interurbans Specials #11 and 12. Interurbans, Los Angeles, CA. 

Further reading

• Walker, Jim (1977). The Yellow Cars of Los Angeles. Glendale, CA: Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-25-4. 

External links

• Restoration of Historic Streetcar Service in Downtown Los Angeles Current MTA efforts to restore the streetcars downtown
• goLAstreetcar An initiative to bring streetcar services back to downtown Los Angeles
• Los Angeles Transit Lines Training Film From YouTube
• Orange Empire Railway Museum official website
• Tours in a Bygone Era
• Electric Railway Historical Society list of ninety seven Ira Swett Interurban Press releases, including coverage of Los Angeles Railway.