The Fullerton Line was an

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

route of the

Pacific Electric Railway The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...

. It ran between

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

and

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

. It opened in 1917 and saw freight service until the 1940s.

History

The line, among the electric railway's final expansions, was not originally intended for passenger service unless a connection to

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

was completed. Despite this, the route was opened for service in 1917. Pacific Electric spent $425,000 on the extension from La Habra to Fullerton ($ in adjusted for inflation). In 1935, PE reported losses on the line of $1,610 for travel in the previous year (). PE discontinued passenger service on the line on January 22, 1938. Landowners along the line petitioned for its closure in 1939, but freight traffic on the line continued until the late 1940s. One of the more prominent landmarks on the line was a concrete arch bridge over

Harbor Boulevard Harbor Boulevard (formerly Spadra Road) is a north–south road corridor in the counties of Los Angeles and Orange. One of the busiest routes in Orange County, the thoroughfare passes through some of the most densely populated areas in the region ...

that was emblazoned with a message welcoming visitors to Fullerton. The bridge was razed in 1964 to ease clearances for trucks. Part of the former line became a section of the Juanita Cooke Greenbelt & Trail. The West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor light rail project is expected to use a section of the line between Slauson and the former

Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California), via Las Ve ...

right of way.

Route

The Fullerton Line followed the

Long Beach Line 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 syste ...

from Los Angeles south to Slauson Junction (south of Slauson Boulevard) where it branched off in an easterly direction to Whittier and Yorba Linda. From there, the double track line ran easterly, in private way between dual roadways of Randolph Street, through Huntington Park, Vernon, Bell, and Maywood to reach the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

. Crossing the river, the double track in private way followed intermittent sections of Randolph Street through Bell Gardens and Commerce, and crossed the Rio Hondo south of Slauson Avenue. The line continued easterly, south and parallel to, Slauson Avenue. Across the Pico Rivera area and the San Gabriel River into Los Nietos, where the line crossed the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

Third District main line (Los Nietos) at Norwalk Boulevard. The single track La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Line branched easterly in private way off the

Whittier Line 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 Bouleva ...

at Los Nietos, crossed Norwalk Boulevard and went through Whittier at the south edge of the city limits. After crossing Mills Avenue the track ran adjacent to and north of Lambert Road until crossing 1st Street. Here the line turned easterly through La Habra to Laon Junction (3rd Avenue at College Street), where the single track Fullerton Line branched to the south.

List of major stations

Notes

References

Pacific Electric routes Railway lines opened in 1917 1917 establishments in California Railway lines closed in 1938 1938 disestablishments in California Fullerton, California Closed railway lines in the United States {{California-transport-stub