Pasadena And Los Angeles Electric Railway
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The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric
public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
and freight railway system in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. At its peak it had of track extending from
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 ...
to the Westside, Santa Monica, and the South Bay towns along
Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight (geography), bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn betwe ...
.


History


Sherman and Clark

Originally a teacher from Vermont,
Moses Sherman Moses Hazeltine Sherman (December 3, 1853 – September 9, 1932) was an American land developer who built the Phoenix Street Railway in Phoenix, Arizona and streetcar systems that would become the core of the Los Angeles Railway and part of th ...
had engaged in a variety of activities in the Arizona Territory, one of which was creating a street railway in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
. He was interested in the possibilities such a system offered in Los Angeles. After his arrival in Los Angeles in 1890 Sherman and his brother-in-law,
Eli P. Clark Eli P. Clark (1847–1931) was a pioneer railway builder of Southern California and a leader in the civic, philanthropic and social activities of Los Angeles. Early life Eli P. Clark was born on November 25, 1847 near Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City, ...
, consolidated old lines and created new lines for a narrow-gauge street railway called the Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway Company (LACE). In addition, they acquired and electrified existing horsecar lines in Pasadena. On April 11, 1894, Sherman and Clark incorporated the Pasadena & Los Angeles Electric Railway Company (P&LA), southern California’s first interurban line. This line connected the
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
lines with the LACE Railway system at Sycamore Grove.


The Pasadena and Pacific Electric Railroad Company

In November, 1894, they incorporated the Pasadena & Pacific Electric Railroad Company (P&P) of Arizona, to build a second interurban line from Los Angeles to Santa Monica. But all the construction on the LACE, P&LA and P&P properties stretched Sherman and Clark’s financial situation, and LACE defaulted on a bond payment. In March, 1895, the LACE Railway bondholder group acquired the LACE lines and organized a new company, the
Los Angeles Railway The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent loc ...
Company (LARy). Sherman and Clark negotiated with the group and managed to keep the P&LA and P&P lines. The Pasadena and Los Angeles line opened on May 4, 1895. Construction to Santa Monica via Colegrove of the narrow-gauge electric line began shortly thereafter, on June 11, 1895, with Clark serving as contractor, using the roadbed of the old Elysian Park Street Railway and the Los Angeles and Pacific Railway. They negotiated an agreement with LARy to use that company’s track to enter the downtown area. Car shops and a rail yard were built midway between Los Angeles and Santa Monica, in an area they named
Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...
. Santa Monica promoters
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and Senator John P. Jones provided 225 acres near the Soldier’s Home, and Sherman and Clark sold it to raise funds for construction. The property became part of Sawtelle. On April 1, 1896, after passing through fields of wildflowers and freshly plowed farms, the first car entered into Santa Monica, where its arrival was celebrated. On November 9, 1896, Sherman and Clark incorporated the Pasadena and Pacific Railway Company of California, and built a line from Los Angeles, then known as the Sixteenth Street Division, via West 16th Street (
Venice Boulevard Venice Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, running from the ocean in the Venice, Los Angeles, Venice district, past the I-10 (CA), I-10 intersection, into downtown Los Angeles. It was originally known as West 16th Street ...
), to Beverly. Shorter by two miles and faster to the beach than the line through Colegrove, it was called the “Santa Monica Short Line”, and opened July 1, 1897. Again, financial difficulties arose. The P&LA defaulted on its bond payments in 1897 and the bondholders forced the company into receivership in January, 1898. The P&LA was sold by the court on April 27, 1898 and then reorganized as the Los Angeles-Pacific Electric Railway Company.
Henry E. Huntington Henry Edwards Huntington (February 27, 1850 – May 23, 1927) was an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. Huntington settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway as well as substantial real estate ...
bought the LA&P and the local Pasadena lines in late 1898, leaving Sherman and Clark with their western lines and, as Henry Huntington noted, a nice profit.


The Los Angeles-Pacific Railroad Company

They then created another corporation on June 4, 1898, the Los Angeles-Pacific, and folded the existing lines into this corporation. They followed this practice of creating new corporations for new lines, and then combining the new line and old lines into another new corporation for years. On December 15, 1899, Sherman and Clark started a line on Prospect Avenue in Hollywood, just north of the Colegrove line. Prospect Avenue, opened in 1887, would be renamed
Hollywood Blvd Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywood ...
in 1910. Though much construction was financed though bonds, various people paid a bonus to the LAP to help with construction of various Colegrove and Hollywood lines, a common practice for Sherman and Clark. 1902 was a very active year. A section of private right of way, the first section of what would be called the Trolleyway, was built between Santa Monica and Venice. The Palms Division was built, encompassing a line from Vineyard through Ivy Station (the future
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
) to Ocean Park. Called the Venice Short Line, this would become LAP’s most popular line. A new powerhouse in Ocean Park was built to handle the increased power requirements. The company purchased new cars to carry the additional traffic. The Santa Monica Short Line (Venice Blvd, San Vicente Blvd, Santa Monica Blvd) and the Venice Short Line (Venice Blvd, Trolley Way, Ocean) took away much of the
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
and
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 ...
's passenger business. After the Santa Fe received permission to abandon their line from Santa Monica to Inglewood, LAP acquired it. At the time, it was the only standard-gauged line that LAP owned. By June, 1902, the company had 102.635 miles of equivalent single track. In September, 1902, the Los Angeles, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Railway Company was formed to create a line down the coast. The Del Rey Division was built from Ivy to a new resort development named Playa Del Rey, whose many investors included Sherman and Clark. Opened on December 7, 1903, it was followed by a line from Playa Del Rey to Redondo Beach, which was inaugurated in late summer, 1904. The Redondo line passed by Hermosa Beach, where Sherman and Clark also had major investments. With the Redondo and Del Rey Divisions well underway, the Los Angeles, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Railway Company was merged into a new company, the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad Company of California on June 16, 1903, along with another line, the Los Angeles-Santa Monica Railroad Company, and the original LA-P. During 1902 and 1903 there was a competitive threat to Sherman and Clark's plans. William Hook, principal behind the Los Angeles Traction Company (LAT), and developer
Abbot Kinney Abbot Kinney (November 16, 1850 in New Brunswick, New Jersey – November 4, 1920 in Santa Monica, California) was an American developer, conservationist, water supply expert and tree expert. Kinney is best known for his " Venice of America" de ...
were building a line to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
as well. After much wrangling between the two groups, the
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
purchased the stock of LAT, who then abandoned the proposed line, freeing Sherman and Clark to proceed with their plans. In 1903, a new, larger power house was built at Vineyard which replaced both the damaged Sherman power equipment and the Ocean Park power house. In 1905, the Lagoon line, the line from Santa Monica to Venice, was extended from Venice to Playa Del Rey. When Robert C. Gillis' new
Brentwood Park Brentwood Park, or simply Brentwood, is a neighbourhood in North Burnaby, British Columbia, between Willingdon Avenue to the west and Springer Avenue to the east. Hastings Street separates it from the Capitol Hill area to the north, while Loughe ...
subdivision (in which Sherman and Clark were investors) was being built in 1906, LAP built tracks for the Westgate Line, which ran on
San Vicente Boulevard San Vicente Boulevard is a major northwest-southeast thoroughfare located in the western portion of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, CA. The boulevard begins at Venice Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and La Brea Avenue and travels in ...
to
Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica) Ocean Avenue is a road in Santa Monica, California that starts at the residential Adelaide Drive on the north end of Santa Monica and ends at Pico Boulevard. Ocean Avenue is the westernmost street in Santa Monica, and for most of its course it r ...
and then turned south to the Santa Monica Main Line. In February, 1906, there were persistent rumors that E. H. Harriman, of the Southern Pacific Railroad, had purchased the Los Angeles Pacific, but Clark denied them. Finally, in March, 1906 it was revealed that Harriman had purchased control of the Los Angeles Pacific. Sherman had asked Harriman to guarantee LAP bonds, and Harriman agreed, on condition that he receive a controlling interest. Sherman and Clark continued to manage the company.


The Los Angeles Pacific Company

The Southern Pacific incorporated a new company on April 4, 1907, the Los Angeles Pacific Company, capitalized at $20,000,000 (210,000 shares at $100 each). 107,100 shares were held by
Epes Randolph Epes Randolph (August 16, 1856 – August 22, 1921) was an American civil engineer and businessman who constructed railroads in America's South, Ohio, Arizona, California, and Mexico. From 1905 to 1907 he led the successful effort to restore ...
on behalf of Harriman. From 1907 through 1909, all the company’s lines, which had almost all been narrow-gauge, were rebuilt to standard-gauge. Plans for a subway from Fourth Street to Vineyard, along with a large terminal building were announced, along with addition a third and fourth track to the Venice Short Line, and tunnels north of the Hill Street station that would benefit the Hollywood line, but a business panic in 1907 and other projects interfered with these plans. The Pacific Electric Railway would later build a different version of the subway and the
Subway Terminal Building The historic Subway Terminal, now Metro 417, opened in 1925 at 417 South Hill Street near Pershing Square, in the core of Los Angeles as the second, main train station of the Pacific Electric Railway; it served passengers boarding trains for the ...
in the mid-twenties. In 1908 LAP leased the Southern Pacific Santa Monica Line (the
Air Line An air line is a tube, or hose, that contains and carries a compressed air supply. In industrial usage, this may be used to inflate car or bicycle tyres or power tools worked by compressed air, for breathing apparatus in hazardous environments a ...
) and the Long Wharf, and electrified it from Santa Monica to Sentous, which would become the interchange point with the SP for freight. In 1909, the company did build two tunnels north of the Hill Street Station, designed to make entry to Los Angeles easier for the Hollywood and Colegrove cars. These opened on Tunnel Day, September 9, 1909, and cut 10 minutes off the time to Hollywood and Colegrove. In addition, they started preliminary engineering work on a line to the San Fernando Valley via Cahuenga Pass, a project that would ultimately be completed by the
Pacific Electric 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 ...
Railway, which opened the line in 1912. By October, 1909, the Los Angeles Pacific had grown to 213.5 miles of track, all standard gauged.


1911: LAP Becomes Part of the New Pacific Electric

Sherman and Clark remained minority stockholders, executive officers and directors of the company until May 28, 1910 when they sold their shares to the Southern Pacific and retired from active participation in the company. SP then pressured Huntington to sell his shares in the
Pacific Electric 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 ...
Railway. On September 1, 1911, in what is called “The Great Merger”, the Southern Pacific consolidated seven electric railways into the new “Pacific Electric Railway Company”. The Los Angeles Pacific lines, along with the
Glendale–Burbank Line 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, California, Burbank via Glendale, California, Glendale. Short lines termin ...
and the soon-to-be-completed San Fernando Valley Line, would become the Pacific Electric’s Western Division. In September, 1911, the Los Angeles Pacific brought to the new Pacific Electric Railway the following: * of owned track * of leased track *172 passenger cars *194 freight cars *25 line and other service cars *$21 million in outstanding stock and $14,201,000 in bonds. ($ and $ respectively in adjusted for inflation)


Lines

LAP passenger cars operated local service in the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena,
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
, Sawtelle, Santa Monica, and Ocean Park. LAP’s best performing interurban lines included these four: * Santa Monica Short Line – Hill Street to Santa Monica, Ocean Park and Venice by way of Vineyard and Beverly *
Venice Short Line 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. History The part of the line from the Hill Street stati ...
– Hill Street to Venice, Ocean Park and Venice by way of Vineyard and Ivy *
Hollywood Line 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 rout ...
– Hill Street to Gardner Junction in Hollywood by way of Sunset, Prospect Ave (Hollywood Blvd) and private right of way. * Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey Line – Hill Street to Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach by way of Vineyard and Del Rey. Other important interurban lines included these: * Colegrove Line – Hill Street to Santa Monica, Ocean Park and Venice by way of Colegrove (South Hollywood)and Sherman. *
Western and Franklin Avenue Line 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 Avenu ...
– From Hill Street to Hollywood and Vine by way of Sunset, Santa Monica Boulevard, Western Ave, Franklin Ave, Argyle Ave, Yucca St, and Vine Street. * Westgate Line (Brentwood) – Hill Street to Santa Monica (North Beach) by way of Vineyard, Sherman, Beverly, Sawtelle, Soldier’s Home and 26th Street. Local service was primarily provided on these lines: *Lagoon Line – Seventh and Montana in Santa Monica to Playa Del Rey. Was exceptionally popular on beach days. Part of the route used private right of way called the Trolleyway. *
Brush Canyon Line The Brush Canyon Line was a short-lived Pacific Electric streetcar branch line in Los Angeles. Route The line branched from the Western & Franklin Ave. Line at Franklin & Bronson Avenue to travel north on Bronson to a rock quarry. Roughly ...
– From Franklin Avenue north on Brush Canyon to a quarry. *Highland Line – From Santa Monica Boulevard north on Highland to Cahuenga Pass. Was in the process of being extended to San Fernando Valley when LAP was consolidated with other railways to form the Pacific Electric. * Elysian Park Line – From Sunset north on Echo Park Avenue to Cerro Gordo. *Rodeo Line – From Santa Monica Blvd north on Rodeo Drive to the future Beverly Hills Hotel (built 1912) on Sunset Blvd. *South Loop, North Loop – local lines in Santa Monica. *
Santa Monica Air Line 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, ...
–From Fourth Street station to Vineyard and Ivy to Santa Monica. Only one car daily but regular service was offered between Ivy, Santa Monica and Port Los Angeles. *
Inglewood Line Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria * Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewo ...
– From Fifth and Santa Monica to Santa Monica Depot in Inglewood. Used mostly for freight but a single, daily passenger car was used to preserve the franchise. *Santa Monica Canyon Line – From Colorado in Santa Monica to Port Los Angeles. *
Laurel Canyon Line 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 rout ...
– From Hill Street via the Hollywood Line to Laurel Canyon Blvd. In 1910, an interesting feature was an electric “Trackless Trolley” at its terminus which served “Bungalowtown” at the head of the canyon. *Soldier’s Home – From Sawtelle Station on Santa Monica Blvd, north on Sepulveda Blvd to the Soldier’s Home, where it made a loop, * Motordrome Spur – a spur off the Redondo Line, near Playa Del Rey, that served an auto Motordrome from 1910 to 1913. The racetrack featured drives such as Barney Oldfield.


Balloon Route

The Balloon Route Trolley trip was a featured excursion of the Los Angeles Pacific, and opened in 1901. Beginning in November, 1904, Charles Merritt Pierce, the original owner of the Glen-Holly Hotel, Hollywood's first hotel, operated the line for the LAP. Initially, the line ran from the Hill Street station in downtown Los Angeles, via the Santa Monica Short Line through
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
to Santa Monica and Ocean Park, and then back to Los Angeles via Palms and the
Venice Short Line 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. History The part of the line from the Hill Street stati ...
. As the system expanded, the excursion expanded as well. Excursion cars (sometimes in multi-unit trains) made the following stops in 1909: * From the Hill Street station, through the Hill Street tunnels to the Sunset Boulevard studio of painter
Paul de Longpré Paul de Longpré (1855–1911), was a French people, French painter of flowers, who worked mainly in the United States. Works De Longpré painted only perfect specimens of flowers. With a delicacy of touch and feeling for color he united sci ...
* Through farms to the bean fields of
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(the future
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
) * A stop at the Old Soldiers' Home above Sawtelle for pictures * A trip onto the Long Wharf north of Santa Monica * A stop at the Camera Obscura in Santa Monica * A stop at the Playa del Rey Pavilion for a fish dinner * A ride along the beach to Redondo's Moonstone Beach * A return trip up the beaches to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
* A final return downtown via Palms on the Venice Short Line This excursion line was heavily advertised and thus became well known. Brochures and ads touted it as “101 miles for $1.00”, or "10-dollar tour for one dollar”. The first car used was a Parlor car (#400), and as the line became popular more cars were added, until the larger 700 class cars made trains possible. Excursions departed downtown Los Angeles at 9:30 am each day and returned to Los Angeles at 5:00 pm. In 1906, when Harriman/Southern Pacific interests took over ownership and operation of LAP, they continued the excursions with Pierce in charge. When the LAP was consolidated into the new
Pacific Electric 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 ...
Railway Company (PE) in 1911, PE took over the operations and continued the excursion until 1923. The Balloon Route Streetcar Depot, West Los Angeles has been on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
since 1972.


Cars

In 1906 the company owned and operated 405 cars: 144 passenger cars, 6 parlor cars, 17 electric locomotives, 221 freight cars, 5 mail cars and 12 repair service cars. The company had several types of cars. This is what LAP had as of April, 1911. Passenger cars included motorized cars that conveyed passengers from place to place, or non-motorized trailers that were pulled by the motorized cars. Passenger cars changed over time, reflecting the continual upgrading of the system from a simple country trolley line to a heavy-duty interurban railroad. LAP purchased groups of cars and assigned series numbers; for example, they acquired the 60-series in 1895-96 and numbered them 60-69. The original cars, purchased in 1895-96 from Pullman and
Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...
, included the motorized 60- and 70-series, and the non-motorized trailer 40-series. These cars had two 43 h.p. motors and could carry up to 48 passengers. They also had the distinctive 5-window ends that would become the standard for LA streetcars. After 1902, when LAP had built more lines, larger and more powerful cars were purchased including the 180- and 190-series from the
American Car Company The American Car Company was a streetcar manufacturing company based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was one of the country's leading streetcar builders during the heyday of streetcar operation. Middleton, William D. (1967). ''The Time ...
, along with the 48-series trailers. Most cars had open sections on either or both ends, and were called California cars. In 1904-05, LAP purchased 50 new 48-passenger cars from the St. Louis Car Company, that they numbered the 200-series. But even with two 57 h.p. motors, these cars were still not powerful enough for heavy interurban use. Once SP interests purchased a majority interest, the resulting influx of money let LAP purchase 50 heavy-duty cars from the St. Louis Car Company, which were numbered the 700-series. These cars were substantially larger, with a 56-passenger capacity, and had four 75 h.p. motors rather than the two that most previous cars used. These cars were immediately put to use on the Venice Short Line and Santa Monica Short Line. Some were plusher than regular cars; these included Observation cars used for the Balloon Route excursion (especially car 400), the beautiful “El Viento” for LAP’s officers’ use, and the “Mermaid”, Sherman’s private car. Some cars were built or modified at the Sherman Shops. New passenger cars had new bracing installed to make them stronger, or had different brakes or motors installed. Old passenger cars may be converted to Line or Maintenance cars. The shops even built electric locomotives from older cars. Freight and Express cars – LAP had a large number of freight cars to handle commodities and freight, including over 60 flat cars, 13 box cars, over 100 dump cars, and 15 oil cars. The company also had 15 cars that handled express freight and the mail. Line cars had a variety of uses, including tower cars for maintaining the overhead, a bonding car to connect rails electrically, a wrecker to deal with car wrecks, a portable substation to provide power anywhere when needed, work motors to move cars and construction crews, a vacuum car that quickly cleaned passenger cars, a weed burner, a sprinkler, a gondola for rubbish.


Facilities


Stations

*Fourth Street Station – The first passenger station in downtown Los Angeles was at 222 West Fourth Street, and was shared with the Pasadena and Los Angeles Electric Railway. There was no rail yard, and passengers embarked or disembarked on cars in the street. :In 1900 the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad waiting room and offices moved to a larger, $100,000 building at 314 West 4th Street next to the Broadway Department Store in
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 ...
. Passengers again had to load and alight in the street. *Hill Street Station – Once the system began to be standard-gauged after the Harriman acquisition, a new station and yard was built in April, 1908, at 439 South Hill Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. Cars arriving on the West 16th Street line used this station, while narrow-gauge cars from Hollywood and Colegrove used the Fourth Street station. :A fire on in November 15, 1908 destroyed the Fourth Street offices,LAFire.com: Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive, LAFD PHOTO ALBUM COLLECTION; The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad Depot Fire, 4th street between Hill & Broadway; November 15, 1908
/ref> forcing the company to move their offices to the Masonic Temple on Hill Street, which was next to the Hill Street station, and had been purchased by LAP in anticipation of the Fourth Street subway project. The neighboring rail yard was reconfigured to handle both the East 16th Street and Hollywood traffic. *Brick stations were located at individual destinations such as Santa Monica, Hollywood, Ocean Park, Beverly, Playa Del Rey, Hermosa Beach, Sawtelle and Sherman. Frame stations could be found at Port of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Palms, Soldier’s Home, Ocean Park, Venice and Redondo.


Maintenance Facilities

In 1896, the Pasadena and Pacific Railway Company purchased 5.56-acres (2.25 ha) on Santa Monica Boulevard about halfway between Los Angeles and Santa Monica and constructed a rail facility. “Sherman”, as it was called (after Moses Sherman), had a steam power house, a car barn, repair shops, and over two miles of rails for car storage. The nearby settlement was also named "Sherman", and eventually became the city of
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
. In October, 1906, the Harriman interests acquired another 13.81 acres after filling in nearby swampy areas and added additional shop buildings in mid-1907. In 1912 the Pacific Electric Railway moved all repair services to their Seventh Avenue & Central shops in downtown Los Angeles, but the Sherman facility remained open for local maintenance. Other rail yards were at the Buena Vista freight depot and the Hill Street Station.


Electrical Power

*Electrical power for the original lines was provided by a steam-powered facility at Sherman. After an explosion crippled the plant, and because of the power needs of the new Venice Short Line, a second power house was built in December, 1901 at Ocean Park. In the meantime, power for the LAP was supplied by the
Los Angeles Railway The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent loc ...
. *As the system expanded further, LAP built a much larger power house in September, 1903 at the intersection of the Palms Division (
Venice Short Line 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. History The part of the line from the Hill Street stati ...
) and the Santa Monica Short Line, at a location called Vineyard. Vineyard became the company's central power station, using a Westinghouse Parsons steam turbine to generate 2400 AC volts. Vineyard was expanded to accommodate even more expansion in March, 1904, early 1905, and May, 1906 so that by the time heavy-duty multiple unit cars were used, the power generation was ample. *Substations converted the 2400 volts AC to the 600 volts DC used by streetcar motors, and were located at Bush Street and Burlington Avenue, West Olive Street,
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(Culver City), Playa del Rey, Hermosa, Ocean Park, and Sherman.


Other Facilities

*Hill Street Tunnels – in 1908 and 1909, two tunnels were dug north of the Hill Street Station so that cars coming from Hollywood had faster access to the station. The tunnels opened on Tunnel Day, September 15, 1909, and cut 10 minutes off the travel time from the Hollywood area. * Long Wharf – the Long Wharf was constructed by Southern Pacific in 1893 to serve as a proposed harbor that would take the place of SP facilities in San Pedro. After San Pedro was selected as Los Angeles’ main harbor, this facility declined in importance, and in 1908 LAP leased this facility and related trackage and used it to receive lumber until 1911. In 1908 LAP also included it as part of the Balloon Route excursion.


Freight and Mail Handling

Freight operations were important to LAP. As early as 1898, they used electrified steam cars (obtained from two steam railways they acquired earlier) to transport boxcars of lemons from the groves in Colegrove and Hollywood to either Los Angeles for local consumption, or to Ocean Park, where it was transferred to Santa Fe boxcars (due to the difference in rail gauges) for shipment to eastern cities. Early freight shipments also included decomposed granite from the Laurel Canyon area, which was transported throughout the system where it was used as ballast. Oil for power house use was transported via steam via the Oil Spur line, constructed in 1900. In addition, during that same year LAP was granted the contract to deliver mail to Santa Monica. As the system expanded, freight assumed a larger role as well. By 1901 there were 11 freight stations spread across the system which could receive and distribute freight shipments. LAP built 5 electric locomotives in their Sherman Shops to help accommodate the traffic. By 1902, LAP acquired the Santa Fe’s Inglewood branch, and used steam equipment over the line until it was electrified in October. LAP could now collect freight from all over its growing system, transfer it to box cars in Ocean Park and move it to Inglewood for transfer to the Santa Fe. In order to facilitate this, a larger freight depot was constructed at Ocean Park. This allowed LAP to deliver all the lumber for the Ocean Park Lumber Company. By 1903, as LAP generated more power, it was able to increase its freight services. There were now three freight trains a day: one 5 AM train to Santa Monica (delivering newspapers, fruit and vegetables), a through freight at 7 AM, and a way freight at 1 PM. LAP constructed a spur off of 26th Street in Santa Monica for a local brickyard. This new track helped LAP increase its freight business, and also allowed shipments to be transferred to Southern Pacific boxcars for further delivery. As freight handling continued to grow, in April, 1905 the Buena Vista Freight House was built at Sunset and North Broadway, serviced by ten tracks. This freight house handled freight, express shipments, and passengers. In May, 1905, six new express motors were added to handle the business. Once the Harriman/SP interests acquired a controlling interest in 1906, and the system and cars were broad-gauged, LAP was able to expand freight services even more. In 1908, they leased SP’s Air Line, which brought new business. Sentous now became the chief interchange point for freight, now between LAP and SP. The many lines radiating from Los Angeles made LAP vital to west side communities. Starting in 1907, a newspaper train delivered Los Angeles papers to Redondo Beach via Hollywood and Colegrove. Express and mail trains made deliveries to various parts of the system each day. Local deliveries within communities were made via wagons. By 1909 the system had 17 electric locomotives, 225 freight cars, and 5 mail or express cars. There was a freight terminal in every town of any size. Along with regular freight, LAP transported bulk commodities that included crushed stone, oil, lumber, citrus and more, usually shipped from late at night until dawn, when more power was available. By 1911, daily shipments had increased to two from Los Angeles to Redondo, four from LA to Venice via Colegrove and two from LA to Hollywood. After the September, 1911 Great Merger, LAP trackage was connected to Pacific Electric via the Air Line, the Buena Vista freight house was closed, and all freight was diverted to PE’s Freight House at Eighth and Hemlock.


Legacy

Luther Ingersoll has credited the tremendous growth of the beach communities and other settlements along the trolley lines to the creation of these trolley lines, as they brought new settlers who purchased lots in the many developments, and brought pleasure seekers to the various beaches. It was Sherman and Clark’s electric lines and real estate ventures which worked together to bring this about.


Remaining LAP facilities and routes

The current Sherman Way G Line station is on the right-of-way of a line planned by LAP, and completed by Pacific Electric. Sherman Way is named after General Sherman, due his land development and rail lines he built in the valley. *
Ivy Substation Ivy Substation (also known as the Ivy Park Substation or Culver Substation) is a 99-seat theatre in Culver City, California which formerly housed power equipment for the nearby electric railways and Ivy station. It was listed on the National Regi ...
- 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA * Burlington Substation - 1147 West Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA - now an auto upholstery shop * West Olive Substation, built in 1905, now
Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
, 2798 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, * Site of Ocean Park Carhouse - now Metro Division 6, 100 Sunset Ave, Venice * Site of Sherman Shops – now West Hollywood, Metro Division 7 and Pacific Design Center * Air Line – now Metro E-Line/Expo Line *
Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot is a historic railroad depot built between 1886 and 1888 in what is now the Palms section of Los Angeles, California. The two-story wood depot was originally located at the corner of National Boulevard and Vi ...
- Heritage Square, 3800 N. Homer St, Montecito Heights, CA


See also

*
Sunset Junction, Los Angeles Sunset Junction is an informal name for a portion of the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles, California. It was home to the Sunset Junction Street Fair from 1980 through 2010. It is in the southwestern part of the district along Sunset Boulevard. ...
*
Streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...
* List of California street railroads *
Streetcars in North America Streetcars or trolley(car)s (North American English for the European word ''tram'') were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in ...
*
List of California railroads The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of California. __TOC__ Common freight carriers Freight carrier information is current . Other * Mare Island Rail Service (MIRS) * Oakland Global Rail Enterprise (OGRE) ** West Oakland Pacif ...
*
History of rail transportation in California The establishment of America's transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century that followed contributed to the state's soci ...
*
Los Angeles Motordrome The Los Angeles Motordrome was a circular wood board race track. It was located in Playa del Rey, California, and opened in 1910. In addition to automobile racing, it was used for motorcycle competition and aviation activities. The Motordr ...
*
Pacific Electric 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 ...
's ''Red Cars'' * Los Angeles and Independence Railroad


References


New Depot for Los Angeles Pacific Railroadexpogreenway.org


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * : * * *


External links

* * * * * * * * {{cite web, url=https://www.pacificelectric.org/pacific-electric/western-district/pacific-electrics-santa-monica-air-line-from-toonerville-trolley-to-metro-rail , title=Pacific Electric's Santa Monica Air Line: From Toonerville Trolley to Metro Rail, author=Cantos, Ralph, access-date=2020-09-22 Defunct California railroads History of Los Angeles Public transportation in Los Angeles Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California Railway companies established in 1899 1899 establishments in California Railway companies disestablished in 1911 1911 disestablishments in California History of Los Angeles County, California History of Santa Monica, California History of Southern California