The Santa Ana–Huntington Beach Line is a former

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

interurban railway line in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. A single car provided a suburban service between

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

and the sugar refineries in La Bolsa.

History

The railway route served as a

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) 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 names ...

steam railway line prior to 1911, when the section between Huntington Beach and La Bolsa was electrified by the Pacific Electric. Passenger service began that February and was utilized by workers at three sugar refineries at La Bolsa. The refineries closed starting in 1923, greatly reducing passenger demand on the line. Service was discontinued after November 9, 1928.

Freight

The sugar refineries were a large source of freight revenue for the line. Traffic continued into the 1950s, long outlasting passenger service.

References

Pacific Electric routes Light rail in California 1911 establishments in California Railway services discontinued in 1928 1928 disestablishments in California Closed railway lines in the United States {{California-transport-stub