Having created the Pacific Electric Railway in 1901, Henry E. Huntington open his streetcar line to Long Beach on July 4, 1902, and fortunately, a photographer was around to capture the moment its first passengers. The line started at the corner of 6th and Main Sts in downtown Los Angeles then headed south, terminating at the corner of Ocean Blvd and Pacific Ave. Does anyone know how long that journey was in 1902? I’d imagine that it would’ve taken quite a while, so I hope those Angelinos in their suits and neckties and floor-length dresses were comfortable in the July heat.
David H. says: “That was actually an interurban car, not a streetcar as the Long Beach line was an interurban line because it ran between cities. The yellow cars and some of the PE cars were streetcars. The interurban cars ran on the same tracks as the streetcars when in the cities and drew power from the same overhead wires. The interurban cars were larger and much faster than the streetcars that ran within the city. I have been a PE/LARY afficionado for 45 years. he last red car stopped running in early 1961. That was the Long Beach line. The last of the LARY/yellow cars stopped running in 1963. I believe it was the same for the few trolley bus lines.”
Front page news on the Riverside Morning Enterprise, June 3, 1902:
What a great shot. I am wondering if the two kids are just checking it out or they get to ride. One of them could have been my grandpa, he would of been around that age then, hard to imagine him as a kid in LA
I’m curious about the source that identified the location. The car’s trolley pole is turned such that the open-air section (“California Car” styling) is now at the rear end with the closed compartment at the front. I might suspect this car has already arrived in Long Beach and is now heading backwards toward Los Angeles. The shadows might indicate a mid-day departure and these folks may have been in their “Sunday Finest” cloakings for a trip into the big city rather than a day on the shoreline. Has anyone been able to positively identify the buildings here? And given the speed of a horse and buggy outfit, this interurban run (perhaps 20mph average) would have felt like a jet flight to Vegas back then. Electric railroads were the still the most advanced thing going in 1902.
Ok…so this is the old Ninth Street station in Los Angeles with the second round of outbound passengers to L.B. after car 220 had made the first trip (as per Metro info). [6th & Main terminal is yet to open in a few years time.] This should be the trackage that was originally LARY operated. It will be double-tracked under PE control. Just south will come the Four Tracks section that will reduce running times caused by freights and locals on the high speed line.
so how long?
Excerpt from Interurbans Special 60: Lines of Pacific Electric Southern & Western Districts…Page 128 Long Beach Line—“On July 3rd, 1902, the first passenger car ran through from Los Angeles to Long Beach, carrying PE officials and guests. The line was opened to the public the next day, operating from a Los Angeles terminal at Ninth & Main Streets. LARY cars carried roof signs advertising the new line.
The line was opened with cars of the 200 Class (“Baby Fives”); these were built in 1902 by St. Louis Car Company as narrow gauge cars but had their trucks spread for the Long Beach run. Their 38-B motors made it a long, slow trip. The larger and much faster 250 Class (800) succeeded them in 1903. Electric trains came to the line in 1906 when the 250 Class was fitted with couplers and multiple unit control.”
Mileage of the line probably changed over time with realignments, but the given chart in Special 60 is 20.37 going Los Angeles/Slauson Jct./Watts/Dominguez Jct./North Long Beach/Long Beach. Downtown Los Angeles access lines were originally LARY (E. Ninth Street) handed over to PE by Henry Huntington.