Riding the Red Cars and the Orange Cars
Looking east on Santa Monica Boulevard near Western Avenue in 1922 we see eastbound and westbound streetcars of the Los Angeles Railway, one of the two principal streetcar railroads in the city. The other Streetcar company was the better-known Pacific Electric Railway.
The Pacific Electric cars were red and the Los Angeles Railway cars were orange. The Pacific Electric Railway covered a larger area, but carried fewer passengers. Another difference between the two railways was, while Pacific Electric red cars operated on standard gauge tracks, Los Angeles Railway orange cars ran on narrow gauge tracks. Both railways began service in 1901 and continued operating until the early 1960s. (Photo 1922)
Incidentally, how would you like to be the utility lineman sent out to find an overhead wire that isn't working in this mess? Scenes like this were common in Los Angeles before the 1960s and tend to make us more appreciative of underground utilities.
Historic photo © Water & Power Associates
Text and design © Steve Eitzen
Header & HPO Logo © HPO Productions
@h-p-oliver history have been always good. Very nicely written..
Thank you for your kind words.
The overhead wires in New York made these look like a single string of Christmas lights. Don't forget telegraph wires :)