List of Pacific Electric lines facts for kids

The

Pacific Electric lines spreading out from Downtown Los Angeles, 1917

Imagine a time when electric trains, called "Red Cars," crisscrossed Los Angeles! From 1911 to 1961, the Pacific Electric Railway (often called PE) and its later companies ran many passenger train lines. People say there were as many as 143 different routes during those years. These trains helped people travel all over Southern California.

Main Train Stations in Downtown Los Angeles

In the heart of downtown Los Angeles, there were three main train stations where these Red Cars started and ended their journeys:

• 6th & Main Station: This station opened in 1905. It was on the south side of 6th Street, between Main and Los Angeles Streets. It served the Northern and Southern train lines. An elevated track, built around 1916, helped trains reach this station.
• Hill Street Station: This station opened in 1908 on the west side of Hill Street, between 4th and 5th Streets. In 1926, it moved to the south side of the Subway Terminal. It served the Western train lines.
• Subway Terminal: This station opened in 1925. It was also on the west side of Hill Street, just south of 4th Street. It served the Western train lines through a special underground tunnel called the Hollywood Subway.

Pacific Electric Train Lines

The Pacific Electric Railway had many different train lines that connected Los Angeles to various cities and towns. These lines were grouped into divisions: Southern (S), Northern (N), and Western (W). Here's a look at some of the important lines and what happened to them:

Division	Name	Map	From	Via	To	Stopped Running	What's There Now (Bus Lines)
S	Whittier		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Randolph Street, private track, Philadelphia Street	Whittier	September 1, 1935 (shortened to Walker)	MTA Line 18, Montebello Bus Lines Line 10
S	La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Randolph Street, private track	Yorba Linda	July 10, 1930	MTA Line 18, Montebello Bus Lines Line 10, Foothill Transit Line 285, Orange County Transportation Authority Line 29
S	Bellflower		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Santa Ana Boulevard, private track	Bellflower	May 25, 1958	N/A
S	Santa Ana		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Santa Ana Boulevard, private track, Fourth Street	Santa Ana	July 2, 1950 (shortened to Bellflower)	MTA Line 460, Orange County Transportation Authority Line 83
S	Seal Beach–Huntington Beach–Newport Beach		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Willowbrook Avenue, private track, Electric Avenue, Pacific Coast Highway	Newport Beach	June 30, 1950	Orange County Transportation Authority Line 1
S	Long Beach		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Willowbrook Avenue, private track, Long Beach Boulevard	Long Beach	April 9, 1961	MTA Line 60 and Blue Line
S	Watts Local		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue	Watts	April 9, 1961	MTA Line 56 (stopped in 2003)
S	San Pedro via Dominguez		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Willowbrook Avenue, private track	San Pedro	December 7, 1958	MTA Line 202
S	San Pedro via Gardena		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Lanzit Avenue, Vermont Avenue, 166th Street, Normandie Avenue, Torrance Boulevard, Cabrillo Avenue, Plaza del Amo, Normandie Avenue, Gaffey Street, private track	San Pedro	February 26, 1939 (shortened to Torrance)	N/A
S	Hawthorne–El Segundo		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, Lanzit Avenue, private track, Grand Avenue	El Segundo	October 31, 1930	N/A
N	South Pasadena Local		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Daly Street, Pasadena Avenue, Figueroa Street, Pasadena Avenue, Mission Street, Fair Oaks Avenue	Pasadena	January 2, 1935	MTA Line 176
N	Pasadena Short Line		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Soto Street, Huntington Drive, Fair Oaks Avenue	Pasadena	September 30, 1951	MTA Line 260
N	Pasadena via Oak Knoll		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Soto Street, Huntington Drive, Oak Knoll Avenue, Lake Avenue	Pasadena	October 8, 1950	MTA Line 485
N	Sierra Vista Line		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Soto Street, Huntington Drive	Sierra Vista	September 30, 1951	MTA Lines 78 and 79
N	Monrovia–Glendora		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Soto Street, Huntington Drive, Olive Avenue, Royal Oaks Drive, private track, 9th Street, private track	Glendora	September 30, 1951	MTA Line 79, Foothill Transit Line 494
N	Alhambra–San Gabriel		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Soto Street, Huntington Drive, Main Street, Las Tunas Drive; loop through San Gabriel via Mission Drive, Junipero Serra Drive	Temple City	November 30, 1941	MTA Line 78
N	Shorb		Pasadena	Fair Oaks Avenue, Huntington Drive, Main Street, Palm Avenue	Shorb	April 16, 1924	N/A
N	El Monte–Baldwin Park		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Ramona Boulevard	Baldwin Park	October 15, 1950	MTA Line 490
N	Covina		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Ramona Boulevard, Badillo Street	Covina	March 28, 1947 (shortened to Baldwin Park)	MTA Line 490
N	Pomona		6th & Main	Aliso Street, private track, Ramona Boulevard, Badillo Street, private track, White Avenue	Pomona	November 1, 1941 (shortened to Covina)	MTA Line 490, Foothill Transit Line 492
N	Upland–Ontario		Ontario		Upland	October 6, 1928	Omnitrans Line 83
N	Upland–San Bernardino		6th & Main		San Bernardino	November 1, 1941	MTA Line 190, Foothill Transit Line 492, Omnitrans Lines 66, 14
N	Redlands		6th & Main		Redlands	July 20, 1936	MTA Line 190, Foothill Transit Line 492, Omnitrans Lines 66, 14, 8
N	San Bernardino–Riverside		San Bernardino		Riverside	February 1, 1938	Omnitrans Line 215
W	Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey		Hill Street	Hill Street, Venice Boulevard, Culver Boulevard, Vista del Mar Avenue, The Strand, Hermosa Avenue, Harbor Drive, Catalina Avenue	Clifton	May 12, 1940	Culver CityBus Line 7
W	Venice Short Line		Hill Street	Hill Street, Venice Boulevard, Pacific Avenue, Neilson Way, Ocean Avenue	Santa Monica	September 17, 1950	MTA Line 733
W	Sawtelle		Hill Street	Hill Street, Venice Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard, Burton Way, Santa Monica Boulevard	Santa Monica	July 7, 1940	MTA Line 4
W	Westgate		Hill Street	Hill Street, Venice Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard, Burton Way, Santa Monica Boulevard, private track, San Vicente Boulevard, Ocean Avenue	Santa Monica	June 30, 1940	Big Blue Bus Line 4
W	Santa Monica Air Line		6th & Main	Long Beach Avenue, private track, Exposition Boulevard, private track	Santa Monica	November 26, 1953	Expo Line (opened 2016)
W	Beverly Hills		Subway Terminal or Hill Street	Glendale Boulevard or Hill Street, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, Marshfield Way, private track, Santa Monica Boulevard	Beverly Hills	September 26, 1954	MTA Line 217
W	South Hollywood–Sherman		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard	Sherman	May 31, 1953	MTA Line 4
W	Lankershim–Van Nuys		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Highland Avenue, Hollywood Freeway, Vineland Avenue, Chandler Boulevard, Van Nuys Boulevard	Van Nuys	December 28, 1952	MTA Line 156
W	Owensmouth		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Highland Avenue, Hollywood Freeway, Vineland Avenue, Chandler Boulevard, Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Way	Canoga Park (Owensmouth)	May 30, 1938	MTA Line 163
W	San Fernando		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Highland Avenue, Hollywood Freeway, Vineland Avenue, Chandler Boulevard, Van Nuys Boulevard, Parthenia Street, Sepulveda Boulevard, Brand Boulevard	San Fernando	May 30, 1938	MTA Line 234
W	Echo Park Avenue		Hill Street	Hill Street, Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park Avenue	Elysian Heights	October 1, 1950	Downtown Area Short Hop Pico Union/Echo Park
W	Glendale		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Brand Boulevard	North Glendale	June 19, 1955	MTA Line 92
W	Burbank		Subway Terminal	Glendale Boulevard, Brand Boulevard, Glenoaks Boulevard	Burbank	June 19, 1955	MTA Line 92

Local Train Systems

While the Los Angeles Railway ran most of the local train lines in central Los Angeles, the Pacific Electric also had its own local systems in several other areas. These local lines helped people get around within their towns.

Some of these local systems included:

• East Washington
• Long Beach
• Pasadena
• Pomona
• Redlands
• Riverside
• San Bernardino
• San Pedro
• Santa Monica

Shared Tracks

Sometimes, the Pacific Electric (PE) and the Los Angeles Railway shared tracks. This was possible because they used a special type of track called "dual gauge." This meant the tracks could handle trains with different wheel widths. You could find these shared tracks on Hawthorne Boulevard, Main Street, and 4th Street.