Waterfront Red Car

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Port of LA Waterfront Red Car
Pacific Electric Replica 501 in San Pedro.jpg
Pacific Electric Replica 501 in San Pedro
LocaleSan Pedro, Los Angeles
TerminusBetween World Cruise Center
and 22nd Street at Miner Street
Commercial operations
Built byPacific Electric Railway
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Original electrification600 V DC overhead line
Preserved operations
Owned byPort of Los Angeles
Operated byPort of Los Angeles
Stations4[1]
Length1.5 mi (2.4 km)[2]
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved electrification600 V DC overhead line[3]
Preservation history
July 19, 2003Opened
September 27, 2015Closed
Route map
Legend
 Wilmington Railway Museum
Harry Bridges & Figueroa
Gaffey & Westmont
Gaffey & Capitol
Pacific & Channel
World Cruise Center
1st Street
5th Street
Maritime Museum
Ports O'Call
Marina
22nd & Signal
Warehouse 1
22nd & Miner
Outer Harbor
Outer Harbor
22nd Street Park
22nd & Via Cabrillo-Marina
Fort Macarthur
Cabrillo Beach
This diagram:
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The Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line was a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) heritage streetcar line for public transit along the waterfront in San Pedro, at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. The line operated between July 2003 and September 2015, when service was discontinued due to major construction projects that resulted in the demolition of a portion of the route.

Route[]

The route ran south over a former Pacific Electric Railway right-of-way from the World Cruise Centre cruise ship terminal under the Vincent Thomas Bridge to the intersection of 22nd Street and Miner Street, with intermediate stops at Downtown San Pedro, the Maritime Museum, and the Ports O' Call Village.[4][5] The service operated three days a week (Friday to Sunday) with occasional service on other weekdays depending on passenger ship landings.[1]

History[]

The Pacific Electric Railway Red Car system operated for over 60 years (the final line closed in 1961), with more than 990 miles (1,600 km) of tramway routes throughout Greater Los Angeles and the surrounding cities and counties.[6]

The heritage streetcar line opened for service in July 19, 2003 with a construction cost of $10 million ($14.1 million in 2020 adjusted for inflation).[1]

The Waterfront Red Cars were supplemented by two shuttle bus lines. The Blue line serves downtown San Pedro and Ports O' Call village, whereas the Green line serves the harbor and marina.[1]

Shutdown[]

Future extensions to Cabrillo Beach, Harbour Park, the new cruise ship terminal at Berth 46, Pacific Avenue, and Warehouse 1 were initially under consideration.[1] In April 2010, a new feasibility report was released, with the first priority to switch much of the existing line to street-running tramway track on Sampson Way.

In 2015 it was announced[by whom?] the Waterfront Red Car Line would be closed for 18 months, with service ceasing in late September 2015, to make way for the realignment of Sampson Way leading into Ports O’ Call Village.[7][8] Because the street realignment cuts through the southern part of the line, it would require a new track and modified, street-level cars running parallel to the new Sampson Way, estimated to cost $40 million.[7] Port officials eventually concluded that such reconstruction would be cost prohibitive.[7] Waterfront Red Car Line service ended on September 27, 2015. However development plans for San Pedro's Ports O' Call were announced in March 2016 that included the resumption of Waterfront Red Car service; no date for the restoration of the Red Cars was included in the announcement.[9][10] By 2021, tracks south of 6th Street had been removed and the Harbor Department had no plans to reinstate service.[11]

Rolling stock[]

The Waterfront Red Cars comprised three tram cars in the style of the originals. Two of the three Red Cars — the replica cars, numbers 500 and 501[3] — were built from scratch by employees of the port of Los Angeles;[1] the interiors were cooled using the same clerestory-style windows as the original 500-class Red Cars (“The Fives”).

The third car, No. #1058, was a vintage Pacific Electric 950-class car,[3] having been assembled from two wrecked 950-class cars by Richard J. Fellows. It was restored for parades, movies, and the like, and then cleverly converted to be steered with the original throttle as a tiller and braked by the original brake handle; the original dead man pedal operated the gasoline engine throttle, which powered the rubber tires. The Port of Los Angeles bought the car and converted it back for rail operation as a charter service.[3]

The replica cars were planned to be reused again when the line reopened, but they would have been modified to run on light rail tracks.[12]

See also[]

  • List of heritage railroads in California
  • Heritage streetcar systems
  • Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Waterfront Red Car Line". Port of Los Angeles.org. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ Walton, Alice (25 September 2015). "End of the line for a remnant of Southern California's Red Car service". LA Times. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Red Car Facts and Figures" (PDF). Port of Los Angeles. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  4. ^ "The Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line". SanPedro.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012.
  5. ^ RailwayPreservation.com: Port of LA Waterfront Red Car Line . accessed 19 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Port of LA Waterfront Red Car Line". U.S. Streetcar Systems Website (RPR Consulting Ltd.). 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  7. ^ a b c Littlejohn, Donna (19 March 2015). "Has San Pedro's waterfront Red Car reached the end of the line?". Daily Breeze. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Littlejohn, Donna (25 September 2015). "San Pedro's Red Car unlikely to be spared by last-minute call for reprieve". Daily Breeze. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  9. ^ Littlejohn, Donna (1 March 2016). "San Pedro's long-awaited Ports O' Call plan to be unveiled Wednesday". Daily Breeze. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  10. ^ Khouri, Andrew (2 March 2016). "Developers reveal plans for $100-million makeover of Ports O' Call". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  11. ^ Chase, Hunter (4 March 2021). "Proposal Would Cut Red Car Line". Random Lengths News. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ^ "San Pedro Red Car will be part of new Ports O' Call plans". Retrieved 2016-10-07.

External links[]

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