Sierra Vista Line

The Sierra Vista Line was a streetcar route mostly operated by the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran from 1895 to 1951 as the short turn making local stops along the Pasadena Short Line on the outside tracks of the Northern Division quadruple-track system.

Sierra Vista
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building, Downtown Los Angeles Sierra Vista, El Sereno, Eastside Los Angeles
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
History
Opened	May 6, 1895 (1895-05-06)
Closed	September 30, 1951 (1951-09-30)
Technical
Line length	7.65 mi (12.31 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map multiple lines Sierra Vista Newton Titus Happy Valley Soto Street Viaduct El Sereno Lincoln Park Southern Pacific RR Charlotte Street Marengo Street Upland–San Bernardino Valley Junction State Street South Pasadena Echandia Macy Carhouse Brooklyn Avenue  B  Union Pacific RR Los Angeles River Santa Fe RR Main Street route (discontinued 1950)  P  Arcade Depot (1912–1914) Edendale 6th/Main Terminal  F  Southern Division

Route

The line ran from Downtown Los Angeles to the Sierra Vista Junction, at the corner of Huntington Drive and Main Street in the El Sereno community of Eastside Los Angeles.

History

The route began as a horsecar line. In 1894, the Pasadena & Los Angeles Electric Railway purchased, re-gauged, electrified, and double-tracked a section of the line for streetcar use. Service began on May 6, 1895. Pacific Electric acquired the route in 1898, and the line was again rebuilt to standard gauge. Upon opening on November 11, 1902, service ran between the Raymond Hotel and the junction with the Alhambra Line. Negotiations to cross the existing roads — the Santa Fe Railway, Terminal Railway, and California Cycleway — led Pacific Electric to build a bridge over the right of ways shortly after their service commenced. In 1908, double tracking was completed throughout.

Between 1912 and 1914, the inbound terminus was moved to Ceres and Central in the rear of Southern Pacific's Arcade Depot. Starting August 1915, local services on the line were assumed by interurban runs. Independent service was reestablished in December 1916, instead terminating at the elevated concourse at the Pacific Electric Building. Alhambra–San Gabriel Line cars absorbed local services again between November 1918 and February 1920. The Sierra Vista Line operated exclusively in Pacific Electric's Northern District until 1938. Beginning March 20 of that year, the service was multiplexed with the Southern District Watts Line. The Aliso Street bridge opened in 1943, eliminating grade crossings with the Union Pacific and Santa Fe Railroad. From 1943 to 1948, local service was extended over the Short Line past Sierra Vista as far as Pasadena. Passenger volumes during World War II additionally necessitated cars terminating downtown to run via a loop on San Pedro, 6th, and Main streets.

Through-routing with the Watts Line virtually ended on October 22, 1950, with the franchise run discontinued on December 28. Service ended on September 30, 1951.

References

Bibliography

• Hilton, George W.; Due, John F. (2000) [1960]. The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 409. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
• Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.

External links

• "Tour of Sierra Vista Local Line". Uncanny.net: Transportation and the City, Past and Present. Archived from the original on July 15, 2004.
• El Sereno Historical Society.org: Growth During the Pacific Electric Railway
• Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society.org: Northern District