D was a
streetcar
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
route in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The line was operated by the
Los Angeles Railway from 1895 to 1947.
History
Bonnie Brae Line (1895–1920)
During the early days of LARy, the route ("Bonnie Brae") had to compete with multiple other streetcar companies, running a circuitous route to avoid them between
Central Station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
and the northern portion of
Westlake, by way of 5th Street, Olive Street, 6th Street,
Figueroa Street
Figueroa Street is a major north-south street in Los Angeles County, California, spanning from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Wilmington north to Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, Eagle Rock. A short, unconnected continuation of ...
, 7th Street,
Alvarado Street, Webster Avenue, and Bonnie Brae Street.
Following the Great Merger of 1911,
Pacific Electric divested most of its Los Angeles local routes to LARy, allowing D to use former
Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway trackage on West 6th street Westlake.
The Figueroa and 7th street portions of the line were eliminated, shortening the trip by .
D Line (1920–1947)
In 1921, the Bonnie Brae Line was given the letter designation D. Cars originated at Fifth and Central, running west via Fifth; Olive; Sixth; a private right of way; and Larchmont as far as Melrose. Early in the 1920s, the 5th Street segment was extended so that
3,
U, and D lines could run straight along 5th Street through Downtown and shortening the route by an additional . This made D little more than a branch of two much more popular routes. Service to Bonnie Brae was resumed in January 1925.
With the closure of Central Station in 1940, and no major destinations on East 5th Street, ridership downtown reduced significantly (though the removal of the
I line improved ridership in Westlake). Ridership along the route spiked in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, necessitating extending the service down U line tracks to Slauson.
[ ] The route was removed by
Los Angeles Transit Lines in 1947, largely replaced with
trolley coach service.
Sources
External links
D Line Archives— Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society
*
Los Angeles Railway routes
Railway lines opened in 1920
Railway lines closed in 1947
1920 establishments in California
1947 disestablishments in California
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