R 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 ...

line 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, ...

. It was operated by the

Los Angeles Railway The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent loc ...

and its immediate corporate successor, Los Angeles Transit Lines, from 1895 to 1958, and by the

Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (sometimes referred to as LAMTA or MTA I) was a public agency formed in 1951. Originally tasked with planning for rapid transit in Los Angeles, California, the agency would come to operate the vesti ...

from 1958 to 1963.

History

Sixth Street Line (1895–1920)

The original routes of what would become the R line ran on a drastically different route. When it was first built in 1895, the route ran from a terminus at West Third Street down a private right-of-way between Wilton Place and Grammercy Place to Sixth Street. From there it continued down Sixth to Alvarado, Seventh Street, Figueroa, Sixth, Olive, and Fifth Street to Arcade Depot (later

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 ...

). When the competing Los Angeles Interurban Railway was purchased, the Sixth Street Line ran entirely down 6th Street between Wilton and Arcade Station. This was briefly a local route of the Pacific Electric Railway before the Great Merger of 1911.

Stephenson Avenue Line (1895–1920)

The Stephenson Avenue Line was also one of the original LARy routes. Though its Downtown terminus is unknown, this route ran to the city's eastern limit by way of First Street, Cummings Street, Boyle Avenue, and Stephenson Avenue (present-day

Whittier Boulevard Whittier Boulevard is an arterial street that runs from the Los Angeles River (where it continues into Downtown Los Angeles as 6th Street) to Brea, California. The street is one of the main thoroughfares in both Whittier and East Los Angele ...

The old R (1920–1931)

When the Los Angeles Railway was restructured in 1920, the Sixth Street and Stephenson Avenue lines were merged and streamlined. The western terminus was extended northwest along 3rd Street and Larchmont Boulevard to

Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue (sometimes referred to simply as "Melrose") is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles, California, starting at Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills and W ...

, while the eastern terminus was extended beyond city limits to a loop track between the Calvary and Beth Israel Cemeteries. The addition of new trackage over the Los Angeles River now allowed the route to run entirely on Seventh Street between Alvarado and Boyle, making trips across Downtown significantly shorter and quicker. The route was designated "R" in 1921. It ran from 3rd and La Brea to Whittier and Eastern

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

, by way of 3rd Street,

Vermont Avenue Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length be ...

, 7th Street, Boyle Avenue, and

. When the route opened, the original western terminus was at Larchmont Avenue and

. This alignment was replaced by the new 3 in 1931.

The New R (1931–1963)

In 1931, the construction of several linking tracks allowed R's western portion to run on an entirely new route, from

to the new Fairfax District by way of Whittier Boulevard, Boyle Avenue, 7th Street,

, and 3rd Street. The old western portion, which followed the new route closely, was re-christened 3, and terminated at

. The new route was amongst the most used routes throughout its run. In 1950, a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

was run on Western Avenue between 3rd street and

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes t ...

. Previously this route had been serviced by the S line, but that route had been changed to terminate on 8th Street. In 1958 this branch line was eliminated, and of the 3rd street portion were cut back to a loop on Wilton Place and 4th Street. In 1958 the route was taken over by

. The line was decommissioned in 1963 and converted to bus operation.

Sources

External links

R Line Archives
— Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society * {{Los Angeles Railway Los Angeles Railway routes Railway services introduced in 1895 1895 establishments in California Railway services discontinued in 1963 1963 disestablishments in California