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.
Route
The line ran from
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
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
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
. 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
The California Cycleway, opened in 1900, was a elevated tollway built specially for bicycle traffic through the Arroyo Seco, intended to connect the cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles, in California, United States.
Construction
The inventor and ...
— 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.
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
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External links
*
El Sereno Historical Society.org: Growth During the Pacific Electric Railway Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society.org: Northern District
Pacific Electric routes
Eastside Los Angeles
El Sereno, Los Angeles
Light rail in California
Railway services introduced in 1895
Railway services discontinued in 1951
1895 establishments in California
1951 disestablishments in California
{{California-transport-stub
Closed railway lines in the United States