Santa Ana Line

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Santa Ana
A PE train on San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, en route to Santa Ana in the 1940s
Overview
OwnerLos Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway (1905–1911)
Pacific Electric (1911–1953)
Metropolitan Coach Lines (1953–1958)
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (1958)
Line number11 (to 1958)
34 (1958)
LocaleLos Angeles and Orange County, California
Termini
Stations30
Service
TypeInterurban
SystemPacific Electric
Operator(s)Pacific Electric
Rolling stockPE 300–400 Class (last used)
History
OpenedNovember 6, 1905
ClosedJuly 2, 1950 (to Santa Ana)
May 24, 1958
Technical
Line length34 mi (55 km)
Number of tracks1–4[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 600 V DC
Route map

Legend
 Pacific Electric Building
to Northern Division
 J   R   S 
 J   S 
to
Sierra Vista–Watts &
South Pasadena Local
 Amoco
Air Line
 Vernon Avenue
 V 
 Slauson Junction
Whittier / Fullerton
 Fleming
Florencita Park
Florence
Nadeau
Graham
Latin
Watts
end of
local service
to Long Beach & San Pedro
 Palomar
Modjeska Park
Lynwood
Lugo
Morton
Los Angeles River
 Michigan Avenue
Paramount
New York Avenue
Crutcher
Rendalia
Bellflower
terminus
after 1950
 Woodruff Avenue
Palo Verde
San Gabriel River
 Gallina
Dolley
Artesia
Thornton
Crescenta
Coyote Creek
 Bingham
Moody
Cypress
Halcon
Shirley
Hanson
Lobo
Stanton
Vignolo
Cordoniz
Harperville
Mesto
Metate
Garden Grove
Dueno
Buaro
Willowick Golf Course
Santa Ana River
 West Santa Ana
to Orange
 Santa Ana
to Huntington Beach
Substation No. 14
 Santa Ana SP Depot
Southern Pacific Transportation Company
This diagram:

The Santa Ana Line was an interurban railway route connecting Los Angeles and Santa Ana in Orange County. It ran between 1905 and 1958 (with the southern end truncated to Bellflower in 1950) and was predominantly operated by the Pacific Electric Railway for its history.

History

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The route began operation on November 6, 1905[2] under the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway;[3] Pacific Electric leased the line starting in 1908 and fully acquired it in 1911 under terms of the Great Merger. The Santa Ana Line was designated as route number 11 during most of its operational life.[4] Santa Ana's status as the county seat and largest city in Orange County at the time allowed for high ridership.[citation needed] The railway built a new station in the city in late 1927, and cars were rerouted to serve it.[4]

Car 4508 in service on the line, c. 1943

Cars ceased running to the Santa Ana Southern Pacific Depot in November 1945. By 1950, service had halved from its peak only five years earlier and the line was cut back to a minor station in Bellflower on July 2,[4][5] becoming the Bellflower Line. (PE continued to serve the Bellflower to Santa Ana segment with motor coaches.[6]) The service was then disposed of by Pacific Electric, being taken over first by Metropolitan Coach Lines in 1953 before being commuted to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1958, the same year it was discontinued; the last train ran on May 24, 1958.[4] Bellflower Line service was briefly designated as line 34 for just over a month prior to discontinuance.[4]

Modern services

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Main articles: Southeast Gateway Line and OC Streetcar

The Los Angeles Metro Rail operates a few light rail lines over the former route. The A Line runs over the former Watts Line as far as Watts, and the C Line and Century Freeway were built through Lynwood on the old Pacific Electric right of way.

The Southeast Gateway Line is a plan to reactivate part of the line in Los Angeles County for expanded light rail service.[7] The section between Bellflower station and former Paramount station will be rehabilitated and connected to a new service eventually terminating downtown, though via a different routing than the former Santa Ana Line.

The OC Streetcar is expected to open in 2025 and run on the southern section of the former Santa Ana Line between Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

Route

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Main article: West Santa Ana Branch

The Santa Ana Line ran from the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles to the Southern Pacific depot in Santa Ana, California via the Watts Line and West Santa Ana Branch.[8] The latter segment's diagonal running was a stark contrast to the cardinally-aligned road grid of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

The route was quadruple-tracked through the Watts trunk line, while the Santa Ana Branch was double-tracked except at single-track bridges.[1]

List of major stations

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Modjeska Park station, c. 1900–1910
Lynwood Depot
The first Bellflower Pacific Electric Depot, c. 1915
Garden Grove station, c. 1909
Station Mile
[8][4] 		Major connections Date opened Date discontinued City
Pacific Electric Building 0.00 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Redlands, Redondo Beach via Gardena, Riverside–Rialto, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Monica Air Line, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino, Watts, Whittier
Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8 		1905 1958 Los Angeles
Amoco[dubious – discuss] Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Monica Air Line, Soldiers' Home, Watts, Whittier 1902 1958
Slauson Junction 4.27 Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Watts, Whittier 1902 1958
Watts 7.45 Balboa, Hawthorne–El Segundo, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Watts 1902 1958
Lynwood 9.70 1958 Lynwood
Morton 11.55 1958
Paramount (Clearwater) 13.06 1958 Paramount
Bellflower 15.40 1958 Bellflower
Artesia 18.43 1911 1950 Artesia
Cypress 21.70 1950 Cypress
Stanton 24.82 1950 Stanton
Garden Grove 28.56 1950 Garden Grove
Santa Ana–Pacific Electric 33.61 Santa Ana–Huntington Beach, Santa Ana–Orange 1927 1950 Santa Ana
Santa Ana–Southern Pacific 34.00 Southern Pacific 1945

Ridership

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Passengers (Fare and Transfer)[8]
Year Passengers Car Miles Revenue Inflation adjusted (2023)
1914 1,143,675 856,229 $291,282 $8,860,392
1916 936,257 578,574 $225,501 $6,314,028
1918 1,193,306 735,322 $243,536 $4,933,220
1920 1,090,490 638,275 $268,927 $4,090,192
1922 888,531 548,292 $297,578
1924 881,931 566,542 $313,478
1926 734,529 536.202 $255,610
1928 751,032 502,058 $230,200
1930 852,268 583,690 $219,719 $4,007,464
1932 446,876 460,756 $132,140
1934 367,159 404,580 $104,190
1936 369,230 360,656 $106,812
1938 315,603 339,949 $95,354
1940 343,984 348,885 $81,612 $1,774,916
1942 750,758 440,797 $199,061
1944 2,270,201 1,001,143 $590,800
1945 2,479,246 1,030,924 $635,905 $10,762,193
1946 2,231,655 894,937 $501,139
1947 2,064,688 795,527 $492,843
1950 1,046,974 398,694 $277,422 $3,513,245
1952 884,177 258,293 $235,566
1954 704,078 223,732 $222,140
1956 651,181 221,658 $240,198 $2,691,864
1958 181,167 80,499 $71,681 $756,991

References

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  1. ^ a b "1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes" (PDF). Caltrans. February 1982. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  2. ^ "First electric car runs to Santa Ana". The Los Angeles Times. November 6, 1905. p. 3. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  3. ^ Crise, Steve; Patris, Michael A. (2011). Pacific Electric Railway. Arcadia Publishing. p. 47. ISBN 9780738575865.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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. pp. 75–77. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
  5. ^ Brightwell, Eric (August 27, 2014). "Reimagining Garden Grove with Orange County's First Open Streets Event". KCET. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Buses Replace 2 PE Lines' Trolleys". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. July 3, 1950. p. 9. Retrieved February 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  7. ^ Nelson, Laura J. (May 24, 2018). "Metro narrows the options for a light-rail line from downtown L.A. to Artesia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Santa Ana Line". The Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
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