Watts Line

Watts
Watts
	The quadruple-tracked line south of Downtown Los Angeles
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles, California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building; Watts;
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric (1904–1958)Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (1958–1959)
Daily ridership	37,436 (peak, 1946) ; 4,325 (close, 1958)
History
Opened	1904
Closed	November 2, 1959
Technical
Line length	7.45 mi (11.99 km)
Number of tracks	2–4
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Whittier &
	La Habra–Yorba Linda
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Watts Line was a local line of the Pacific Electric Railway that operated between the Pacific Electric Building in Downtown Los Angeles and the Watts Station at 103rd Street in Watts. It was the primary local service for the Southern District, which also included the Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Ana and Whittier interurban lines. The route operated along the Southern Division's Four Tracks route, with the Watts Line using the outer tracks and the Long Beach line and other limited stop lines using the inner tracks.^[1]

History

The local service operated between 1904^{[dubious – discuss]}^{[citation needed]} and November 2, 1959.^[2] The line was quadruple-tracked in 1907.^[3]^[4] During the 1910s, its service was combined with the South Pasadena Line of the Northern District. From 1938 to 1950, the line was combined with the Sierra Vista Line,^[5] which was the main local line in the Northern District. Streetcars were removed and replaced with a parallel bus service on November 2, 1959.^[4]

Tracks north of Washington Boulevard were removed or paved over (except a short spur track) after PE service ended. In the late 1980s, the right of way was rehabilitated with one or two tracks used for freight rail (with electrification removed) and two tracks rebuilt to modern light rail specifications. Service along the line between Washington Boulevard and 103rd Street recommenced in 1990 as the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line (renamed the A Line in 2019), with stations at Washington Boulevard, Vernon Avenue, Slauson Avenue, Florence Avenue, Firestone Boulevard, and 103rd Street.

Stops and stations

The following were stops and stations along the Watts line:^[6]^{[failed verification]}

Pacific Electric Building (6th & Main)
7th & Main
8th & Main
9th & Main
9th & Los Angeles
9th & Maple
STOP (9th between Wall & San Julian Street)
9th & San Pedro Street
STOP (9th between Crocker & Towne)
9th & Stanford
9th & Kohler
9th & Central Avenue
9th & Birch
9th & Hooper (begin Four Tracks)
14th Street
16th Street
Washington Blvd
20th Street
22nd Street
Amoco Junction – interchange with Air Line
Adams Boulevard
32nd Street
Jefferson Boulevard (now @ MLK Jr. Blvd)
38th Street
40th Street
Vernon Avenue
47th Street
48th Place
50th Place
52nd Street
55th Street
Slauson Avenue
Slauson Junction – interchange with Whittier
Fleming (62nd Street)
Spaulding (Gage Avenue)
Merrill Avenue (66th Street)
68th Street
Florencita Park (70th Street)
Florence Avenue
Ionia (76th Street)
Nadeau
Woodside (81st)
Edgewood Park (83rd Street)
Graham
Kent (88th)
Latin (92nd)
Elcoat (97th)
Watts (103rd)

References

^ "Pacific Electric Watts Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California.
^ "November 2: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Metro Primary Resources. Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archives. October 24, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
^ "Two and four tracks". The Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1907. p. 24. Retrieved December 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Watts Rail Line Goes to Bus" (PDF). LAMTA. Emblem. December 1959. p. 12. Retrieved April 11, 2021. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
^ 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. 93–94. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
^ Pacific Electric Railway Guide: Names and locations of stops, cross streets and important points of interest on or Adjacent to Lines of the Pacific Electric Railway. Orange Empire Railway Museum.