A recent article in the Los Angeles Times (idiotic registration required, limited time offer, your milage may vary) indicates that a collection of elected officials, including Mayor Hahn and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) want to create a downtown trolley line that would connect downtown landmarks from Chinatown to Staples Center in a five-mile loop. So far, so good.
However, the article indicates they want historical cachet, specifically, “The Los Angeles redevelopment board is expected today to approve a $100,000 study to determine the feasibility of building a system that would use replicas — and possibly even a few original trolleys — from the historic Pacific Electric Railway that ran from 1903 to 1961.”
What is wrong with this picture? If you answered: “The Pacific Electric was an INTERurban Trolley”, you get 10 points. That’s right, INTERurban. Like: LA to San Bernadino (Eastern District, 1200 Volts). LA to San Pedro (Southern District). LA to Santa Monica (Western District). LA to Mt. Lowe (Nothern District).
Folks, if you want to do a downtown trolley right, remember the right history. Paint the cars yellow, make them narrow gauge, and model them after the Los Angeles Railway!
Sob, no one remembers the Yellow Cars.
