Western and Franklin Avenue Line

Western & Franklin Ave.
Western & Franklin Ave.
	Dash sign used on Hollywood bound trains
Overview
Owner	Pacific Electric
Locale	Los Angeles
Termini	11th & Hill Streets; Hollywood & Vine Blvds;
Stations	19
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Ridership	1,935,583 (1926)
History
Opened	1908
Closed	March 17, 1940
Technical
Line length	9.08 mi (14.61 km)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Old gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	evening terminus
	until 1912
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Western and Franklin Avenue Line was a Pacific Electric streetcar line which traveled from Los Angeles to Hollywood. It operated from 11th and Hill Streets via Hill, Sunset, Santa Monica Boulevard, Western Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Argyle Avenue, Yucca Street, and Vine Street to end at Hollywood and Vine Boulevards. It operated from 1908 to 1940.^[2]^[1] The Brush Canyon Line branched from this line at Bronson.^[1]

History

Tracks on Western and Franklin were built by the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad in 1908 and were converted to standard gauge only a month after completion.^[1] Double tracking on Western Avenue was completed in 1910 and the line was acquired by Pacific Electric in 1911 as part of the Great Merger.^[1]

Some outbound trips continued west on Hollywood Boulevard to terminate at the West Hollywood station following PE's acquisition, though this ended by 1912.^[3] Between February 1922 and July 1924 the route operated as a shuttle service between Santa Monica/Western and Hollywood/Vine. Service was suspended from July 1924 to the following January owing to power issues throughout the system.^[4]^[3] Through-routing to the downtown terminal was reestablished upon resumption of service, though it had been reduced to rush hours only by October 1932 and the line was through-routed with the Venice Boulevard Local.^[3] Cars were terminating at Hill and 11th by 1935, and shuttle service on the outer segment of the line returned in 1938.^[3]

Service was discontinued on March 17, 1940.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Western and Franklin Avenue Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^ Walker, Jim (January 1, 1976). Lines of Pacific Electric: Southern & Western Districts (Special 60) (Second Printing ed.). Glendale, California: Interurban Press. p. 26.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e 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. p. 94. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
^ "Railways cut use of power". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1924. pp. 13, 14. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.