Whittier Line

Whittier Line
The first Pacific Electric Car to Whittier, 1904
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Whittier, California
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Ridership	1,139,480 (peak, 1923)
History
Opened	November 7, 1903
Closed	January 22, 1938 (to Whittier) March 6, 1938 (to Walker)
Technical
Line length	17.35 mi (27.92 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC
Route map Sierra Vista  B   F   G   O    Pacific Electric Building Edendale    H   J   R   S   B   F   G   O  multiple lines  U  Amoco Air Line Vernon Avenue  V  Slauson Junction multiple lines Dozier Huntington Park  J  Miles Fruitland Bell Greening Baker Walker Los Angeles River Laguna Gage Rio Hondo Rio Hondo McCampbell Downey Road SR 19 Rivera Burke San Gabriel River Guirado Santa Fe RR Los Nietos to Fullerton & La Habra–Yorba Linda King Eli Rose Hedge State School Whittier

The Whittier Line was a Pacific Electric interurban line which traveled between Los Angeles and Whittier via Huntington Park, Rivera, and Los Nietos. A branch of the company's original Long Beach Line, operations along the line began in 1903. Due to its indirect route, passenger operations were eventually replaced by bus service on Whittier Boulevard after 1938. Tracks were largely retained for use by freight trains, eventually becoming the Union Pacific La Habra Subdivision. A short segment of the route is expected to be reactivated for passenger service as part of the Southeast Gateway Line.

History

Construction of the route between Whittier and the Long Beach Line began in March 1902. The single track line opened to Whittier in November 1903. The route was graded wide enough to lay a second set of tracks in the future. Operations were undertaken by the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway in 1904 and they had double tracked the line by September 1904. Southern Pacific assumed operation in 1908, and it was acquired by the new Southern Pacific in the 1911 Great Merger.

By September 1935, the number of departures was reduced to one round trip daily and service to Walker was regarded as its own local line. Whittier service was reduced to a single daily trip after September 1, 1935 and was totally discontinued on January 22, 1938. Walker service ceased March 6.

Much of the route remains in service for freight trains. The line between Slauson and Los Nietos forms the Union Pacific La Habra Subdivision. The Southeast Gateway Line light rail project is expected to use a section of the line between Slauson and the former Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad right of way.

Route

The Whittier Line followed the Long Beach Line from Los Angeles south to Slauson Junction (south of Slauson Boulevard) where it branched off in an easterly direction to Whittier and Yorba Linda. From there, the double track Whittier Line ran easterly, in private way between dual roadways of Randolph Street, through Huntington Park, Vernon, Bell, and Maywood to reach the Los Angeles River. Crossing the river, the double track in private way followed intermittent sections of Randolph Street through Bell Gardens and Commerce, and crossed the Rio Hondo south of Slauson Avenue.

The line continued easterly, south and parallel to, Slauson Avenue. Across the Pico Rivera area and the San Gabriel River into Los Nietos, where the line crossed the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Third District main line (Los Nietos) at Norwalk Boulevard then turned northerly towards Whittier. The single track La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Line branched easterly in private way off the Whittier Line east of Norwalk Boulevard. The line in private way followed Allport Avenue and Lynalan Avenue then turned easterly crossing Whittier Boulevard into Philadelphia Street to the PE station at Comstock Avenue.

Stations

Station	Mile	Time to LA
Pacific Electric Building	0.00	—
Vernon Avenue	3.26	0:10
Slauson Junction	4.27	0:15
Huntington Park	5.42	0:20
Bell (Maywood Ave.)	6.73	0:22
Bell (Gifford Ave)	7.20	0:23
Walker	8.65	0:28
Edgewater	9.20
Laguna	10.28	0:31
Rio Hondo	11.40	0:33
Rivera	12.58	0:35
Los Nietos	14.50	0:39
State School	16.71	0:43
Whittier	17.35	0:47

References

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under the public domain as a work of the State of California. (license statement/permission). Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes​, California Department of Transportation. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Bibliography

• Crump, Spencer (1962). Ride the big red cars: How trolleys helped build southern California. Crest Publications. ISBN 0-87046-047-1. OCLC 3414090. OL 4560875M.
• 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. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
• Walker, Jim (January 1, 1976). Lines of Pacific Electric: Southern & Western Districts (Special 60) (Second Printing ed.). Glendale, California: Interurban Press.

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