Pacific Electric Hollywood Line

Introduction:
HOLLYWOOD LINE Local service on Hollywood Boulevard. was provided by several lines down the years: the Hollywood Boulevard. Line via Hill Street Line, the Subway-Hollywood Line, the Hollywood-Venice Line, and the Laurel Canyon Line. The Hollywood-Venice Line is taken independently, while the other three are coverd here. First, the Hollywood Boulevard. via Hill Street Line. HOLLYWOOD Boulevard. VIA HILL Street LINE: ROUTE: From Hill Street Station via Hill Street, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, private way, Hawthorne Avenue private way to Gardner Junction. (Sunset Boulevard. & Gardner St.). In the early years, the Laurel Canyon Line was through-routed with this line; trackage ran up Sunset Boulevard. to Laurel Canyon Boulevard. from Gardner Junction. After February 7, 1926, the Subway Terminal was also used as a downtown terminus for this line; route then became: Subway, Glendale Boulevard, Park Avenue to Sunset Boulevard, then the same as above. HISTORY: This line's history may tend to confuse, as its final, familiar route embraced segments of earlier lines built in different years. However, taking the line from Hill Street Station and working out: That segment from Hill Street Station to Hill & Sunset Boulevard. was built in 1909, opening on September 15^th ("Tunnel Day"); this segment featured two tunnels which saved 10 minutes in running time. Tracks on Sunset Boulevard. from Broadway to Sanborn Junction. (Santa Monica Boulevard) were constructed in 1895 by Pasadena & Pacific; the gauge was 3'6" and double track was built as far west as Hoover Street, single track from there to the beach at Santa Monica on Santa Monica Boulevard. In 1900 LAP built a loop line which left the Santa Monica Boulevard. line at Virgil, proceeded northwesterly on single track private way to the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard. (then Prospect Ave) & Vermont; this segment was known as the Melrose Cutoff. Once on Hollywood Boulevard, the new single track narrow gauge line ran due west through the infant Hollywood to La Brea Avenue, thence through Gardner to Crescent Junction. (Santa Monica Boulevard. & Fairfax Ave.) where it rejoined the old line. This loop was doubled tracked almost immediately. In 1905 the Hollywood Cutoff was constructed, running from Sanborn Junction. to Hollywood & Vermont Ave.; this was a double track line, and largely replaced the Melrose Cutoff. This line was standard gauged in 1909. PE obtained the Hollywood Boulevard. Line in 1911 and operated it until sold all its passenger business to Metropolitan Coach Lines on October 1, 1953. Metro continued the operation of this line until September 26, 1954, when the line was converted to motor coach operation. OPERATION: As of mid"-1"911 an approximate 10 minute base service was operated to Gardner. Cars left Hill Street Station from 6:09 AM to 12:01 AM; extra service was provided as required. Evening headway was 30 minutes. On October 25, 1916, this line was thru-routed with the W. 16^th Street Line. Service increased enormously on this line in succeeding years; as of November 1921, cars in morning rush hours were on a 2 minute headway, 3 minutes in base service, 1 minute in evening rush—with Sunday headways being on a 3 3/4 minute headway. First cars left 5^th & Hill at 4:02 AM, last car at 2:10 AM. The opening of the alternate Hollywood Boulevard. via Subway Line on February 7, 1926, just about halved the service on this line. As of December, 1927, the intervals were 7 minutes in the morning rush, 10 minutes in base hours, 5 minutes in evening rush, and 12 minutes nights and Sundays. 112 trips operated in each direction. Base running time from Gardner to Vineyard was 85 minutes. On January 18, 1932, night and Sunday service only was separated from the Venice Boulevard. Line and terminated at 11^th & Hill Streets. with a 15 minute headway. Base service was run on a 10 minute frequency with a approximate 10 minute rush hour headway. Every third car in base hours ran through to Beverly Hills. On September 18, 1938, through-routing with the Venice Boulevard. Line was resumed at all hours and days of the week. The Subway-Hollywood Line was discontinued during evening hours on January 8, 1939; this caused adjustments, with certain curtailments on the Venice Boulevard. end. A 10 minute evening headway was established, with two cars out of three turning back at 11^th & Hill, the third continuing to Vineyard. At the same time the night service was extended to Beverly Hills on the west end and the 10 minute service was given three terminal points: one car gong to Beverly Hills, one to Santa Monica & Fairfax, and one to Gardner. Owl cars operated to and from Hill Street Station. On February 9, 1941, this line was through-routed during base hours with both the Venice Boulevard. Local Line and the Venice Short Line on weekdays. On August 24, 1941, the Hollywood-Venice Line was abandoned, leaving all On August 24, 1941, the Hollywood-Venice Line was abandoned, leaving all service to Beverly Hills to this line. On April 18, 1943, this line was separated from the Venice Short Line but was through-routed with the Venice Boulevard. Line except nights and Sundays when it terminated at 11^th & Hill Streets. Most cars terminated at Gardner, although nights and Sundays some cars operated to and from Beverly Hills, a few Sunday morning trips operated to and from Santa Monica Boulevard. & Fairfax and owl service terminated at West Hollywood. Base service to Gardner was 10 minutes, with 7 minute service in rush hours; evening service was 7 1/2 minutes to Gardner, 15 minutes to Beverly Hills. Sunday service was 5 minutes to Gardner, 10 to Beverly Hills. Additional service, of course, was provided by the Subway-Hollywood Line daily except nights and Sundays. On June 25, 1948, evening service was cut to 10 minutes as far as Gardner, 20 minutes to Beverly Hills. The last timetable, dated November 14, 1949, provided 15 minute evening service to Beverly Hills until 10:00 PM, then 20 minutes. No Gardner cars operated Monday thru Friday after the 9:43 departure from 11^th & Hill. On Saturday night only many Gardner cars ran, providing 8 minute service as far west as that point all evening. The last car left Beverly Hills for 11^th & Hill Streets. at 2:31 AM on Sunday, October 1, 1950. Yard limits were defined by signals at West Hollywood, Gardner and Vineyard. No freight was operated over this line east of Crescent Junction. (Santa Monica Boulevard. & Fairfax). PASSENGERS (Fare & Transfer): Year Passengers Car Miles Revenue 1917 9,932,132 2,403,100 $ 454,132 1918 9,621,025 2,419,415 445,473 1920 13,676,834 2,531,934 687,101 1922 14,583,703 2,635,839 1,058,689 1924 16,380,874 2,471,814 978,048 1926* 8,416,032 1,280,499 583,772 *Subway Hollywood Line established MILEAGES: Beverly Hills 0.00 West Hollywood 1.44 Fairfax Avenue 2.79 Gardner Street 3.48 Hollywood Junction. 7.96 Bonnie Brae Street 9.55 Subway Terminal 11.70 Hill Street Station 12.21 11^th & Hill Streets. 13.15 Vineyard 17.69 CARS: As of 1927, 30 of the 600 Class cars were assigned to this line. 24 were required in the normal weekday schedules. These cars were stored at Sherman, Hill Street Station, and Vineyard. ELECTRICAL FACILITIES: The power supplied for use of the Hollywood Boulevard. Line was distributed from these substations: Vineyard, Burlington, Toluca, Olive, Hollywood, and Sherman. SUBWAY-HOLLYWOOD LINE This line was established on February 7, 1926, to supplement the Hollywood Boulevard. via Hill Street Line; it provided about half of the total Hollywood Boulevard. service. ROUTE: From Subway Terminal via subway, Glendale Boulevard, Park Avenue, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard. to La Brea Avenue, private way, Hawthorn Avenue, and private way to Sunset Boulevard. & Gardner. Operation: As of November, 1926, cars of this line left Subway Terminal at frequent intervals until 9:06 AM, then every 10 minutes to 3:56 PM, then frequent intervals until 8:27 PM, then every 12 minutes to last car at 11:27 PM. As of August 1, 1934, all service was operating to points west of Gardner. Base headway was 10 minutes to Santa Monica & Fairfax, 20 minutes to West Hollywood. At night, 15 minutes to Fairfax, 30 to West Hollywood, and on Sundays, 15 minutes to West Hollywood. Wartime increased patronage brought about the sending of all through trips to Beverly Hills on a 10 minute headway, effective April 18, 1943. Very little change occurred until October 1, 1950; then, owing to the abandonment of the Hollywood Boulevard. via Hill Street Line, night and Sunday service was reestablished on this line. On November 16, 1950, rush hour night service to Beverly Hills was on a 10 minute frequency, with running time to Beverly Hills now 55 minutes. One-man operation was established on this line on January 14, 1951 with running time increased to 65 minutes. Two-car trains were replaced by more frequent single cars in the rush hours on June 1, 1953; a 4 minute evening rush headway to West Hollywood (new turnback point) was in effect, and 8 minutes to Beverly Hills. The last car left Beverly Hills at 2:28 AM on Sunday, September 26, 1954. PASSENGERS (FARE & TRANSFER): Year Passengers Car Mile Revenue 1926* 4,910,092 724,501 $ 356,062 1927* 4,776,982 744,324 383,962 * Operation began February 7^th. * To November 30th. CARS: 27 cars of the 600 Class were required by this line for normal weekday operation; these were stored at Sherman, Subway Terminal, Toluca Yard, and Hill Street Station surface tracks. MELROSE CUTOFF: Route: From Santa Monica Boulevard. & approximately Virgil Avenue via private way (single track) to Vermont Avenue & Hollywood Boulevard. Built 1900 as part of Hollywood Boulevard. Line; replaced by Hollywood Cutoff in 1905. Thereafter it was of minor importance. Standard gauged in 1908. As of January 6, 1913, cars left Hollywood & Vermont for Hill Street Station at 6:12 AM and hourly to 11:12 PM; returning, cars left Hill Street Station at 6:42 AM and hourly to 11:42 PM. Permission to abandon was given in July 1915. Length, 0.84 mile. The Key to the whole Subway-Hollywood-San Fernando Valley service was the 550-foot connection between the Glendale-Burbank Line and the Sunset Boulevard. Line. The connection left Glendale Boulevard. at Park Avenue and joined Sunset Boulevard. at Bonnie Brae Street This project was completed in early 1926. BUENA VISTA LOCAL LINE: Route, 1911: From Sunset & N. Broadway (Buena Vista St.) via Sunset Boulevard. to Sunset & Grand, 0.188 miles, double track. This line was a relic of LAP narrow gauge operation via Sunset and Spring Streets. to its Fourth Street Station. In 1909 the Hill Street Tunnels were opened and this stub line was thereafter used for freight and mail cars, LAP's Buena Vista Freight House being on this line., After the Great Merger, PE ran a morning and an afternoon franchise cars over this route; it was abandoned on July 10, 1913. LAUREL CANYON LINE ROUTE: On Sunset Boulevard. from Gardner Junction. to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, 0.81 mile; all single tack except for passing track midway. HISTORY: Built 1894 by Cahuenga Valley Railroad Company as a narrow gauge steam line. Obtained by Pasadena & Pacific in 1896 and electrified about 1900. It was standard gauged by LAP in 1909 and became PE property in 1911. PE operated it until March 10, 1924, when it was abandoned. OPERATION: In 1911 two of every three cars on the Hollywood Boulevard. Line ran through to Laurel Canyon, provided alternate 10 and 20 minute base headways with half hourly service evenings. On October 25, 1916, Laurel Canyon service was through-routed with the W. 16^th Street Line. About 1921 shuttle service from Gardner Junction. was established; this continued until abandonment. Shuttle service was on a 15 minute base headway with 71/2 minute service in rush hours. EQUIPMENT: Prior to establishment of shuttle service, cars were those of the Hollywood Boulevard. Line; 200s and 400s, with possibly 100s, even 500s, being used when necessary. Shuttle service was provided by Birneys. TRACK: 60-lb T-rail, redwood ties, gravel ballast, asphalt pavement. ELECTRICAL FACILITIES: Sherman Substation was principal source of power for this line. Service for this area was provided by the Los Angeles Motor Bus Company after abandonment of this line. HOLLYWOOD-VENICE LINE ROUTE: From Hill Street Station this line proceeded over the Hollywood Boulevard. Line to Crescent Junction., thence via Santa Monica Boulevard. to Beverly Hills and Sawtelle to Santa Monica, thence via Ocean Avenue and Trolleyway to Windward Avenue, Venice. Mileage: 21.43 HISTORY: For data pertaining to track construction, see Hollywood Boulevard. Line, Santa Monica Boulevard. Line (South Hollywood Line), and Santa Monica via Beverly Hills Line. Inasmuch as through service via Hollywood from Los Angeles to the west beaches was inaugurated as early as 1896 via Santa Monica Boulevard. and in 1900 via Hollywood Boulevard, it would be difficult to set a definite date for the inauguration of this line as a separate entity. In the Great Merger of 1911, PE acquired the various routes traversed by this line. From then until final abandonment on August 23, 1941, PE operated the Hollywood-Venice Line as a separate line. OPERATION: This line served as an additional local streetcar service between Los Angeles and Hollywood with the added facility of through cars to Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Venice for patrons along Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. It also formed a link between the terminals of the local Hollywood and Santa Monica Boulevard. cars at Gardner Junction., Crescent Junction., Sherman and intermediate points to Venice. This line always rendered local service throughout its entire route. Extreme traffic congestion encountered in Hollywood militated against the use of this line by Angelenos desiring to travel to the west beaches; routes via W. 16^th Street offered considerable saving in time as of 1927, it took 93 minutes via the Hollywood-Venice Line to go from Hill Street Station to Windward Avenue versus 53 minutes between the same two points via the Venice Short As of January 18, 1916, 33 round trips were operated daily over this line. By January 1918, this number had been reduced to 30. As of March 26, 1918, an hourly night service was in effect to Venice., the last car leaving Los Angeles at 11:05 PM, arriving at Venice at 12:21 AM. On January 18, 1932, all daily except Sunday service except owl service was re-routed to the Subway Terminal instead of Hill Street Station. All Sunday service continued to use the Hill Street Station. Night service was 30 minutes to Beverly Hills, 60 minutes to Venice, absorbing Beverly Hills service formerly operating on the Hollywood Boulevard. via Subway local Line. New running time was 88 minutes outbound, 89 minutes inbound. On February 9, 1941, Sunday service was rerouted via Hill Street to 11^th & Hill Streets., absorbing all Hollywood Boulevard. via Hill Street local line Sunday service. Abandonment came in 1941. The last car from 11^th & Hill Streets. to Venice ran on August 17, 1941, and the last car to Venice from from the Subway Terminal ran on August 23. The Los Angeles-Beverly Hills portion of the Hollywood-Venice Line was immediately absorbed by the Hollywood Boulevard. via Hill Street local Line nights and Sundays and by the Hollywood Boulevard. via Subway local line at other hours. EQUIPMENT: Before 1929, the Hollywood-Venice Line was served by wooden suburban cars; first came the 490s, to be replaced by ten 450s and four 500s. 1929 saw new steel cars 750-759 assigned to this line; they ran until abandonment, with other 600 Class cars assigned as required. TRACK: For description of trackage between Los Angeles and Gardner Junction., see Hollywood Boulevard. Line. From Gardner Junction. to Fairfax (Crescent Junction.), track was 60-lb T-rail on redwood ties with rock ballast; from Fairfax to Hacienda Drive, 75-lb. T-rail on redwood ties with rock ballast and asphalt pavement; from Hacienda to Beverly Hills, 70-lb. T-rail on redwood ties, with gavel ballaStreet From Beverly Hills to Venice, see Santa Monica via Beverly Hills Line. ELECTRICAL FACILITIES: This line received power from these substations: Toluca (No. 51), Olive (No. 35), Hollywood (46), West Hollywood (38) and Ocean Park (40). CAR STORAGE: Hollywood-Venice cars used the following storage yards (along with cars of other lines): Subway (36 cars), Toluca (33), West Hollywood (190), Ocean Park (65); in the early days, cars were also stored during periods of heavy beach travel on the Venice Freight Branch adjacent to Windward Ave. PASSENGERS (fARE & TRANSFER): Year Passengers Car Miles Revenue 1913 1,696,118 573,446 $ 145,559 1916 2,138,376 551,219 150,154 1918 1,874,694 521,682 140,129 1920 2,009,903 524,484 206,645 1922 2,268,688 589,273 302,391 1924 2,470,101 650,495 321,578 1926 2,363,885 638,973 296,067 1928 2,267,278 629,047 249,208 1930 2,273,840 591,498 229,994 1932 1,494,759 397,985 157,710 1934 382,923 164,196 60,562 1936 552,575 195,633 81,770 1938 400,304 175,153 55,369 After 1932 Los Angeles-Beverly Hills local business on this line credited to "Subway-Beverly Hills" account.

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