Pacific Electric Edendale Line

Introduction:
W EDENDALE LINE The Edendale Line performed local service along the route of the Glendale-Burbank Line. Apparently the Edendale Line was virtually as old as its parent line, for Old PE public timetables of 1906 show this line operating. ROUTE: The Edendale Line operated from its Los Angeles terminus, Cares & Central Aves., via Ceres, 6th St., Figueroa St., 2nd St.(Beverly Boulevard.), Glendale Boulevard. and private way to its other terminus at Semi-Tropical Park in the Edendale District. The length of this line was 4.92 miles, most of which was on heavily congested city streets. The entire route was double track except for the portion on Glendale Boulevard. between Sunset Boulevard. and Effie St. which was three-tracked to permit interurban and local cars to pass without delay to either. Prior to the opening of the Subway, the Edendale Line and the Glendale-Burbank Line followed common trackage to 6th & Los Angeles Streets., where the latter turned into the surface tracks adjacent to the Main Street Station elevated tracks. After the opening of the Subway, Edendale cars had to share their route also with other lines from First St. to Park Ave; those lines included the various Hollywood Lines the San Fernando Valley Line and the Hollywood-Venice Line. Portions of the route were used for mail and express cars. A connecting track was constructed from Ceres & Central into the Southern Pacific's Arcade Station grounds, where mail and express cars were loaded and unloaded. In early years, this trackage extended up Central Ave. to Jackson St., one block north of First St., to serve the big warehouse of the Union Hardware Company; from 5th St. to 3rd St., PE tracks were outside LARy tracks, giving Los Angeles its only four-track electric railway system in city streets. From this trackage, a spur ran on Towne Ave. from 3rd to 4th, and another spur rounded the corner of E. 3rd St. and entered the property of the public market. The Union Hardware Spur was built in 1908, the Towne Ave. Spur in 1909. SERVICE: As of 1928, normal week day service of the Edendale Line was operated on a five minute headway during peak periods and a seven and ten minute headway during the midday and evening periods respectively. Sunday and holiday service was on a seven minute headway during peak periods, ten minute headway the rest. Normal running time between the termini of the line varied between 29 and 34 minutes. In bound service started from Edendale at 4:30 AM and continued until 1:05 AM. Cars started from Ceres at 4:00 AM and ran until the last one left at 12:30 AM. At the time there were 171 trains operating over this line, all single units. Extra service was operated over the line from 6th & Hill to Arcade Station from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, as of 1906. There is no record of the date this extra service was stopped. In addition, special cars ran over this line to reach the Arcade Station, such as those from Pasadena and Long Beach handling Southern Pacific patrons. EQUIPMENT: The Edendale Line required 18 cars as of 1928, all of which were stored in the Los Angeles St. Yards when not needed. At that time, cars were of the 50 Class (all steel, center entrance and exit, 51 seats, two 50 HP motors). Prior to the 50 Class, the Edendale Line had been served by various cars of the 100 and 200 Classes. The Fifties were succeeded by 600 Class cars about 1933. These ran until abandonment. ABANDONMENT: On July 12, 1936, concurrent with the partial bus substitution on the Glendale-Burbank Line, the Edendale line was extended 1.2 miles from Whitmore Ave., Semi-Tropical Park, to Monte Sano to provided service over that part of the Glendale Burbank Line inaccessible to busses. At Whitmore Ave., a layover track had been provided between the two main line tracks which were spread quite a distance apart at that point; at Monte Sano, Edendale cars laid over on the substation spur. On May 5, 1939, the Central Station at the 5th-Central-Ceres intersection was abandoned, as the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific shifted passenger operations to the new Union Passenger Terminal. This rendered Edendale cars superfluous east of Main St. On September 8, 1940, Edendale cars were rerouted into the Subway Terminal, leaving 2nd, Figueroa and 6th St. west of Main free of PE cars save for occasional box motors. Coincident with the restoration of full-time rail service on the Glendale-Burbank Line on November 24, 1940, the Edendale Line as such ceased to exist. In its place was a new local service operating in rush hours only to Richardson, adjacent to the Southern Pacific interchange at the boundary line between Los Angeles, and Glendale. At off-peak hours, local service was provided by Glendale-Burbank cars. Storage tracks for the Atwater-Richardson locals was provided on PE-SP interchange trackage alongside the SP's main line at its Glendale station. World War II brought a considerable upsurge in the number of local trains, but thereafter this service dwindled until the last such car, operated by Metropolitan Coach Lines, rolled out of the Subway Terminal on June 17, 1955.

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