Santa Ana Line Explained

Santa Ana
Type:Interurban
System:Pacific Electric
Locale:Los Angeles and Orange County, California
Start:Downtown Los Angeles
End:Santa Ana, California
Bellflower, California (after 1950)
Stations:30
Open:November 6, 1905
Close:July 2, 1950 (to Santa Ana)
May 24, 1958
Owner:Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway (1905–1911)
Pacific Electric (1911–1953)
Metropolitan Coach Lines (1953–1958)
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (1958)
Operator:Pacific Electric
Stock:PE 300–400 Class (last used)
Linelength Mi:34
Tracks:1–4[1]
Linenumber:11 (to 1958)
34 (1958)
Map State:collapsed

The Santa Ana Line was an interurban railway route connecting Los Angeles and Santa Ana in Orange County. It ran between 1905 and 1958 (with the southern end truncated to Bellflower in 1950) and was predominantly operated by the Pacific Electric Railway for its history.

History

The route began operation on November 6, 1905[2] under the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway;[3] Pacific Electric leased the line starting in 1908 and fully acquired it in 1911 under terms of the Great Merger. The Santa Ana Line was designated as route number 11 during most of its operational life. Santa Ana's status as the county seat and largest city in Orange County at the time allowed for high ridership. The railway built a new station in the city in late 1927, and cars were rerouted to serve it.

Cars ceased running to the Santa Ana Southern Pacific Depot in November 1945. By 1950, service had halved from its peak only five years earlier and the line was cut back to a minor station in Bellflower on July 2,[4] becoming the Bellflower Line. (PE continued to serve the Bellflower to Santa Ana segment with motor coaches.[5]) The service was then disposed of by Pacific Electric, being taken over first by Metropolitan Coach Lines in 1953 before being commuted to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1958, the same year it was discontinued; the last train ran on May 24, 1958. Bellflower Line service was briefly designated as line 34 for just over a month prior to discontinuance.

Modern services

See main article: Southeast Gateway Line and OC Streetcar. The Los Angeles Metro Rail operates a few light rail lines over the former route. The A Line runs over the former Watts Line as far as Watts, and the C Line and Century Freeway were built through Lynwood on the old Pacific Electric right of way.

The Southeast Gateway Line is a plan to reactivate part of the line in Los Angeles County for expanded light rail service.[6] The section between Bellflower station and former Paramount station will be rehabilitated and connected to a new service eventually terminating downtown, though via a different routing than the former Santa Ana Line.

The OC Streetcar is expected to open in 2025 and run on the southern section of the former Santa Ana Line between Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

Route

See main article: West Santa Ana Branch. The Santa Ana Line ran from the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles to the Southern Pacific depot in Santa Ana, California via the Watts Line and West Santa Ana Branch.[7] The latter segment's diagonal running was a stark contrast to the cardinally-aligned road grid of Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

The route was quadruple-tracked through the Watts trunk line, while the Santa Ana Branch was double-tracked except at single-track bridges.

List of major stations

StationMile
Major connectionsDate openedDate discontinuedCity
Pacific Electric Building0.00Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Redlands, Redondo Beach via Gardena, Riverside–Rialto, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Monica Air Line, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino, Watts, Whittier
Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8
19051958Los Angeles
AmocoBalboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Monica Air Line, Soldiers' Home, Watts, Whittier19021958
Slauson Junction4.27Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Watts, Whittier19021958
Watts7.45Balboa, Hawthorne–El Segundo, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Watts19021958
Lynwood9.701958Lynwood
Morton11.551958
Paramount (Clearwater)13.061958Paramount
15.401958Bellflower
Artesia18.4319111950Artesia
Cypress21.701950Cypress
Stanton24.821950Stanton
Garden Grove28.561950Garden Grove
Santa Ana–Pacific Electric33.61Santa Ana–Huntington Beach, Santa Ana–Orange19271950Santa Ana
Santa Ana–Southern Pacific34.00Southern Pacific1945

Ridership

Passengers (Fare and Transfer)!Year!Passengers!Car Miles!Revenue!Inflation adjusted
19141,143,675856,229$291,282$
1916936,257578,574$225,501$
19181,193,306735,322$243,536$
19201,090,490638,275$268,927$
1922888,531548,292$297,578
1924881,931566,542$313,478
1926734,529536.202$255,610
1928751,032502,058$230,200
1930852,268583,690$219,719$
1932446,876460,756$132,140
1934367,159404,580$104,190
1936369,230360,656$106,812
1938315,603339,949$95,354
1940343,984348,885$81,612$
1942750,758440,797$199,061
19442,270,2011,001,143$590,800
19452,479,2461,030,924$635,905$
19462,231,655894,937$501,139
19472,064,688795,527$492,843
19501,046,974398,694$277,422$
1952884,177258,293$235,566
1954704,078223,732$222,140
1956651,181221,658$240,198$
1958181,16780,499$71,681$

References

  1. Web site: 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes . February 1982 . Caltrans . 3 June 2020.
  2. News: First electric car runs to Santa Ana . 10 December 2022 . . Newspapers.com . 6 November 1905 . 3.
  3. Book: Crise . Steve . Patris . Michael A. . Pacific Electric Railway . 2011 . . 9780738575865 . 47.
  4. News: Brightwell . Eric . Reimagining Garden Grove with Orange County's First Open Streets Event . 28 July 2021 . KCET . 27 August 2014.
  5. News: Buses Replace 2 PE Lines' Trolleys . Los Angeles Evening Citizen News . 9 . 4 February 2022 . Los Angeles Evening Citizen News . Newspapers.com . July 3, 1950.
  6. News: Nelson . Laura J. . Metro narrows the options for a light-rail line from downtown L.A. to Artesia . 8 September 2021 . . May 24, 2018.
  7. Web site: Santa Ana Line . The Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California . 6 September 2020.