It's not just the redline, there have been a whole slew of other railways/subways in L.A.
That tunnel was probably the Pacific Electric tunnel.
Man, I would love to see how many of these tunnels still exist, and are accessible.
http://www.metro.net/about_us/library/transit_history.htm
Brief Summary 1873 - present:
Main Street Railroad Company
David B. Waldron was authorized by the Los Angeles City Council on July 3, 1873 to "lay down and maintain two iron railroad tracks, theron propelled by horses or mules, and to carry passengers thereon..." With this charter, he formed the Main Street Railroad Company. Waldron was not strongly motivated to pursue this venture and the enterprise did not become a reality.
Spring and West 6th Street Railroad
In 1874 the Spring and 6th Street franchise was issued to Judge Robert M. Widney (also one of the founders of the University of Southern California - USC). The company served the downtown Los Angeles area from Main Street to Spring, to First, to Fort (now Broadway), then to Fourth Street, Hill and finally Pearl (now Figueroa). This single track horse car driven line began public transit in Los Angeles.
Main Street & Agricultural Railroad
The Main Street and Agricultural Railroad was the first suburban line in Los Angeles. This company was chartered in November 1874 and began operation in 1875 from Old River Southern Pacific on North Spring Street. The line operated through the city on Main Street to Washington Boulevard and extended to Agricultural Park (now Exposition Park), traveling by way of Washington, Figueroa, and Wesleyan (now University Avenue).
East Los Angeles & San Pedro Railway Company
Also founded by Robert Widney, this line was incorporated on May 1, 1875 but did not begin construction until March 1876. It ran North from Fourth Street and was intended to lay track to the new Southern Pacific depot. It reached only to College Street and North Broadway. Due to low patronage, the railway company folded after just four years.
Los Angeles & Aliso Street Railroad Company
The Los Angeles and Aliso Street Railroad Company was franchised in June 1875 and in February 1877 regular service began. Baseball fever increased ridership and a second line, the East First Street line was built. It became a cable railway in 1899.
City Railroad Company
This Line was chartered in 1883 and became the first line dedicated "exclusively to public transit". Other lines under development were primarily focused on promoting real estate. This horse car driven system ran from the Southern Pacific depot south and west to a terminal at Washington and Figueroa.
City Railroad Company
This line was chartered in 1883 and became the first line dedicated “exclusively to public transit.” (Other lines had been developed with land promotion interest as a principal focus.) This horse car driven system ran from the Southern Pacific depot south and west to a terminal at Washington and Figueroa.
The Central Railroad Company
Also chartered circa 1883, the Central Railroad Company was developed to consolidate with the Los Angeles & Aliso Railroad and eventually merged with the City Railroad on May 1, 1886.
Main & Fifth Street Railroad
As the name suggests, the Main & Fifth Street Railroad (which began service on July 30, 1887) ran from First and Main street to Fifth Street and Central Avenue. It was electrified by the Los Angeles Railway Company in 1897.
Los Angeles & Vernon Railroad
This company operated a horse car line on Central Avenue from Fifth Street to Vernon Avenue. It was purchased by the Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway in May 1891.
Second Street Cable Railroad Company
Founded in March 1885, the Second Street Cable Railroad Company was a single track system opening from Spring Street to Texas (Belmont Avenue).
Temple Street Cable Railway Company
This line opened on July 4, 1886. In 1888 it was extended to Dayton Heights. It carried more passengers than any of the other lines.
Los Angeles Cable Railway
Incorporated in 1887, Los Angeles Cable Railway was the largest transit venture in the city and operated from Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles out to Westlake Park and Grand Avenue. It was the last city line to convert to electrification. It was renamed the Pacific Railway Company in 1889 and was later to be sold to Henry E. Huntington.
Los Angeles Electric Railway Company
Charles H. Howland chartered this company on September 11, 1886. It began operations on January 4, 1887 with the line opening from Pico and Main traveling West to Harvard. In 1896, many of the major horse and cable cars operating in Los Angeles converted to electrical power.
Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway
Originally chartered in 1890 in Phoenix, Arizona by Moses Sherman, the Los Angeles Consolidated Electric Railway grew as Sherman negotiated to acquire additional lines. He acquired the Los Angeles Electric Railway Company and was competing with James Crank of Pacific Railway for transit turf. He acquired Pacific Railway in 1893 but lost it to yet another company.
Los Angeles Railway
Formed in 1894, this company was to remain in existence for over 50 years. An early competitor, the Los Angeles Traction Company (1894) was eliminated and Los Angeles Railway merged with the Main Street & Agricultural Park Street Railroad retaining the name Los Angeles Railway. Henry E. Huntington became the owner in 1898 and maintained his interest in running the city lines.
Angel's Flight
This little inclined cable railway was built in 1901 by Col. J.W. Eddy to give Bunker Hill residents a public access up the steep hill from Third and Hill to Third and Olive streets. It began operations on December 30, 1901 and was in continuous operation for over 60 years. It was dismantled temporarily, much to the dismay of many LA residents, to make way for the redevelopment project on Bunker Hill. Service was finally restored in February 1996.
Pacific Electric Railway Company
Huntington completed his first line in 1902 which ran from Los Angeles to Long Beach (Red Cars). He later sold his shares to Southern Pacific. Various dates are cited but it is generally accepted that on August 24, 1911, (Source: Ride the Big Red Cars), the “great merger” took place and eight separate companies were merged into the Pacific Electric Railway Company. The Pacific Electric conglomerate, developed by Huntington, consisted of a standard (4 feet, 8½ inches) gauge interurban system suitable for competing with steam railroad lines for freight or passengers. Huntington retained the narrow gauge system (3 feet, six inches) consolidating them into the Los Angeles Railway (Yellow Cars).
The Mount Lowe Line was the most famous use of the Pacific Electric tourist lines although beach excursions were also plentiful.
Pacific Electric Subway - The Subway opened on November 30, 1925, and ran from 1,045 feet under Fourth & Hill Street to a portal near Beverly and Glendale Boulevards. In 1955 the last line using the subway was converted to buses. The Subway Terminal Building was a notable feature of the subway. It had 250,000 square feet of office space and five wings with natural sunlight projecting through most of its rooms.
By 1933, Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway had included bus passenger service, but patronage of rail and bus had been crippled by the advent of the automobile which resulted in even larger decline in the later forties and fifties. (One reason noted for the change to buses was a serious drought in 1924 which caused a power shortage and required Pacific Electric to limit trolley service.)
“Miscellaneous Bus companies” - Various independent bus companies came into being with the intention of competing with the existing system. Most were purchased or subsumed by Pacific Electric or Los Angeles Railway. They include:
* Los Angeles Motor Bus company renamed the Los Angeles Motor Coach Company circa 1930
* LA CBD & Westside Lines 1923-1949
* Motor Transport Company 1922-1939
* Original Stage Line Los Angeles-San Fernando
* Pasadena Ocean Park State Line
* Studio Bus line (Hollywood-Culver City)
* Asbury Rapid Transit System (San Fernando Valley-Hollywood-Pasadena-Los Angeles Central Business District 1930’s-1954)
Los Angeles Transit Lines - (1945)
The controlling interest in the Los Angeles Railway was purchased from the Huntington estate by the National City Lines which was run by the five Fitzgerald brothers. They renamed it the Los Angeles Transit Lines and at the end of World War II, they sought to substitute buses on most of the street car lines.
Metropolitan Coach Lines - (1953-1958)
Pacific Electric sold its passenger rail cars and buses in October 1953 to Jesse Haugh who organized the Metropolitan Coach Lines bus company. Haugh purchased a $30 million dollar property value for only $500,000 cash with the promise that he would improve bus service and abandon the rail portions. (Metropolitan Coach Lines bought Asbury Rapid Transit on August 3, 1954.)
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority - (1951-1964)
This agency was created in 1951 by the California Legislature to develop a monorail system along the Los Angeles River. In 1958, The Authority was allocated state funds to purchase the Metropolitan Coach Lines and the Los Angeles Transit Lines for $33.3 million thereby marking the transition from private to public ownership/operation of transportation in Los Angeles. In 1962, LAMTA proposed a “back-bone route” rapid transit system for Los Angeles and sought State funding. The Long Beach line was discontinued under this agency on April 8, 1961. The rest of the street cars (five remaining lines) were discontinued by March 31, 1963.
Miscellaneous bus companies acquired by LAMTA and their beginning service dates:
* Crosstown Suburban Bus Lines (So. Los Angeles County) 1961
* Foster Transportation Co (Alhambra 1962)
* Riverside City Lines 1963
* Glendale City Lines 1962
Southern California Rapid Transit District - (1964-1993)
State legislation enable the creation of the SCRTD on August 22, 1964 to serve the Southern California region, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. This Agency superseded the LAMTA and was mandated to improve bus systems and design and build a transit system for Los Angeles. Bus improvements were recognized in the development of the El Monte Busway in 1974 and its Mini bus service in the Central Business District. The SCRTD was successful in securing Federal funding for a backbone rapid transit system, the Metro Rail subway project. The RTD, like its predecessor also acquired local suburban bus companies including:
* Pasadena City Lines (Pasadena local lines - (1940-67)
* Inglewood City Lines (Inglewood local lines - (1942-67)
* Blue & White Bus Company (So L.A. Local lines - (1967-1971)
* Eastern City Transit (East L.A. local lines) - (1949-1971)
* San Pedro Motor Bus Assn. - (1961-1973)
* Highland Transit (San Pedro) - (1938-1972)
* San Pedro Transit Lines (Harbor City-San Pedro) - (1961-1973)
* Western Greyhound Lines (Long Beach-Santa Monica Lines) - (1923-1974)
* Ontario-Upland Bus Lines - (1928-1973)
* Pomona Valley Municipal Transit System - (1966-1972)
In 1973, the State formed county public transportation agencies for Orange (OCTD now OCTA), Riverside (RTA) and San Bernardino (OmniTrans) Counties, giving local control to their rapidly growing populations.
Los Angeles County Transportation Commission - (1976-1993)
In 1976, the California state legislature enacted Assembly Bill #1246, by Assemblyman Walter Ingalls, which created the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) to oversee public transit (bus and rail, shuttles, dial-a-ride, paratransit) and highway policy in the nation's largest county. The law required LACTC to approve all plans and funding with respect to transit capital development, transit operations and highway capital development. LACTC's authority over highways was ultimately subject to approval by the California State Transportation Commission. The authority of LACTC was similar to that of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in New York or the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) in Chicago, except that these organizations have little or no jurisdiction over highways. LACTC is credited with the construction of the Metro Blue Line, Metro Green Line and completing construction of the Metro Red Line.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority - (1993 - present)
The new MTA was created by Legislature in April, 1993 and merged the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and the Southern California Rapid Transit District. "Transit" has been expanded to "Transportation" as the agency combined both countywide roles of the two predecessor agencies. This MTA is responsible for operating the clean air CNG powered Metro bus fleet, Rapid Bus lines, Metro Blue Line, Metro Red Line, Metro Green and Metro Gold (opening July 2003) Lines. systems. In addition to the operating function, MTA plans, funds an
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Ridazz Roulette!
Allan will like this one:
