Los Angeles Railway

Los Angeles Railway
Overview
LocaleLos Angeles, California and its suburbs
Transit typeStreetcar
Number of lines25
Operation
Began operation1895
Ended operation1958 (ceded to LAMTA)
1963 (rail operations ceased)
Operator(s)Los Angeles Railway
Reporting marksLARy
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC[1]
Map

The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent local services which complemented the Pacific Electric "Red Car" system's largely commuter-based interurban routes. The company carried many more passengers than the Red Cars, which served a larger and sparser area of Los Angeles.

Cars operated on 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge tracks,[2] and shared dual gauge trackage with the 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Pacific Electric system on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles (directly in front of the 6th and Main terminal), on Hill St, on 7th St, on 4th Street, and along Hawthorne Boulevard south of Downtown Los Angeles toward the cities of Hawthorne, Gardena and Torrance.

  1. ^ Walker 2007
  2. ^ "The Street Railway Journal". McGraw. April 9, 1904. Retrieved 19 September 2020.