Balboa Line

The Balboa Line was the southernmost route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and the Balboa Peninsula in Orange County by way of North Long Beach, though the route was later cut back to the Newport Dock. It was designated as route 17.[1]

Balboa
Overview
Owner	Pacific Electric
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Balboa
Stations	50
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Ridership	55,390 (1948)
History
Opened	June 24, 1904 (to Huntington Beach) July 4, 1906 (to Balboa)[1]
Closed	June 30, 1950
Technical
Line length	39.66 mi (63.83 km)
Number of tracks	1-4
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Pacific Electric Building to Northern Division  J   R   S   J   S  to Sierra Vista–Watts & South Pasadena Local Amoco Vernon Avenue  V  Slauson Junction to Fullerton / Whittier Fleming Florencito Park Florence Nadeau Graham Latin Watts end of local service multiple lines Abila Springdale Willowbrook Sativa Winona Compton Dominguez Dominguez Junction Del Amo Cota Los Angeles River Los Cerritos Vista del Mar Willow to Long Beach Burnett Searby Signal Hill Temple Avenue East Long Beach Termino Lobrico Las Altas Alamitos Heights Alamitos Bay Naples Alamitos Bay San Gabriel River Seal Beach Anaheim Landing Anaheim Bay East Side 16th Street Sunset Beach Sunset Beach Los Patos Bolsa Chica Rocamp Huntington Beach Gamewell Surf Club Pacific Gun Club Santiago Santa Ana River El Moro Melrose Newport Beach terminus after 1940 East Newport Balboa

History

Originally planned by the Pacific Electric, the line was turned over to the Los Angeles Interurban Railway in 1904 who proceeded to build out the tracks south from Long Beach until reaching Balboa in 1906.[1]

The Newport Beach to Balboa segment was reduced to a single daily round trip in June 1940 and was fully abandoned on November 18 of that year.[2] This started a series of service abandonments and restorations — all Newport trains were discontinued on that date.[2] In July 1942, passenger service was briefly restarted with runs of the club car Commodore, lasting just under two months.[2] Service was fully restored on May 2, 1943, owing to the need to move workers for the war effort and Pacific Electric lacking motor coaches to do so; trains ran between Huntington and Long Beach, where passengers transferred to Long Beach Line cars.[2] By July, morning and evening runs were discontinued, as noise from the interurban line interfered with the United States Navy submarine listening post at Seal Beach. Service was fully discontinued at the end of September under further direction by the Navy. Rush Hour service began again in June 1944, but was discontinued after three months. A fifth restoration with a more comprehensive schedule started in June 1945, but service was again discontinued after three months.

June 1946 brought the last incarnation of the line. By mid-1948, Pacific Electric had purchased the requisite Southern Pacific Railroad lines to allow them to move freight to Newport and Huntington without the trip through Long Beach and Sunset Beach.[3] Commodore service lasted seasonally until September 1949, its final run. The last passenger train on the line ran to Newport from Los Angeles on June 30, 1950.[2]

Though ridership early on was very high, it had slowly dwindled to 55,390 in 1948.[1]

Today, the beach route between Long Beach and Balboa is heavily trafficked, and plans to revive rail service along this corridor have been proposed sporadically.

Service

The route ran "flyer" service between Downtown Los Angeles and Willowville (a route also served by the Long Beach Line), making flag stops only at Vernon, Slauson, Watts, Compton and Dominguez Junction.

Commodore

Pacific Electric Car 1000, the first Commodore

Pacific Electric Car 1299, the Commodore parlor car from the 1942 season until its discontinuance[2]

The Commodore was a parlor car which ran a limited schedule during the summer seasons. It was the only such service operated by Pacific Electric. Beginning in 1936, the special was intended to attract commuters with summer homes in the area. Passenger paid a 35¢ premium (equivalent to $6 in 2019) per trip, or could acquire a weekly pass for $6.75 (equivalent to $124 in 2019) which was also accepted for regular trips on the line.[2] Initial Commodore runs called at Balboa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach before continuing non-stop to Los Angeles. By the end of its life in 1949, the car only called at Huntington Beach between Newport and Los Angeles.

List of major stations

Station	Mile[1]	Major connections	Date opened	Date closed	City
Los Angeles Pacific Electric Building	0	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, 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 Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino, Whittier Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8	1905	1961	Los Angeles
Amoco		Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Soldiers' Home, Whittier	1902	1961
Slauson Junction		Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Whittier	1902	1961
Watts	7.45	Hawthorne–El Segundo, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana	1902	1961
Compton		Long Beach, San Pedro via Dominguez	1902	1961	Compton
Dominguez Junction	13.31	Long Beach, San Pedro via Dominguez	1902	1961	Rancho Dominguez
Willowville		Long Beach	1902	1961	Long Beach
Zaferia			1904	1950
Alamitos Heights		Alamitos Heights	1904	1950
Naples	23.00		1904	1950
Seal Beach	24.11	Alamitos Bay	1904	1950	Seal Beach
Sunset Beach	26.70		1904	1950	Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach	32.46	Huntington Beach–La Bolsa, Santa Ana–Huntington Beach	1904	1950
Newport Beach	37.82		1905	1950	Newport Beach
Balboa	39.66		1906	1940

References

1. "Pacific Electric: Newport-Balboa Line". Electric Rail Heritage Association. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
2. Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Retrieved 14 January 2021.
3. "Santa Ana-Huntington Beach Line". Electric Railway Historical Society of Southern California. Retrieved 14 January 2021.