W (Los Angeles Railway)

W was a streetcar line in Los Angeles, California. It was operated by the Los Angeles Railway (LARy) from 1895 to 1956.

W
No. 1407 crosses Marmion Way, c. 1930s
Overview
Locale	Los Angeles
Termini	Piedmont and Pasadena (1895–1911) Eagle Rock Park (1911–48) York and Avenue 50 (1922–55) Broadway and Lincoln Park (1955–56) 22nd and Western (1895–1911) Washington and Rimpau Boulevards (1911-1956)
Stations	62
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Los Angeles Railway
Daily ridership	19,249 (1940)[1]
History
Opened	1895
Closed	1956
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	600 V DC overhead line
Route map 1955–1956 Lincoln Park and Mission Broadway and Lincoln Park Broadway and Thomas Broadway and Eastlake Broadway and Griffin Broadway and Daly Broadway and Avenue 22 I-5 Broadway and Avenue 20 Broadway and Avenue 18 Pasadena and Broadway  5  Southern Pacific RR Los Angeles River Santa Fe RR Solano Canyon Little Italy New Chinatown Broadway and College Broadway and Alpine Broadway and Sunset Broadway and Arcadia US 101 Broadway and Temple Broadway and 1st  P  Broadway and 2nd  9  Broadway and 3rd Broadway and 4th Broadway and 5th Broadway and 6th Broadway and 7th  J   R   S  Broadway and 8th Broadway and 9th Broadway Place  F   5  Broadway and 11th  P   9  11th and Hill 11th and Olive 11th and Grand  J  11th and Hope 11th and Flower Flower and 12th Flower and Pico  P  Flower and Venice Flower and Washington Washington and Figueroa I-110 Washington and Bonsallo Washington and Oak Washington and Union Washington and Hoover Washington and New England Washington and Vermont  V  Washington and Catalina Washington and Budlong Washington and Mariposa Washington and Normandie Washington and Harvard Washington and Westmoreland Washington and Western Washington and Gramercy Washington and Cimarron Washington and Arlington Washington and 4th Avenue Washington and 6th Avenue Washington and 10th Avenue Washington and Crenshaw Washington and Wellington Washington and West Washington and Vineyard Washington and Rimpau Los Angeles Railway lines other lines

History

The Washington Line was one of the first to be built by LARy. The Maple Street Line was the first electric railway in Los Angeles, built by the Los Angeles Electric Railway Company — this line was taken over by the Los Angeles Consolidated Railway and in turn acquired by LARy in 1895. A former horsecar route, the Los Angeles Consolidated Railway, was acquired by the Los Angeles Railway and electrified for streetcar service in 1895, dubbed the Kuhrts Street–Easlake Park Line.[2] These were merged in 1902 to form the Maple Avenue and East Lake Park Line. Its northern terminus was at the intersection of Piedmont Street and Pasadena Avenue in Garvanza. This segment of the route closely followed the Arroyo Seco, ATSF main line, Los Angeles Terminal Pasadena branch, and Los Angeles and Pasadena Railway, stopping quite close to Highland Park Station. From there, it entered Downtown Los Angeles by way of Piedmont, Avenue 61, Monte Vista Street, Marmion Way, Dayton Avenue, Avenue 20, Main Street, Tenth Street, Flower Street, Washington Boulevard, La Salle Street, and 22nd Street to a terminus at 22nd and Western Avenue.

In 1911, the route was extended along Washington Boulevard to Rimpau Boulevard. The section of track on 22nd Street and La Salle was kept as a shuttle route until 1921. At the northeast end, an extension was built along Eagle Rock Avenue to Buena Vista Terrace. In 1919, the Tenth Street segment was eliminated and streetcar tracks were built through the Broadway Tunnel, enabling the W line to bypass Main Street entirely, and instead run through Downtown Los Angeles by way of Broadway, 11th Street, and Flower Street. In 1920, it was renamed "W."

Around 1922, a branch line was built from Pasadena Avenue up York Boulevard to Avenue 50,[3] and was quite popular. In 1948, the Annandale section was abandoned and York Boulevard became the sole northern terminus. In 1955, the entire northeastern segment of the route was abandoned and the W line then ran east via Broadway to Lincoln Park Avenue. The entire route was abandoned a year later on November 18, 1956.[2]

References

1. Breivogel, Milton; Bate, Stuart (1942). Mass Transiit Facilities and Master Plan of Parkways (PDF) (Report). Los Angeles City Planning Commission. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
2. "'W'". Electric Rail Heritage Association. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
3. H.P. Noordwal (1938). "Route Map Los Angeles Railway Electric Car and Bus Routes" (Map). Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Los Angeles Railway. "Alternate link" (Map). via Google.

• "Los Angeles Railway". Electric Rail Heritage Association.