LATL 1423: A Long Life Ahead

By Ralph Cantos

Los Angeles Transit Lines no. 1423 pulls into the Union Station loop in this early 1948 view.

The newly refurbished 1423 looks great for a 25 year old gal.  But soon things will be changing. The well manicured loop, looking somewhat like a putting green, will soon give way to asphalt and streetcars will share the facility with trolley buses of the new 2 line, which would replace the B car line by years end. The loop would provide the 2 line trolley buses with a short turn, rush hour turn back much the same way as the P lines Chicago loop and the V lines, First & Vermont loop.

Within a few years, 1423’s attractive white roof will give way to a “toffee tan” color to minimize the appearance of overhead graphite droppings that usually soiled the roof ends. The 1423 would go on to render dependable transportation until retired at age 35.

Today, the 1423 lives on in a comfortable retirement at the Orange Empire Railway Museum.

Ralph Cantos Collection

Last-Day Charter Northbound at Cota

Saturday, April 8, 1961, was the last full day of service on the Long Beach line and the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association charter running northbound had to pause for a red signal at Cota to await the clearance of an eastbound Union Pacific freight coming from the harbor.
Any time a Long Beach line train got caught by a freight, it could add five or more minutes to the schedule.   Not far north of the UP line, the tracks crossed Del Amo and it was then clear sailing past farm land until Dominguez Junction.
This area looks very different today.    While the UP route still exists, the  Blue Line now occupies this alignment and passes over the freight line on elevated tracks.   Immediately to the left,  the field is the site of the Blue Line shop and storage tracks.  There is just one car showing on the relatively new Long Beach Freeway.   And, past the bridge, the fields are now completely occupied by warehouses.
Stephen Dudley Image and Collection

Last-Day Charter Wide Format

Saturday, April 8, 1961, was the last full day of service on the Long Beach line and the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association charter was positioned in the then-unused Morgan yard in Long Beach and sporting a “Via Oak Knoll” destination sign.
While there,  a professional photographer set up a large wooden camera on a tripod.   Using technology from 50 years prior and before the common use of the wide-angle  lens, he took a photo with a spring powered panoramic camera that slowly rotated and exposed the film over the entire arc of the picture.   The result was a high-quality negative (and similar sized print) approximately 30 inches wide.  The photographer, believed to be a Geo. Mehl of Altadena, then offered prints for sale to those who wished to order them.    I am in the photo (right below the 3rd window from the front)  — if anyone else viewing this picture also was on that trip 58 years ago, then leave a comment!
Geo. Mehl Photo, Stephen Dudley Collection

1706 Last-Day Charter

Saturday April 8, 1961 was the last full day of service on the Long Beach line and the Bay Area Electric Railroad Association ran a charter during the day.   Car 1706 is shown southbound paused not far north of Watts for a photo on the four-track main.     White flags are flying and the Catalina Special destination sign recalls service that ended several years earlier with the abandonment of the San Pedro line.    As usual, photographers were wandering around on the active tracks — a practice that wouldn’t be permitted on any railroad today.
Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection