Metropolitan Coach Lines no. 1524 westbound on Ocean Avenue and Golden Shore, is seen here turning into Morgan Yard on April 9, 1960.
Bruce Ward Image, Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection
Railfan excursion on Metropolitan Coach Lines 498 at East Olympic Blvd at Hooper Ave on May 24th, 1958.
Bruce Ward Photograph, Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection
Street resurfacing on 7th Street (just west of Alvarado, near Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant) has revealed a stretch of old Los Angeles Railway rail still embedded in the street, more than 50 years after the last Los Angeles MTA streetcars operated.
Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Photos
An inbound 800-class interurban car rolls along the shore line of the blue Pacific at an unknown location. It was a place where the line ran behind houses along the beach.
Charles D. Savage Photo, Donald Duke Collection, Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection
The Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society is extremely gratified by the gifting of key rail artifacts from the Gordon Bachlund Collection.
These items will be part of the on-display collection at our museum when it open to the public in the future.
Artifacts Gifted by Gordon Bachlund, Photos by Steve Crise
Note: the lead image above shows a Pacific Electric headlight from an unknown series; according to PE historian Ralph Cantos, the headlight was from a 400-class “Blimp.” Ralph cites this page – click here – as evidence of the larger-dimension headlamps used on the 300-series cars. In addition, Ralph notes that he never saw headlights used interchangeably between 300- and 400-series cars. This would then make the Gordon Bachlund headlight from a 400-class Blimp, as noted by Ralph. – Ed.
Pacific Electric inbound no. 735 at Rose Station in San Marino, September 1951. Note the restaurant in the background, Woody & Eddy’s, was a longtime favorite of San Gabriel Valley residents.
Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection, Mount Lowe Preservation Society Inc. Collection, Jack Finn Print Collection. Craig Rasmussen Collection
Pacific Electric outbound blimp no. 412 pauses at the San Marino Station, located at Huntington Drive and San Marino Avenue, in 1950.
Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society, Mount Lowe Preservation Society Inc. Collection, Jack Finn Print Collection, Craig Rasmussen Collection
William Wherry – known to all as Bill – poses for a photograph taken by his wife in the yard of their first home in South Pasadena, in 1937 or 1938.
Wherry Family Photo, Charles Wherry Collection
Below is a clip from the August 1952 issue of Pacific Electric Magazine, noting the passing of William Wherry. From the PERYHS Archives.
Pacific Electric steeple cab no. 1544, better known as Electra, rests in retirement at Los Angeles’ Travel Town circa 1955. Electra is best known as having served the city of San Francisco as part of the clean-up after the 1906 earthquake.
Donald Duke Photo, Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection
Upon retirement, Pacific Electric no. 1498 was “presented to the children of Los Angeles by the Pacific Electric Rwy. Co.” (as the plaque reads), where it was used for a time as the Travel Town office, complete with this nicely manicured garden, circa 1955.
Donald Duke Photo, Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society Collection