April 9, 1961: Morgan Yard

This scene from April 9, 1961 is next to Morgan Yard in Long Beach after the special train from Los Angeles had arrived. This was not only the last passenger train to Long Beach, but the last passenger run on what was once the vast Pacific Electric system.

In a prior post on this PERYHS site, Ralph Cantos noted that he, too, was “on the very last run [and] as we pulled into Long Beach at dawn, the track was lined with red flares in the dawn mist.” This view shows the scene he was describing. Another photographer was taking the same picture and can be seen ahead of the camera.

After the special passed the Watts car house, the remaining tower car pulled onto the line and closely followed it to Long Beach. Its work had come to a close, too, and after its arrival a significant amount of railroad equipment suddenly became obsolete.

After almost 59 years of operation, it is perhaps fitting that Henry Huntington’s first high speed interurban line was also the last to survive.

Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection

April 9, 1961: Main Street Station

The number of people at Main Street Station in Los Angeles continued to grow in the early morning hours of April 9, 1961.

A scheduled train to Long Beach (single car barely visible on the left) was set to leave at 2:16am. A special train awaited on the track to the right for what would be a “last run” departure. This picture was taken prior to the last inbound trip from Long Beach due in at 2:55am.

According to the May 1961 MTA Emblem (the employee magazine), numerous MTA employees were on board the inbound two-car train completing a final round trip ride from Los Angeles. The Emblem noted that last inbound train then departed at 3:45am. on what normally would have been the first run to Long Beach on the Sunday schedule.

Shortly thereafter the special last train got underway to the same destination. Also according to the Emblem, the next scheduled departure to Long Beach was at 5am — by a new Dreamliner bus that had arrived 15 minutes earlier on the first run north from Long Beach.

Without missing a beat, the rail service vanished.

Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection

April 8, 1961: Sunset at Fairbanks Yard

On April 8, 1961, the sun was setting not only over Fairbanks Yard, but for the last time on the Long Beach line. A few rail cars still on the line were completing the remaining scheduled runs, however these cars are dark as their useful lives had come to an end. The reflection on the
roofs of multiple new buses can be seen parked beside the shop — buses ready to start the replacement service the following morning.

Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection

A Trip to the Mount Lowe Ruins, June 8, 1958

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Stephen Dudley and his late father, Paul Dudley, decided to make a hike of the old Mount Lowe right-of-way and photograph their June 8, 1958, journey. These images are from that trip, and we gratefully thank Steve for sharing them with our readers.

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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

April 7, 1961: Los Cerritos

By Stephen Dudley

It’s later afternoon on April 7, 1961, as one of the last Limited trains to Long Beach rolls to a stop at Los Cerritos.   This stop was well-patronized during the morning and evening rush hour as many who lived in the adjacent neighborhood worked in downtown Los Angeles.    The stop not only had a covered shelter by the southbound track, but on the other side were elaborate cement steps leading up to a driveway for cars to access the car stop. Dozens of cars would be there at express train times.   Beyond was a city park.   Until the end, Los Cerritos was always one of the more pleasant stops on the system.
Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection

April 6, 1961: Just Before Abandonment

By Stephen Dudley

This picture taken April 6, 1961 at the Main Street Station.  The day was the Thursday before abandonment.  In preparation for the run to Long Beach, the motorman had just installed a Limited dash sign and obligingly paused for the photographer.
Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection

Former Hollywood Cars in Portland

In August of 1958, a row of former Pacific Electric Hollywood cars then out of service and looking a little worse for wear awaited their fate in the Portland Traction Co. yard in Portland, Oregon. Next to 4021 is 4009, a Brill Master Unit of 1930 vintage that began life in Yakima, WA, was saved after the Portland abandonment, and ultimately returned to Yakima where it now operates as part of the Yakima Trolleys collection.

Stephen Dudley Photo and Collection