Pacific Electric

Pacific Electric blimp no. 410 rolls through 84th and Nadeu in May 1953. Jack Finn Collection

Pacific Electric’s Toluca Yard looking northward from almost above the Subway Terminal tunnel portal. The Beverly Blvd. and 1st Street viaduct is visible in the background. Jack Finn Collection

By November 1927, this old wooden relic trolley dating from 1897 has outlived its usefulness and is being burned at the Pacific Electric Torrance shops. Stripped of motors, mechanisms, glass, [...]

The inscription on the back of this photographic original reads: Pacific Electric Railway, World’s Greatest Electric Transportation System. 1,000 miles of Trolley Trail to all points of [...]

This group of 180 boys from the Pasadena YMCA will shortly be on their way to the 1924 opening of the movie Iron Horse at the Grauman Hollywood Egyptian Theatre, made possible by this lineup of [...]

Pacific Electric blimp no. 312 pauses Lynwood Station at the Long Beach Blvd. crossing. Further research has concluded that this scene is now occupied by the 105 Freeway. Jack Finn Collection

Pacific Electric’s weed burner no. 1840 was the first version to serve the PE. Its pilot burned weeds as the car was pushed forward – too well, because a water car had to follow to [...]

Pacific Electric ran special trains for its shop crews from the 6th and Main passenger terminal in downtown Los Angeles direct to the Torrance Shops. This special, led by blimp no. 300, rolls [...]

Pacific Electric wooden steeple cab no. 1552 was built by the Los Angeles Pacific Railway and came to the PE in the 1912 Great Merger. It survived into the 1930s as a switcher at the Torrance [...]

Pacific Electric no. 608 was rebuilt with an experimental paint scheme and interior design in 1939 at the Torrance Shops. This image captures the stylish interior design. Donald Duke Collection