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Pacific Electric in Color Vol 1 by P Allen Copeland Morning Sun Books
Pacific Electric in Color Vol 1 by P Allen Copeland
Hard Cover w/Dust jacket Reflections from the lights on some photos.
128 pages
Copyright 1997
CONTENTS
Pacific Electric Rail Lines, Interurban Rail Lines, Los Angeles Local Rail Lines
Pacific Electric Map
The Pacific Electric 100s
The Pacific Electric 600s
The Pacific Electric 5050s
The PCC Cars 5000 Series
The 950s Pacific Electric
The Tens Pacific Electric
The Elevens Pacific Electric
The Twelves Pacific Electric
The Combos Pacific Electric
The NWP Blimps Hot Rods & Former Trailers
Pacific Electric Southern Pacific Blimps
Pacific Electric Blimp Combos
Pacific Electric The Box Motors
Pacific Electric Other Locomotives
Pacific Electric Non Revenue Cars
Other Los Angeles Electric Railways
FORWARD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have been fascinated with the Pacific Electric since first sighting the Newport Line in 1945 while on a trip from San Diego to visit a cousin in Long Beach. The "Big Red Cars" were so much more impressive than the San Diego streetcars I was used to, and the electric locomotives, box motors and enormous array of services led to a lasting fascination with this company. Since that time I have endeavored to study, understand and savor this large commercial enterprise, which was not only a major commercial operation but also a motivating force in the development of Los Angeles, Orange and the Eastern portions of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties in Southern California.
Much has been written and published on the Pacific Electric Railway. Indeed, a bibliography of the railway is quite possibly the largest of any electric railroad. A majority of this material was published due to the efforts of the late Ira Swett, who wrote and published prodigious amounts of historical and interesting material on the P.E. His enthusiasm for the history of Los Angeles and the railway was contagious, and affected many others who have contributed to our knowledge of the railway. Even with all this material, many subjects and aspects of the railway remain to be explored. Since the death of Mr. Swett in 1975, publications on the P.E. have fallen off, and the last was published in 1991. Aside from short articles published by the Orange Empire Railway Museum and the Electric Railway Historical Society of Southern California, little has been written in recent years on the P.E. at a time when it is important to understand transportation in the recent past while new links are proposed, restudied, financed and constructed. Following in the footsteps of Ira Swett, Donald Duke, Charles Seims, Eli Bail, Jeff Moreau, Mac Sebree, Jim Walker, Ray Long, Ray Younghans and others in documenting the P.E. is a daunting task, but I hope that this effort will be as interesting and inspirational to others as those people have been to me.
This is not a history or thorough review of the Pacific Electric. This is a color pictorial of the P.E. empire in the late years of its existence. While much of the rail system remained intact in the years following World War Two, color film was not extensively used by railfan photographers until later availability and price declines made the medium a popular one to preserve the images of familiar subjects. In the last years of P.E. operations, a few pioneering and far sighted individuals sought to record images of the system before the familiar and commonplace disappeared.
I have attempted to select as many representative views as possible. However, not all locations or subjects seem to have been photographed and/or made available to the writer.
Especially needed are shots of the Class 1500 suburban locomotives, non-powered freight and maintenance of way equipment and motor coaches. Hopefully, additional photographic material will be forthcoming to augment the slides that are being assembled for future volumes on the "World's Greatest Interurban System".
Special mention must be made of the encouragement, broad scope of knowledge, engineering discipline and considerable material assistance that has been provided to the writer by Ken Douglas. Jim Buckley, through his friendship provided me with the model and inspiration to write about traction subjects. Joe Strapac, one of the most prolific and knowledgeable writers/publishers on the Southern Pacific and its motive power, was a catalyst in prodding me to "do something on the P.E." Thanks fellows. I would also like to mention those who have been of particular inspirational or material assistance on this project: Eli Bail, Ray Ballash, Kurt Brokhausen, Jim Buckley, Herb Cearly, Ken Douglas, Donald Duke, Pat Ellyson, Dave Garcia, Jim Gibson, Sanford Goodrick, Emery Gulash, Jim Harrison, William C. Janssen, John Kirchner, Fred Matthews, Edward S. Miller, Wally Shidler, Dick Stephenson, Henry Stange, Joe Strapac, Jim Walker, Ray Younghans, and, of course, Morning Sun Books publisher Bob Yanosey.
There are also many others who have helped me in innumerable ways, but unfortunately it is impossible to list them all, and to them I apologize. To all of you I offer my must sincere appreciation and gratitude. I would also like to acknowledge the preservation efforts of the founders and members of the Orange Empire Railway Museum, at Perris, Calif. Through their time, treasure and physical efforts they have managed to preserve for the future not only rolling stock of the Pacific Electric, but also the physical aspects and feeling of a real electric railway.
P. Allen Copeland May 28, 1997
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