Wilmington Historical Society Digital Library

Railroads and Red Car/Trolley Transit of Wilmington

Title

Description

From the 1900's to the 1960's, the Pacific Electric Railway (P.E), also known as the Red Cars, was a mass transit system that included a line that ran through Wilmington, California. The first Red Car line opened in 1902 along Long Beach Avenue and Willowbrook Avenue, which is the alignment of today's Metro Blue Line. The Red Cars were the world's largest electric railway system in the 1920s, but were dismantled and discarded in the 1950's in favor of busses.

Creator

Wilmington Historical Society

Date

1900-1960

Contributor

Wilmington Historical Society

Rights

The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law beyond fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Identifier

WSF_03-05 and WSF_03-06

Railroad Photography
Red Car / Trolley Transit

Collection Items

Railroad Transport

Scores of boxcars and rail tankers await loading at a railyard in Wilmington

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Photocopy of the harbor at the end of Canal St. showing a railroad with a train sending smoke into the air

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Beltline railroad Canal St. to McFarland Sept 1914

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Watts Tower railroad transport - Marked as Train 141

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Long Beach-Wilmington Line at SPRR Crossing. West of Alameda looking West, taken on 5/24/43. These were the P.E tracks to the CAL shipyard for World War 2

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Long Beach-Wilmington Line at SPRR Crossing. West of Alameda looking East, taken on 5/24/43. These were the P.E tracks to the CAL shipyard for World War 2

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

Undated black and white photo of a railroad with cars parked beside and the harbor in the background. There is no further information on this photo; if you have any info please contact the Wilmington Historical Society

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

A very old and damaged photo of a group of men posing in front of the "Boston and Maine" Train engine 635 - quick research shows the railroad is from the 1890's, but this particular one was based i the Northeast. No further information was given on this photograph

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Railroad Transport

In 1949, a black and white photo shows a collision between a railcar "Southern Lines Pacific" and a truck carrying supplies. Men gather around the damage and a sign for a cafe in the background advertises " The Foc'sle Cafe - Food and Entertainment"

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Red Car Trolley Transport

Berth 152-154 of the Red Car/Trolley Transport in Wilmington, CA. It was a privately owned mass-transit system in SoCal and was also known as Pacific Electric Railway Company. The transit system was used from the 1920's until it was later replaced by the bus system in the 1960's

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Red Car Trolley Transport

People wait outside the Pacific Electric Ticket Office for a Red Car/Trolley. It was a privately owned mass-transit system in SoCal and was also known as Pacific Electric Railway Company. The transit system was used from the 1920's until it was later replaced by the bus system in the 1960's

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Red Car Trolley Transport

Red cars and trolley graveyard in 1961 of P.E Trains. This black and white photo was taken on Terminal Island in Wilmington,

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Red Car Trolley Transport

Red cars and trolleys being taken to the graveyard in Terminal Island in the 1950's. In the 1960's the transit system of Red Cars were mostly replaced by busses

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography
Red Car Trolley Transport

Undated photo of a working Red Car/Trolley as part of the privately owned mass transit system in SoCal called the Pacific Electric Railway Company. This was a popular mode of transportation from 1920-1960

Tags Wilmington_CA_photography, Wilmington_history, Wilmington_transportation_photography