Trolley Tuesday 2/9/21 - Pacific Electric Steel Interurbans

The age of the steel interurban car started in the 1910s, when heavy-rail passenger car construction was first implemented in streetcar and interurban designs. Without the need for truss bars or thick wooden beams for frames, carbuilders all over the United States could now design cars with higher capacity, lighter axle weights, and faster track speeds. Pacific Electric's own steel car fleet (which comprised of four original and hand-me-down car classes) came rather late in the game, following what was the worst non-strike disaster in the system's history, but the Twelves proved their worth by being go-anywhere, do-anything cars that could take over the work of the wooden Tens for better or for worse. On Today's Trolley Tuesday, let's climb aboard the Catalina Special as we take a ride on the Pacific Electric's mighty "Twelves".

Born from Tragedy

An artistic rendering by artist Herbert Hahn of what would have been the wooden
1200-class cars, as ordered by Pacific Electric in 1913.
(Ira L. Swett)

PE's last wooden interurbans: "Ten" 1052 rests with 950-class
No. 976 at Ocean Park Carhouse, year unknown.
(Jack Finn, PERYHS)

Following the Great Merger of 1911, Pacific Electric's new management was already hard at work designing a fleet of wood interurban cars to replace the aging 200-series, the inconsistent 400-series, and the insufficient 800-900-series cars. Two designs were eventually presented to PE's top brass in 1912 for immediate implementation: one was a 55-foot "Standard Interurban Car" that eventually became the PE's 1000-series, or "Tens". The other was for the same length of car but designed for a much longer distance, featuring an all-enclosed passenger section (instead of an open smoking section) and a toilet at either end to handle the 60 miles from Downtown Los Angeles to San Bernardino. This class of cars was designated the 1200-series, or "Twelves", and St. Louis Car Company (who was contracted to build the Tens) was in line to begin immediate construction of these cars as well. Sadly, tragedy struck before these cars could even leave the schematics.

PE Vineyard Junction with the LARy Rimpau Loop in 1938, looking North.
All the cars featured are wooden 1000, 800s, and 950s which ended their
working lives in the Western Division.
(Ralph Cantos, PERYHS)

A 1915 Publicity shot of the new Twelves, showing off
their state-of-the-art construction and curved-equilizers
on their trucks.
(Ira L. Swett)

The 1913 Vineyard Junction Wreck brought about many changes to Pacific Electric in the ten days of investigation that followed. The deaths of sixteen people were attributed to the "telescoping" effect that occurred between the two classes of wooden cars (500-series "Fives" and the 800-series "Eights", got that?) where one train buried itself into another, crumpling like an accordion's bellows. Because of this, PE management was quick to impose all new cars to be made of steel for safety's sake, and the Twelves were quickly redesigned to accommodate this. Gone was the antiquated five-window design of the Huntington Standards, replaced with a solid-steel front that provided the motorman ample protection from the elements. The new steel Twelves would also feature a reinforced steel bumper to avoid the cars riding on top of one another and crunching each other, and new Westinghouse H-2-A automatic air-electric couplers that eliminated the need to connect hoses between cars and any coupler slack. They were truly the most state-of-the-art cars on the PE system.

1200 Volts on the Tracks

PE 1214 in normal operation at 9th and San Pedro Street,
showing off the Eclipse Safety Fender on its front. Crews
at either end of the line would have to lug the heavy mechanism
to the other end of the car all the time.
(Jack Finn, PERYHS)

The first twenty-two of these cars arrived in 1915, built by the Pressed Steel Car Company of Pittsburgh, PA, and were immediately sent to work on the San Bernardino line to replace the Tens. Like its predecessors, the Twelves were outfitted for 600V and 1200V DC operation and provided swift "Red Car" service between Downtown LA and all over the Northern Division. Initially, the cars were outfitted with Eclipse Safety Fenders, per Los Angeles City Ordinances that decreed any streetcar or interurban car running within the city limits must have "people catchers" attached at either ends of the train; motormen, conductors, and shop crews alike all hated working with these things, as it sometimes hampered train assembly as well as maintenance. The exteriors of the cars were painted in a deep maroon red, dubbed "Shoshone Red" or "Electric Lines Red 1" with tan roofs and green trucks, while the insides were maroon-mohair "walk-over" seats with mahogany body sashes.

A six-car special train of San Berdoos heads
west on Rialto Blvd. on October 24, 1942. 
(Alan Weeks, PERYHS

In operation, the cars rode louder than their wooden predecessors, due to a lack of natural sound dampening, but their heavier construction also meant they were more stable at speed. This allowed them to run at some of the fastest speeds permitted on the San Bernardino Line, often hitting and staying at 60 miles per hour (the fastest cars in the whole fleet). Their seating capacity of 60 people also made them indispensable for commuter work, as they helped built out all of the suburban spaces of northeastern Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. In order to accommodate baggage and express-car services, two combine-baggages (1370 and 1371) joined the fleet around the same time. More improvements soon joined this initial class of Twelves (nicknamed the "San Berdoos"), as they received rebuilt trucks, smoking sections, and removed toilets to provide an additional four seats of passenger capacity. You'd just have to hold it in, I guess.

The snazzy zebra-pattern interior of the rebuilt "Butterfly" Twelves, with
the smoking section to the left of the picture.
(Ira L. Swett)

"Butterfly" Twelve No. 1216 works on the Santa Ana
Line beat in the 1940s, outbound from Los Angeles along
San Pedro Street.
(Public Domain)

The Twelves worked in largely the same fashion, being numerous enough to provide steady rush-hour service between Pasadena and San Bernardino while also being fast enough to keep to the long-distance schedules required by the service. Many even stayed behind on the Northern Division as local cars, as they could work on the local 600V lines as well as the 1200V main. In 1939, the Pacific Electric undertook efforts to modernize the San Berdoo Twelves by rebuilding cars 1216-1221 into what were known as the "Butterfly Twelves". Clad in an eye-catching red and orange-winged livery inspired by parent SP's Coast Daylight service, the new cars sported a new tubular frame, new head- and marker-lights, and still retained their lavatories unlike their other un-rebuilt counterparts. However, their own careers as rebuilds were short-lived, as following the heavy traffic of World War II, the cars found themselves out of work following the closure of the San Bernardino Line in 1952. 

The damage incurred by Blimp No. 4501 (left) and Twelve No. 1216, with
the latter coming off much better than its unfortunate victim.
(Ira L. Swett)

If streetcars had a hell, this is what it would look like.
After a methodical stripping and burning of their wooden
parts, three Twelves are scrapped at Kaiser Steel Fontana in 1951.
(Ira L. Swett)

The San Berdoos' accident record was of particular note, as only two were involved in serious accidents. In 1943, "Butterfly Twelve" No. 1216 hit Blimp No. 4501 from behind at 35 miles an hour near Watts Station, without serious damage to either car. However, while the Blimp got its rear crushed in due to its very thin walls and airy construction, 1216's purposefully overbuilt chassis helped the car (and its motorman) survive an otherwise serious collision. While 4501 was later removed from service due to chassis issues, 1216 went right back to work in little time. The other serious incident occurred on August 24, 1944, when No. 1206 struck a large milk truck on the Santa Ana Line. Ordinarily, despite surviving the impact, 1206 found itself in the unfortunate position of needing heavy repairs during wartime. It was the only car to be scrapped prematurely, with its mechanicals going to former "Long Beach Twelve" trailer No. 1242. The rest of the fleet ended up meeting their deaths at Kaiser Steel's Fontana Plant, being methodically burned and cut into scrap metal on May 1, 1951. 

Call for Long Beach

A six-car train of Long Beach and San Berdoo Twelves, led by "Long Beach Twelve" No. 1230 streak
past the camera on the four-track Long Beach Line to Wilmington with a Catalina Special.
(Jack Finn, PERYHS)

The second batch of "Twelves" built (Nos. 1222-1241) arrived from the Pullman Car Company in 1921 to bolster the busy Long Beach Line. They were similar in design to the San Berdoo Twelves, but their performance was much different. The Long Beach Twelves were 4 miles an hour slower than the San Berdoos (56MPH compared to 60MPH) but they could accelerate much faster. They also lacked toilets, due to falling under the California State Railroad Commission's (CSRC) rule of requiring toilets for any railroad schedules exceeding one hour. Their haunts were never too different, hanging around the Long Beach and San Pedro Lines, but their biggest draw was the Catalina Specials to Wilmington and San Pedro Ferry Docks. It wasn't uncommon to see six of them lashed together, speeding down the Four Tracks at full parallel (that's Run-8 for all you heavy-railers) filled with holidaymakers meeting their steamships. 

The crash scene at Cypress, California, on November 29, 1946. PE 1235 is
at right, while PE 1231 is at left.
(Ira L. Swett)

Car No. 1235 after the fog lifted on the morning of 
November 29, 1946. Her trucks later went to motorizing
two Portland Twelves.
(Ralph Cantos, PERYHS)

The cars were also able to demonstrate the raw strength of their frames when two cars struck each other at Cypress (a suburban area of LA County just east of Hawaiian Gardens) on November 29, 1946. Cars 1231 and 1235 were both traversing the Santa Ana Line in a dense fog and hit each other at track speed. Despite the impact causing undue injuries onto 37 people, including the motorman, both cars were able to stay on the rails and their frames were not bent. Regrettably, they had to be dismantled following this serious incident and, due to the Blimps coming in to replace their work, they were stripped of usable components and scrapped. The rest of the Long Beach Twelves joined their San Berdoo counterparts in 1951 at Kaiser Steel, Fontana, to meet their maker.

Portland Hipsters

The "Red Electrics" at work in Portland, Oregon's Union Station.
(Oregon Encyclopedia)

PE No. 1259 after rehabilitation at Torrance Shops, now
a proud Pacific Electric car.
(Ira L. Swett)

The final batch of "Twelves" bought by the Pacific Electric were actually used models from another Southern Pacific interurban enterprise. Nos. 1252-1263 were originally built for the Oregon & California Railway, better known as the SP Red Electrics, and their corporate history is covered here. The cars themselves (four passenger motors, eight trailers, and five combinations) were built by the Pullman Company in 1912. Compared to the San Berdoos, they were much slower, but also lighter due to lacking the same overbuilt frame construction. In 1929, the "Red Electrics" closed its last interurban line to bus service and the "Portland Twelves" were brought over to Pacific Electric to prop up their own fleet of Twelves. The cars received many common parts from other interurbans, including pneumatic trolley poles, anti climbers, etc, but what set them apart from the other Twelves was their use of porthole windows over the larger glass windows. Unlike the Blimps, the reason for this is unknown.

The very plain and comfy interior of the Portland Twelves, this one being 1252.
(Ira L. Swett)

Skidded PE Car No. 1260 waits for help while a train of
Tens (including 1001) pass it by inbound to Main Street Terminal.
Note the skidmarks as well from where the flanges hit asphalt.
(Steve Crise, PERYHS)

Impressively, the cars of the former SP Red Electrics were also built to a higher luxury standard than the other Twelves, featuring stained-glass green windows and leather-vinyl change-over seats. Because of their attractive glass, the cars were often used in special "Parlor Car" service on the Long Beach Line's Catalina Specials. However, don't let their good looks fool you: the Portland Twelves were also much weaker than their cousins as 1258 demonstrated in 1947 when it hit another Twelve, suffering a career-ending crush to its front. Car No. 1260 seemed to be the most infamous car out of the Portland Fleet, as on November 28, 1943, the car was descending the ramp at 6th and Main Terminal to San Pedro Street when it lost its brakes. Unable to stop before the sharp curve onto San Pedro Street, the car was violently thrown off the tracks and skidded into the curb across the street, with its body ending up in a tilted position. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and 1260 was allowed to return to work, but this hasn't stopped people thinking the car was subject to mob violence and turned over on purpose. Wikipedia can be wrong, too, people.

The Commodore II

Pacific Electric No. 1299, the "Commodore II", is spotted in Upland running a
1951 charter service to San Bernardino. The two oval windows hide the lavatory and kitchen.
(Robert T. McVay, PERYHS)

PE No. 1299 on an inspection tour of the recently-purchased
Covina Branch on August 24, 1946. PE later leased this line
from SP just nine days later for electric service.
(William and Charles Wherry, PERYHS)

One special car that was pulled from the Portland Twelve fleet was Trailer No. 477, which went underused due to the SP Red Electrics desiring motors over trailers. Under the command of the PE management, Trailer 477 was rebuilt at Torrance Shops in 1929 into the last word of the Twelves: the 1299. Much like its predecessor, the Commodore I, the new Commodore II would entertain top brass and prominent visitors alike and was rebuilt with larger front windows and two parlor compartments with large curved-back armchairs, as well as featuring a kitchen and a toilet aboard. Unlike the Commodore I, 1299 could still couple up and operate with her other kin, limiting her top speed to just 47 miles an hour, but she could even wander off the wire on special SP inspection tours behind steam power, as she did in 1946 when the SP sent officials to tour its new Covina Branch. 1299 also ran charter services all over the system, having been sighted in Pasadena and Upland as well as south to Newport Beach until 1958. Due to her unique nature, she was saved by two keen railfans from meeting the Fontana Grim Reaper.

Less Than Carload, More Than Needed

PE No. 1449, one of two original express motors to work on the PE,
originally the SP Red Electrics.
(Ira L. Swett)

No violated warranties here, no sir. PE No. 1461 is seen
in the mid-1950s, hauling a racetrack special out to Santa Anita Park.
(Ira L. Swett)

Under Southern Pacific's management, PE placed more emphasis on its freight operations in conjunction with its passenger operations; after all, passengers made for great advertising but freight retained its value longer. Hence, in 1927, PE trialed "box motor" service on their lines using two ex-Oregon "express cars" (basically motorized baggage cars), nos. 750 and 751. The cars proved so satisfactory in providing local bulk delivery service (Less-Than-Carload) without necessitating the use of freight cars that, in 1929, PE bought more Oregon express cars and renumbered them 1445 and 1449. In 1937, with rising freight usage, PE dipped into their stash of Portland Twelve trailers and built another eight cars, Nos. 1457-1466. (1451-1456 were wooden express cars.) All cars used four GE 222-D motors (each rated at 125hp) and their exceptionally low gearing meant that the cars could haul anything from boxcars to heavyweight horse cars. Nos. 1459-1464 were also unique, in that unlike their earlier trailer sisters, these cars kept their attractive stained-green sash windows. When the end of all LCL service came in 1952, all but one car was scrapped at Fontana.

The Eleventh Hour

Pacific Electric Elevens on an abnormal beat on the Santa Monica Air Line.
Their double doors, distinguishing them from Twelves, are clearly seen.
(Charles Savage, LARHF)

PE No. 1108 runs the Oak Knoll service in Pasadena,
turning off Colorado Blvd.
(Jack Finn, PERYHS)

Often overlooked and ever in the shadow of their more notable steel interurban counterparts, the PE 1100 Class (or "Elevens") were the last interurban cars ordered new from the Standard Steel Company in 1924. The cars were a compromise between PE and SP management, with PE desiring a larger version of their 600-class center entrance suburbans (the "Hollywood Cars") while SP management preferred something based on the Oakland-Alameda-Berkeley Blimps (later the PE 400s). In summary, the 1100s were glorified suburban cars with interurban aspirations, featuring double doors to facilitate faster boarding but slower speeds compared to the Twelves. Their use of a Westinghouse H2A air-electric coupler also meant they could couple to the Twelves, but could not operate with them. Their usual haunt was along the PE Pasadena Lines, running closing services out to Mount Lowe as well as providing power to the Santa Anita Racetrack Specials. 

PE No. 1100 after its "Rehabilitation", featuring the stylish "Butterfly" livery.
(Jack Finn, PERYHS)

The oddest place for a car this size: PE No. 1111 is
seen on the Glendale-Burbank Line along Riverside
Drive in the late 1940s.
(Don Ross)

In 1942, the cars were subjected to a "rehabilitation" that netted them new seats from scrapped 950s and modernised 750-class cars (the "Valley Sevens") and they even strayed off the Pasadena Lines to run with the Long Beach Twelves on the Catalina Specials. Perhaps disquietingly, their last days were spent in abject terror as four suffered serious incidents in 1950. One (1119) was set on fire after a worn overhead wire fell on top of it in June, another (1120) hit a Union Pacific Bus at Huntington Drive and Garfield in May, and two (1110 and 1130) side-swiped each other at Colorado and Fair Oaks in July. They made their last run in 1951, running "Out of Service" from West Hollywood to Torrance to be loaded onto steamships bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, they were eventually joined by Key System Bridge Units and familiar faces in PE Hollywood Cars and PCCs as they worked under new management. 

A PE Eleven meets SP No. 1736, running light on
the SP Garey Ave line, at Pomona in the 1930s.
(PERYHS)

Set in Steel

PE No. 1299 at RailGiants Museum in Pomona, 1985.
The locomotive behind it is Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4014.
(EMD on Flickr)

PE No. 1299 in 2008 at the Southern California Railway
Museum, able to be pulled by another trolley car.
(OleKnutLee)

Of the sixty-two Twelves and fifty Elevens built between 1915 and 1924, three Twelves and one Eleven are still extant. PE No. 1258, a "Portland Twelve", is currently used as a building housing "Lomita Lock and Key" on 2234 Lomita Ave. in Lomita, CA. The Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, CA, owns two of them: PE 1299, aka the "Commodore II", and ex-SP Red Electric No. 1406. After being retired as a business and officials car in 1958, 1299 was purchased by PE railfans Walter Abbenseth (who was detailed last week) and Norman Newcomb and placed on display at the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California. Abbenseth spent plenty of time with his car when he wasn't at the SCRM playing with his pride and joy, the PE 1001, and following Newcomb's passing in 1998, the car was moved to the SCRM where it operated for a time as a trailer car. Today, it can be seen on display in the back of Carhouse 4, with special volunteer-led tours allowing visitors to see inside the car and recreate was it was like to ride in plush, Commodore Style.

PE No. 1406 works a US Mail service outbound from
San Bernardino in September 1945.
(Bill Volkmer, Don Ross)

The other extant "Twelve" is "Portland Twelve" No. 1406. Originally built in 1915 by the Pullman Car Company as "Electric Motor Express Car" No. 1452 for the SP Red Electrics, it was subject to many numbers over its career as well as what Ira Swett called, "some soul searching by PE officials". When purchased by PE in 1929, the company brass had no idea what to do with the baggage-mail car (by then, SP No. 772) and dithered on its construction from 1929 to 1930. After finally deciding to go ahead with converting it into an express car, 1450 worked until 1950 with only one number change (1406), replacing the former wooden express car. In 1950, it was once again rebuilt into Wrecker Car No. 008 and assigned as the Watts Carhouse "wrecker" (essentially a switcher for redundant trolleys). When its trucks were purchased by the SCRM for application to Car no. 1000, the body came along with it and had its windows reinstalled for eventual restoration into a Portland Twelve. This has since not happened, and the body itself sits on a flatcar outside Carhouse No. 7, visible to visitors if one looks far enough.

Pacific Electric No. 1406 as photographed on December 22, 2013.
At some point, the car was rebuilt with windows re-added on.
(Myself)

PE No. 1102, now FCGU No. 1102, after rebuilding
in Buenas Aires, featuring streamlined skirting and a
through-vestibule door.
(Portal de Trenes)

The third and final survivor came from an unimaginable fate. When sold to the Ferrocarriles General Urquiza (FCGU)of Buenos Aires, Argentina, ex-PE Car No. 1100 was drastically rebuilt with new center vestibule doors and side skirting in an effort to keep the now-30-year-old interurban cars still mechanically viable. The class worked in their new home from the 1951 into 1974, when the Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado Argentino (EFEA, FCGU's descendent) retired the fleet. Joining the likes of three Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecabs (including the infamous PE 1593) and ex-Hollywood Car No. 758, ex-PE 1100 was either purchased or donated to the Ferroclub Argentino of Strobel, Argentina and, as of 1997, was in barren shape. Due to the limited information available to me, the current whereabouts and condition of this car is unknown, but any Argentinian readers are welcome to correct me.

Ex-Pacific Electric, ex-FCGU No. 1100 (possibly) at the Ferroclub Argentino in Strobel, Argentina.
(Henry Posner, Don Ross)

Thank you for reading today's Trolley post, and watch your step as you alight on the platform. My resources  today included "Interurban Special No. 36 - Interurban and Deluxe Cars" and "Interurban Special No. 37 - Combos, Locomotives, & Non-Revenue Cars" by Ira L. Swett, the archives of the Southern California Railway Museum of Perris, CA, RailGiants Museum of Pomona, CA, and the archives of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society. The trolley gifs in our posts are made by myself and Atticus van Astikatus. On Tuesday, For now, you can follow myself or my editor on Twitter, buy a shirt or sticker from our Redbubble stand, or purchase my editor's self-developed board game! It's like Ticket to Ride, but cooler! (and you get to support him through it!) Until next time, ride safe!