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".

Trolley Thursday 2/4/21 - Pacific Electric Wooden Interurbans

Before steel became reliable and pliable enough to work into railroad car form, almost every interurban, rapid transit, and streetcar system in America depended on solid wood passenger cars. The idea behind them was simple: wood made for great sound insulation and was strong enough to withstand nearly every element exposed to it, so why not build them of wood? Between 1902 and 1913, Pacific Electric (PE) depended on its lumbering thoroughbreds comprising the Los Angeles Pacific (LAP) 950 Class and the mighty fleet of Jewett Car Company 1000-Class cars, commonly nicknamed the "Tens". On today's Trolley Thursday, let's peel back the wooden surface and appreciate these artfully-crafted cars.