W (Los Angeles Railway)

W
Overview
Type Light rail
System Los Angeles Railway
Locale Los Angeles
Termini Piedmont and Pasadena (1895-1911)
Eagle Rock Park (1911-48)
York and Avenue 50 (1922-55)
Broadway and Lincoln Park (1955-56)
22nd and Western (1895-1911)
Washington and Rimpau Boulevards (1911-1956)
Stations 62
Operation
Opening 1895
Closed 1956
Technical
Track gauge Template:RrailGauge/todo
Electrification Overhead lines
Route map

edit

Broadway and Lincoln Park
Broadway and Avenue 20
Broadway and Thomas
Broadway and Eastlake
Broadway and Griffin
Broadway and Avenue 20
Broadway and Daly
Broadway and Avenue 22
Interstate 5
Broadway and Avenue 20
Broadway and Avenue 18
5
Pasadena and Broadway
SP RR
Los Angeles River
ATSF
Solano Canyon
Little Italy
New Chinatown
Broadway and College
Broadway and Alpine
Broadway and Sunset
Broadway and Arcadia
U.S. 101
Broadway and Temple

Broadway and 1stP

Broadway and 2nd9
Broadway and 3rd
Broadway and 4th
Broadway and 5th
Broadway and 6th

Broadway and 7thJ, R, S
Broadway and 8th
Broadway and 9th

Broadway PlaceF, 5

Broadway and 11thP, 9
11th and Hill
11th and Olive

11th and GrandJ
11th and Hope
11th and Flower
Flower and 12th
Flower and PicoP
Flower and Venice
Flower and Washington
Washington and Figueroa
Interstate 110
Washington and Bonsallo
Washington and Oak
Washington and Union
Washington and Hoover
Washington and New England

Washington and VermontV
Washington and Catalina
Washington and Budlong
Washington and Mariposa
Washington and Normandie
Washington and Harvard
Washington and Westmoreland
Washington and Western
Washington and Gramercy
Washington and Cimarron
Washington and Arlington
Washington and 4th Avenue
Washington and 6th Avenue
Washington and 10th Avenue
Washington and Crenshaw
Washington and Wellington
Washington and West
Washington and Vineyard
Washington and Rimpau

W was a line operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1895 to 1956.

History

The Washington Line was one of the first to be built by LARy. Its northern terminus was at the intersection of Piedmont Street and Pasadena Avenue in Garvanza. This segment of the route closely followed the Arroyo Seco, ATSF main line, Los Angeles Terminal Pasadena branch, and Los Angeles and Pasadena Railway, stopping quite close to Highland Park Station. From there, it entered Downtown Los Angeles by way of Piedmont, Avenue 61, Monte Vista Street, Marmion Way, Dayton Avenue, Avenue 20, Main Street, Tenth Street, Flower Street, Washington Boulevard, La Salle Street, and 22nd Street to a terminus at 22nd and Western Avenue.

In 1911, the route was extended along Washington Boulevard to a loop on Rimpau Boulevard. The section of track on 22nd Street and La Salle was kept as a shuttle route until 1921. At the northeast end, an extension was built along Eagle Rock Avenue to Buena Vista Terrace. In 1919, the Tenth Street segment was eliminated and streetcar tracks were built through the Broadway Tunnel, enabling the W line to bypass Main Street entirely, and instead run through Downtown Los Angeles by way of Broadway, 11th Street, and Flower Street. In 1920, it was renamed "W."

Circa 1922, a branch line was built from Pasadena Avenue up York Boulevard to Avenue 50, and was quite popular. In 1948, the Annandale section was abandoned and York Boulevard became the sole northern terminus. In 1955, the entire northeastern segment of the route was abandoned and the W line now ran east via Broadway to Lincoln Park Avenue. The entire route was abandoned a year later in 1956.

Sources

Electric Rail Heritage Association