View source for S (Los Angeles Railway)

{{use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
|name        = S
|logo        = Logo Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.svg
|color       = 597d73
|image       =  
|type        = [[Streetcar]]
|system      = [[Los Angeles Railway]], [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority]]
|locale      = Los Angeles
|start       = [[Western Avenue (Los Angeles)|Western Avenue]] and [[Santa Monica Boulevard]]
|end         = [[Central Avenue (Los Angeles)|Central Avenue]] and [[Firestone Boulevard]]
|stations    = 67
|routes      = 
|daily_ridership = 21,230 (1940)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breivogel |first1=Milton |last2=Bate |first2=Stuart |title=Mass Transit Facilities and Master Plan of Parkways |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/trafficplans/1942_mass_transit_facilities_master_plan_parkways.pdf |access-date=29 January 2021 |agency=Los Angeles City Planning Commission |date=1942}}</ref>
|open        = 1895
|close       = {{end date|1963|3|31}}
|owner       = [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority]]
|operator    = 
|character   = 
|stock       = [[PCC streetcar]]s
|linelength_mi  = 12.41
|tracklength = 
|tracks = 
|gauge       = {{RailGauge|3ft6in|lk=on}}
|electrification = {{600 V DC|conductor=overhead}}
|speed       = 
|elevation   = 
|map         = {{LARY S}}
}}
'''S''' was a [[streetcar]] line in [[Los Angeles, California]]. It was operated by the [[Los Angeles Railway]] from 1895 to 1958, and by the [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority]] from 1958 to 1963. The route was very popular due to its proximity to Hollywood as well as the sizable manufacturing district in South Los Angeles.

==History==
===San Pedro Line (1895–1911)===
The original San Pedro line began at an uncertain point in [[Downtown Los Angeles]] and reached the South Side of the city by way of Fourth Street, [[San Pedro Street]], Park Avenue (present-day Avalon Boulevard), Gage Avenue, and [[Central Avenue (Los Angeles)|South Central Avenue]] to 68th Street.<ref name=erha />

===S Line (1911–1963)===
Following the Great Merger of 1911, the tracks on Fourth Street were removed, and the San Pedro line now ran from San Pedro Street to Seventh Street from Downtown to the outskirts of [[Westlake, Los Angeles|Westlake]]. Here, the route took advantage of an old LAIU track on Hoover, [[Wilshire Boulevard|Wilshire]], and Commonwealth to continue northwest via Sixth Street, [[Vermont Avenue]], [[3rd Street (Los Angeles)|Third Street]], and [[Western Avenue (Los Angeles)|Western Avenue]] to [[Santa Monica Boulevard]] on the southern edge of [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. In 1921, the route was given the letter designation "S."<ref>{{cite web |title=May 1: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History |url=https://metroprimaryresources.info/this-date-in-los-angeles-transportation-history/may/may-1/ |website=Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=16 February 2022 |quote=1921:  Large letter signs indicating the routes of different lines are placed on top of Los Angeles Railway streetcars.}}</ref><ref>{{cite newsletter |title=Cars To Have Letter Signs |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/employeenews/Two_Bells_1921_May02.pdf |access-date=16 February 2022 |newspaper=Two Bells |publisher=Los Angeles Railway |date=May 2, 1921 |page=1  |volume=1 |number=48}}</ref>

During the LARy and LATL eras, further route changes were made. The LAIU shortcut to Sixth Street was eliminated and the route ran straight on 7th between San Pedro and Vermont, while the route's southern terminus was extended {{convert|1.25|mi}} further south to the intersection of Avalon and [[Firestone Boulevard]].<ref name=1938map>{{cite map |url=https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/50176/route-map-los-angeles-railway-electric-car-and-bus-routes-los-angeles-railway-corp |title=Route Map Los Angeles Railway Electric Car and Bus Routes |date=1938 |author=H.P. Noordwal |publisher=Los Angeles Railway |website=Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc.}} {{cite map |url=https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/xlarge/50176.jpg |title=Alternate link |website=via [[Google]]}}</ref> When the [[N (Los Angeles Railway)|N]] line was decommissioned in 1950, S was re-routed to fill in its route along 8th street.<ref name=erha>{{cite web| url=http://erha.org/lary_s.htm| website=Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California| title=‘S’|accessdate=19 September 2020}}</ref>

Operation of the line passed to the [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority]] in 1958. Streetcar service ended on March 31, 1963,<ref>{{cite web |title=March 31: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History |url=https://metroprimaryresources.info/this-date-in-los-angeles-transportation-history/march/march-31/ |website=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive |publisher=Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority |access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> by which time the southern terminus had become Central and Manchester Avenue.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Jim |title=Los Angeles Railway Yellow Cars |date=2007 |publisher=Arcadia Pub |isbn=9781531629410 |page=107}}</ref>

==Rolling stock==
After 1955, [[PCC streetcar]]s replaced the old rolling stock on the line.<ref>{{cite web |title=No.1080 Los Angeles Transit Lines |url=https://www.streetcar.org/streetcars/1080-1080-los-angeles-transit-lines/ |publisher=[[Market Street Railway (nonprofit)|Market Street Railway]] |access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref>

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.pacificelectric.org/category/los-angeles-railway/s-line/ S Line Archives] — Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society
* {{cite web| url=http://erha.org/lary.htm| website=Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California| title=Los Angeles Railway}}

{{Los Angeles Railway}}

[[Category:Los Angeles Railway routes]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1895]]
[[Category:Railway lines closed in 1963]]
[[Category:1895 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1963 disestablishments in California]]


{{US-rail-transport-stub}}
{{California-transport-stub}}