After 50 years, streetcars could return to Los Angeles

[wtmusic]

Not your mama's streetcar.

"Los Angeles was home to the world's largest electric streetcar system before it became the car capital of the world. Now, the city may get a dose of deja vu, at least in its booming downtown area, according to the L.A. Weekly.

The city approved a ballot measure that would free up about $62.5 million in local funding by way of property-tax assessments on land parcels on or near the proposed line, which would run about four miles through various downtown districts. That would provide about half the funding needed to get the line up and running, the L.A. Weekly said, citing the nonprofit L.A. Streetcar Inc.

If all goes well (but let's face it, this is a public project, so all rarely goes well), construction may begin as soon as 2014 with an opening date sometime in 2016. LA's old Pacific Electric "Red Car" system was the world's largest of its kind in the 1920s and once had 900 electric trollies using more than 1,100 miles of track throughout Southern California. The growth in popularity of the automobile during the ensuing decades cut into the Red Car's user base, and the trollies stopped running in 1963. "

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/12/07/los-angeles-could-get-streetcars-once-again/

[Graybeard]

1. Biggest mistake the cities made.

Cities across the country who discontinued their trolley service are sorry today. Here in NYC we too are seriously considering crosstown trolleys on main cross streets like 34th, 57th, etc.

[wtmusic]

2. Not exactly a mistake.

"General Motors streetcar conspiracy

During the period from 1936 to 1950, National City Lines and Pacific City Lines—with investment from GM, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum, Mack Trucks, and the Federal Engineering Corporation—bought over 100 electric surface-traction systems in 45 cities including Baltimore, Newark, Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland and San Diego and converted them into bus operation.

In 1946, Edwin J. Quinby, a retired naval lieutenant commander, alerted transportation officials across the country to what he called "a careful, deliberately planned campaign to swindle you out of your most important and valuable public utilities—your Electric Railway System". GM and other companies were subsequently convicted in 1949 of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and related products via a complex network of linked holding companies including National City Lines and Pacific City Lines. They were also indicted, but acquitted of conspiring to monopolize the ownership of these companies.

Snell presented his testimony during the 1973 oil crisis, for a United States Senate inquiry into the causes of the decline of streetcar systems. He alleged that there was a wider conspiracy—by GM in particular—to destroy effective public transport systems in order to increase sales of automobiles and that this was implemented with great effect to the detriment of many cities."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Streetcar_Scandal

[sdfernando]

3. I do agree but

most of these systems were not municipal systems but privately owned. Many of these were bought up and shut down by tire manufacturers. I believe the thinking was that buses use lots of rubber tires and trolley cars done use any.

Whoever is heading this up should look at companies like TIG/m (http://www.tig-m.com). They manufacture battery powered undercarriages for trolley cars that can run for extended distances...and no ugly over-head wires or dangerous third rail.