Red Car - The Life and Death of Public Transit in Los Angeles

[@faithplus1588]

Same thing happened in Dublin Ireland in the 1950's. We had a fantastic tram system but they decided to increase bus timetables and expand the road network. They fucked up so badly that 50 years later we have a new tram system to replace the old one.

[@gmanjapan]

Japan's rail system is also about real estate. It's privately owned. Various routes owned by different companies. There's at least 10 companies in just Tokyo alone running over 40 lines. They're doing great! The companies build the tracks then they build grocery stores, shopping centers, apartments, hotels, office buildings at every station. They make $$$$$$$ and they keep up the trains. So far it's a pretty virtuous cycle. No taxes needed.

[@JoePowerBear]

I remember riding the streetcars as a child growing up in LA County. Also seeing the Red Cars running on their tracks.

[@gotnoshoes99]

Thank you for setting the record straight on who was responsible for the demise of the streetcar. The American public shares the blame as much as anything for choosing the automobile over mass transit.

[@ethanarmstrong2693]

This video does not tell the history of the Los Angeles Yellow Car and Trolley Car. Some is true but to learn the true history ready a Jim Walker book

[@TerrifyingWorld]

+gotnoshoes99 Thank you!

[@TerrifyingWorld]

+ethan armstrong I tried my best to keep the video concise and succinct. I would have loved to go into the story of the Yellow Car as well, but it would have made the video drag.

[@ethanarmstrong2693]

+Terrifying World I will admit the video was entertaining, a lot of The Pacific Electrics later problems stemmed from the ownership by the Southern Pacific. If the SP had given the PE the money that the PE made during the war the PE would probably still be around. The PE was one of the bigger freight haulers in SoCal on top of being a passenger hauler. The remaining cars of these two amazing systems still survive and operate at the Orange Empire Railway Museum.

[@chaosdemonwolf1]

+gotnoshoes99 PFT........

[@joeyscleaninglady2877]

an hour from the valley? more like two hours nowadays if your lucky

[@bonniesmothers6606]

I recently went to the museum in Perris, Ca. and there are people who work to keep these cars for anyone who wants to see what I rode back in the day. When I saw the yellow car, actually running for a school class, the top sign said HUNTINGTON PARK!! Once again I was able to ride one of my favorite trolleys around and area where the Red Cars are kept. If you would like to see the wonder of the cars, it's free but a donation is helpful. One thing I can day about this guy, "He never rode the Red Car"! Get over yourself, sonny!

[@allanfisch]

one thing, Angel's Flight, shown several times, was not part of the Red Car system. It was just a way to get up the hill.

[@user-hu4gr1bo5g]

True. Built when Bunker Hill was there.

[@smithraymond09029]

Without a doubt a very weird but interesting presentation of the rail system in old Los Angeles

[@TerrifyingWorld]

Thanks!

[@sneadh1]

The public vote is easily manipulated by the media, and govt. by the lobbyists. This is why LA turned down several opportunities to improve the transit system, or to make it a public system before most of the tracks were gone.

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

The specific "conspiracy" charge was for National City Lines being given a financing deal that encouraged them to buy only GM, Mack, Phillips, and Firestone supplies for vehicles, fuel, and tires. Not much of a conspiracy. It had nothing to do with streetcars being replaced with buses- it could have been buses being replaced with newer buses. The "exclusivity" is what the government was complaining about, but they had a hard time convincing the public that this was wrong. The businesses took a "plea deal" just to be done with the legal fees, because the justice department was too embarrassed to drop the charges.

[@yggdrasil9039]

Yep, and now the exclusivity is for cars.

[@G0NZ0STaR]

Can't believe there are still remnants of LA's old rail. There are places that have rail that lead into solid brick walls, where the asphalt has weathered away there is rail that pokes out, old rail ties (logs) may be found in Venice. So glad to see that the trains are returning albeit slow. lol

[@TerrifyingWorld]

G0NZ0STaR I'm glad to see they're returning as well! That's crazy about the rails going right into brick walls. I'd love to see that!

[@depotcat1763]

+G0NZ0STaR - Some of the remnants were shown at the end of the DVD "This was the Pacific Electric".

[@gusneaker]

Thank you for this clear, objective and well summarized history of the PERy!

[@allanfisch]

Your enthusiasm is refreshing!

[@MichaelDJ68]

Roger Rabbit

[@nathanvalle6997]

"Redcar and the Pacific Electric Railway was a bad gimmick to promote land development!" Yeah so? That kind of development is called a Streetcar Suburb. It's the best kind of suburb, cause that kind of neighborhood is still pleasant and walkable even though the streetcars have long been removed. Freeways did the same thing though freeways are publicly owned. Hell if I had the option to build a new suburban development I'd choose to connect it all with streetcars over freeways.

[@HSMiyamoto]

The Yellow Car was not all bad. The Crenshaw LRT Line now under construction is a former LA Railway line, unlike the Blue and Expo LRT and Orange BRT lines, which are connected to PE.

[@tjejojyj]

The other point you could make is that Los Angeles followed a global pattern whereby tram/streetcar systems were built from the turn of the century then run with neglected maintenance and reached a point where they needed massive capital upgrades to keep going. Buses were the cheaper option. Sydney has a similar history to LA in some respects, especially in tearing out its entire system. Melbourne kept its trams by some luck and the fact it had renewed most of its system when it was converted from cable cars to electric traction from 1924 to 1940. Not everything is a conspiracy.

[@user-hu4gr1bo5g]

*Very well done. That's exactly how it happened.* Great info.

[@howardspokane1128]

A couple of things. The Pacific Electric Railway was never sold to anyone. It was always owned by Southern Pacific Railroad subsequently SP merged it into Southern Pacific. The LA Street Railway was a separate system that was taken over by National City Lines. NCL by the way did not convert many of the lines they took over because those lines were profitable. When the LAMTA took over the Los Angeles Street Railway from NCL they converted it to Buses. NCL was convicted of anti-trust violations concerning that they would not allow any other suppliers to bid on bus contracts except GM, Firestone and Standard Oil. Converting street car lines to buses per se was not illegal but not allowing anyone else to bid on those contracts was. Now, back to Pacific Electric. When Donald Russell became President of Southern Pacific he became rapidly disenchanted with the financial performance of Pacific Electric and looked to get rid of the passenger service. SP subsequently sold the passenger service to Metropolitan Coach Lines. SP however; placed a caveat on that sale that whoever purchased the Pacific Electric Passenger Service had to convert it to buses from rail. Metropolitan Coach Lines did convert most of the lines however; some lines were not converted and found there way into LAMTA. Southern Pacific was not amenable to making a long term agreement with LAMTA on the remaining Pacific Electric Rail Services. General Motors did a lot of business with the Southern Pacific Railroad both as a vender for diesel electric locomotives and as a shipper. Southern Pacific would become very aggressive about discontinuing its intercity passenger rail services. While GM had an effective defense against the allegations it was responsible for the demise of the Pacific Electric Passenger rail service had SP's role in the demise of that service been better understood it would have made SP's discontinuance cases for its passenger trains more difficult so GM at the time was mum about the demise of Pacific Electric's Rail Passenger Service.

[@homerparish]

Love this. There is one thing you got wrong. When NYC built its subway and el system it DID build to a lot of uninhabited areas, especially in the Bronx. A lot of transit connected people bought the land around those areas and made fortunes in real estate as the population exploded outward.

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

+Pat Francis By that point those areas were already guaranteed to have high population densities. The New York lines were invested in to be self sufficient transportation services, more so than Pacific Electric's passenger services were.

[@aaj2127]

@@MilwaukeeF40C but they went bankrupt and the city bought em out. it was 2 independent systems and a city-built one, and the city bought out the first two

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

@@aaj2127 They went bankrupt partly because of the fare controls after the fed switch to the inflationary monetary system. Same story for most private transit systems. The city owned "independent" system was built because New York had a major asshole mayor at the time and apparently a lot of populist asshole voters.

[@axelsantos5602]

I loved your video u earned yourself a subscriber

[@TerrifyingWorld]

Alex Santos Thanks so much! Thanks for letting me know!

[@angelaglitch5513]

Thanks for this video

[@SouthCalifas619]

Now all thats left are patches of hidden abandoned tracks scatteres all over LA.

[@sneadh1]

But the LA rail system is now being rebuilt!

[@yggdrasil9039]

At massive expense. And very slowly. And in very small pieces.

[@sayrith]

Well this is why you vote yes on measure M to make it faster :)

[@OregonTransitFan]

They SHOULD be investing in BRT...

[@joelhenderson802]

I used to ask the old timers in L.A. back in the late 1970s, about the Pacific Electric and they were glad to see the end of it ,when it was still in operation back in the 1950s.

[@user-hu4gr1bo5g]

All the people I grew up with born in the 20s & 30s loved the red car. Busses were not as fun. Many folks don't have cars.

[@emanuelnajera2924]

The Arroyo Seco freeway now Arroyo Seco Parkway was built in the 1930's

[@tntmaster1104]

It's crazy to think that the Pacific Electric system was WAY BIGGER THAN NYC, but GM Ofc Fucked up the Red Car

[@karimosama8127]

Many LARy (later LATL) rail lines were converted to bus operation. LATL 5 was the last "yellow car" to be converted to bus operation on May 22, 1955 (done in by the harbor fwy, which eliminated the tracks between jefferson and santa barbara blvd (now MLK blvd)) The "5 bus line" was renamed the 40 line lin the early 80's and continues to run along the same route to this day. The bus fleet was made up of _entirely_ of GM buses up until the early 80's.

[@ri805]

this is great!

[@dmuandstreetcarfan9686]

Good Video. But DONT TALK ABOUT THE YELLOW CAR THAT WAY.

[@sweetmapleleafs]

Is this the way you speak when you're not on camera? That would beeeee interestinggggggggggggg-guh

[@RW-kp3wr]

wow he has a jacked body

[@BroccoliBeefed]

I cant believe they got rid of this--nothing short of criminal activity

[@AlanCofer]

His overly animated voice is a real turn off.

[@alexxicotli7665]

How can we bring this public transit back?

[@sayrith]

It's coming back slowly. The current projects that are happening now (that I know of), are the regional connector, purple line extension, and the LAX/Crenshaw line. Of course, the Expo line extension is the newest and greatest expansion to date (train to the beach, anyone?) But there still needs a lot to be done. If you are in LA county, you must vote yes on measure M to make things go faster, like, say, a subway through the Sepulveda pass?

[@OliverRWeber]

Yeah, they are trying to build as much as possible until the next Olympics since Los Angeles is bidding to host.

[@jasonpoole2093]

@Craig F. Thompson Drivers pay a hefty gasoline tax. Public transit is often times nothing more than a subsidy for the wealthy. Why do people obsess over streetcars? I like trains and anything that runs on rails, but the desire to recreate an obsolete system is absurd.

[@michaelfulton3540]

ya this guy doesnt know the scoop

[@user-hu4gr1bo5g]

I think he knows the scoop. He simply cusses too much.

[@OregonTransitFan]

Public transit never died in Los Angeles

[@Silpheedx]

Sorry but i trust PBS alot more than some random who can afford a home with a fireplace.

[@poppyvictoriaforanimals263]

Yes, because you can definitely never trust anyone with a fireplace to report facts. Good one!

[@Silpheedx]

In LA, sure can't.

[@poppyvictoriaforanimals263]

+Lenny Gordon, are you on your meds?

[@DouglasJames27]

Wouldn't be surprised if some pesos exchanged hands in the process to get this guy to put out this disinfo. You always have to follow the money, and/or, ask what is the agenda behind the purpose of this/that? How many other corroborating sources verify the info? Keep an open mind and let your intuition guide you. What does your intuition tell you about this author of this info? P.S. fireplace was put there to create a sense of intimacy, Golden Retriever was hired to curl around his feet, but during shooting G.R. just wouldn't allow himself to be a part of this doo doo.

[@BroccoliBeefed]

Lenny Gordon , What meds are you on? What does having a fireplace have to do with anything?

[@OregonTransitFan]

BTW, public transit is NOT just about rail. If anything, it's about buses. GM made great buses, and I prefer bus over rail. A LOT faster, efficient, and smoother

[@qjtvaddict]

Oregon Transit Fan And not just buses

[@jasonpoole2093]

@@DanaAshlie The Red Car was slow, herky-jerky and uncomfortable. No air conditioning or heating, hard seats.

[@sneadh1]

Straight out of a GM ad. The riders hated the slower, smelly, cramped and jerkey buses.

[@sneadh1]

THe yellw cars was not a small system. This is full of false info.

[@chuckhaynes6458]

Wash your mouth out with Lifebouy.

[@Alliaaa]

this makes me salty~!!! why cant la have bart like sf!! grr

[@danny3571]

blame the oil company

[@meganlowry7585]

I should have liked to watch this, but the narrator's gratuitous profanity is simply abrasive beyond words. It is regrettable when people insist on flaunting their low breeding and lack of culture.

[@MeMeDaVinci]

Megan Lowry There were only a couple of instances...it may "lack" culture and breeding but it is the world at normal. I'm far too interested in the story to be concerned for his poor choice of one or two words.

[@pigjubby1]

Beyond words? Good grief, words must seem so frightening to you.

[@felixthecat2786]

What profanity??

[@thenoid5131]

Megan Lowry get with the times lady I myself don't like it either but no matter what its everywhere

[@felixthecat2786]

Give me a break....it's gotten A LOT better in the last 15-20 years. When I was a kid it was normal to slutty, half naked dancers dancing around fat ass rappers on mainstream television. Kids grow up in little plastic bubbles today. They have no idea what's going on because their parents don't let them know anything about the world. When 9/11 happened, I watched it on television in my classroom.

[@thebrowncrew]

The narrator's profanity made me stop watching.

[@yggdrasil9039]

You've got this so so wrong. I can see that and I don't even live anywhere near LA. LA was systematically screwed over by GM and the big oil companies to create a monopoly. Granted, the yellow and red cars were a monopoly - but so is the water supply system as well as the storm water system. There is a difference between a monopoly that is to the benefit of the people and one which is designed to get a few people rich. If you think the destruction of the red and yellow car lines was come kind of a big accident or a function of historical forces then you need to do a lot more research.

[@jamesdougherty2271]

I don't know who the narrator is but he's obnoxious and doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@OregonTransitFan]

Buses are great, I'm very glad they ripped these out

[@qjtvaddict]

Oregon Transit Fan busses are too slow to compete with trains

[@mrrobot5963]

Come to Toronto and you'll change your mind