Pacific Electric Ry. 680

Southern California’s Pacific Electric Railway was the largest of the U.S. interurbans with over 1000 miles of routes and some 1200 cars. Pacific Electric operated city services in several cities, including Los Angeles. The most legendary of PE’s street services was that on Hollywood Boulevard, known during the heyday of the movie capital as “The Boulevard of the Red Cars.” No. 680 is one of 160 similar cars built for operation on Hollywood Boulevard and other city and suburban lines. These Hollywood cars were low and heavy, with cement floors but otherwise all steel. Initially they were rather slow, though fast acceleration and wide, quick loading center doors made good schedules possible. When No. 680 entered service in 1924, Hollywood Blvd. cars ran on a 2 minute headway in rush hours and on 3 minute headways in base service. The PE expanded operation of the 600 class cars to other lines in the system. In 1939, Pacific Electric modernized these cars, raising top speed from 28 mph to 45 mph and improving seating, lighting and fenders. PE also applied the famous butterfly paint scheme, with orange and silver wings offsetting the Pacific Electric’s traditional red. These cars carried heavy ridership during World War II. In 1949, PE converted No. 680 to one man operation and renumbered the car to No. 5069. Other Pacific Electric cars operated true interurban service, reaching neighboring cities along private rights-of-way. The entire Pacific Electric system was standard gauge, so its cars did not mingle with the narrow gauge city cars with the exception of a few locations in Los Angeles. In 1953, PE sold No. 5069 (ex-680) to the Portland Traction Company for service on the Oregon City and Bellrose suburban lines, where the number became 4022 After Portland Traction’s service ended in 1958, the car was saved for museum purposes. For a period, the car sat on a street in downtown Hillsborough, OR, and the motors and electrical controls were sold to raise funds. After several unsuccessful projects, private collector Eugene Stoller purchased No. 680. Mr. Stoller took the car to his property in Woodburn, OR, and sold it to Seashore in 1992. The trip to Maine in 1993 on a contractor’s rig was among Seashore’s longest road moves. No. 680 is the only Pacific Electric car preserved outside Southern California.