Westgate Line

The Westgate Line was a suburban route operated by the Pacific Electric Railway from 1911 to 1940. This line was one of four lines connecting Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica that did not run through Hollywood. The line is notable for taking a circuitous route towards its end, along San Vicente Boulevard, mainly because it was built to encourage construction of new homes near Pacific Palisades.

Westgate
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Santa Monica, California
Stations	18
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Ridership	263,017 (1926)
History
Opened	1906
Closed	November 18, 1940
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	narrow gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Hill Street Station Subway Terminal Hollywood Subway to Echo Park Avenue  J   R   S   N   W   P   9   J   9   W   V  Vineyard  P  Venice Short Line Rosemary Genesee Big Barn Sherman Junction Alpers Beverly Hills Beverly Hills Country Club Buenos Ayres High Bridge Wolfskill Santa Monica and Sepulveda Westgate Sawtelle Westgate Arcadia Street Brentwood Park 26th Street Santa Monica Palisades Sawtelle Santa Monica Air Line & Venice Short Line Santa Monica

Many riders were veterans and employees of the Soldiers' Home, Sawtelle, stopping at the Streetcar Depot, West Los Angeles

History

The electrified line was built and operated by the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad, opened in 1906 with narrow gauge rails.[1] On March 19, 1906, an agreement was reached to sell all the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad lines to Henry Huntington’s Pacific Electric Railway for $6 million (equivalent to $171 million in 2019). The line was converted to standard gauge in 1908.[2]

Service was reduced to a single franchise car by July 1, 1940, with full abandonment following on November 18.[3]

Route

The Westgate Line followed the Sawtelle Line as far as Sawtelle. From Sawtelle (Santa Monica Boulevard between Purdue and Butler Avenues) the Westgate Line branched northwesterly into an un-improved private way. Dual tracks ran in the center of the private way, across Ohio Avenue, and then along the westerly edge of the U.S. Government Soldier's Home property to a location near Rochester and Butler Avenues. Here the dual rails entered the grounds of the Soldier's Home and continued north-westerly on private way, across Wilshire Boulevard to enter another section of unimproved private way in the center of San Vicente Boulevard. The dual tracks followed San Vicente Boulevard, between twin roadways, in a sweeping curve to the west, crossing out of the Soldier's Home property at Bringham Avenue. Continuing in the center of San Vicente Boulevard,[4] the rails ran west crossing Barrington and Montana Avenues, and Bundy Drive to reach the Santa Monica city limit at 26th Street. Once into Santa Monica the dual tracks, still on private way between twin roadways, ran approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwesterly, across the various numbered streets of Santa Monica, to Ocean Avenue. The dual tracks then ran southeasterly in the pavement of Ocean Avenue, crossing the major intersections of Montana Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard to reach the terminus of the line, one block farther south at Broadway.

Traffic

Passengers (Fare and Transfer)[2]

Year	Passengers	Car Miles	Revenue
1913	394,283	246,195	$ 30,541
1916	337,709	201,669	19,984
1918	319,991	202,110	20,130
1920	340,953	178,608	22,424
1922	305,325	178,120	23,390
1924	350,688	183,000	27,133
1926	263,017	193,756	31,410

See also

• Streetcar suburb
• Streetcars in North America
• List of California railroads
• History of rail transportation in California

References

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under the public domain as a work of the State of California. License statement/permission on Wikimedia Commons. Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes, California Department of Transportation, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

1. Schwieterman, Joseph P. (2004). When the Railroad Leaves Town. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press. pp. 75–79. ISBN 9781931112130.
2. "Westgate Line". Electric Railway Heritage Association.
3. Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Retrieved 19 September 2020.
4. Nathan Masters, Nathan (21 February 2014). "Many L.A. Boulevards Began as Trolley Lines". KCET. Retrieved 7 February 2021.