View source for Balboa Line

{{short description|Pacific Electric streetcar line (1904-1950)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
|name        = Balboa
|image       = File:Pacific Electric Railway "Red Car" at Huntington Beach.jpg
|caption     = Newport Beach Limited at Huntington Beach (undated)
|image_width = 
|color       = {{rcr|Pacific Electric|Balboa}}
|type        = [[Interurban]]
|system      = [[Pacific Electric]]
|locale      = [[Southern California]]
|start       = [[Pacific Electric Building]]
|end         = [[Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, California|Balboa]]
|stations    = 50
|routes      = 
|ridership2  = 55,390 (1948)
|open        = {{start date|1904|06|24}} (to Huntington Beach)<br />{{start date|1906|07|04}} (to Balboa)<ref name=erha />
|close       = {{end date|1950|06|30}}
|owner       = [[Pacific Electric]]
|operator    = [[Pacific Electric]]
|character   = 
|stock       = 
|linelength_mi  = 39.66
|tracklength = 
|tracks      = 1–4
|gauge       = {{track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
|electrification = {{600 V DC|conductor=overhead}}
|speed       = 
|elevation   = 
|map         = {{PE S Balboa}}
|map_state   = collapsed
}}
The '''Balboa Line''' was the southernmost route of the [[Pacific Electric Railway]]. It ran between [[Downtown Los Angeles]] and the [[Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, California|Balboa Peninsula]] in [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] by way of [[Willow (LACMTA station)|North Long Beach]], though the route was later cut back to the Newport Dock. It was designated as route 17.<ref name=erha>{{cite web| url=http://www.erha.org/pesnb.htm| website=Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California| title=Pacific Electric: Newport-Balboa Line |accessdate=14 January 2021}}</ref>

==History==
Originally planned by the Pacific Electric, the line was turned over to the [[Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway]] in 1904.<ref name=erha /> The company opened the line to Huntington Beach on [[Independence Day (United States)|July&nbsp;4]], 1904,<ref>{{harvnb|Crump|1977|p=111}}</ref> reaching Newport Wharf the following year.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwieterman|2004|p=61}}</ref> The Los Angeles Inter-Urban was acquired by Pacific Electric in 1908.<ref name=Schwieterman62>{{harvnb|Schwieterman|2004|p=62}}</ref>

The Newport Beach to Balboa segment was reduced to a single daily round trip in June 1940 and was fully abandoned on November&nbsp;18 of that year.<ref name=Veysey25>{{harvnb|Veysey|1958|p=25}}</ref> This started a series of service abandonments and restorations&nbsp;— all Newport trains were discontinued on that date.<ref name=Veysey25 /> In July 1942, passenger service was briefly restarted with runs of the club car ''Commodore'', lasting just under two months.<ref name=Veysey25 /> Service was fully restored on May&nbsp;2, 1943 as a way to move workers for the war effort and Pacific Electric lacked motor coaches to do so; trains ran between Huntington and Long Beach, where passengers transferred to [[Long Beach Line]] cars.<ref name=Veysey25 /> By July, morning and evening runs were discontinued, as noise from the interurban line interfered with the [[United States Navy]] submarine listening post at [[Seal Beach, California|Seal Beach]]. Service was fully discontinued at the end of September under further direction by the Navy. Rush Hour service began again in June 1944, but was discontinued after three months. A fifth restoration with a more comprehensive schedule started in June 1945, but service was again discontinued after three months.<ref name=Veysey26 />

June 1946 brought the last incarnation of the line. By mid-1948, Pacific Electric had purchased the requisite [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] lines to allow them to move freight to Newport and Huntington without the trip through [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] and [[Sunset Beach, California|Sunset Beach]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Santa Ana-Huntington Beach Line |url=http://erha.org/pessahb.htm |publisher=Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California |access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref> ''Commodore'' service lasted seasonally until September 1949, its final run. The last passenger train on the line ran to Newport from Los Angeles on June&nbsp;30, 1950.<ref name=Veysey26>{{harvnb|Veysey|1958|p=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Last Passenger Train Runs Over Newport Route |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114437351/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |newspaper=Long Beach Press-Telegraph |via=Newspapers.com |date=30 June 1950 |page=21}} {{free access}}</ref>

Though ridership early on was very high, it had slowly dwindled to 55,390 in 1948.<ref name=erha />

Freight service along the route continued after passenger operations ended. The bridge between Seal Beach and Long Beach was removed in 1958. Demand had dwindled by 1960, and the route was formally abandoned in 1962. Trackage in Newport Beach was removed in 1977.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwieterman|2004|pp=63–64}}</ref>

===After abandonment===
Since closure of the rail line, the beach route between Long Beach and Balboa has become heavily trafficked, and plans to revive rail service along this corridor have been proposed sporadically.{{cn|date=September 2020}} The [[Long Beach Green Belt path]] occupies {{convert|11|acre}} of the corridor in [[Belmont Heights, Long Beach, California|Belmont Heights]]. The [[Jenni Rivera#Jenni Rivera Memorial Park|Jenni Rivera Memorial Park]] also occupies a segment of the right of way in Long Beach. The former path through Seal Beach was converted to a greenway; the Seal Beach Historical Society operated the [[Red Car Museum]] out of a former Pacific Electric tower car located on the pathway from 1981 until 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bozanich |first1=Kathie |title=SEAL BEACH : Red Car Museum Links City to Past |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-20-me-771-story.html |access-date=16 April 2021 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=20 December 1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Seal Beach Lions Club buys the Red Car Museum |url=https://www.sunnews.org/seal-beach-lions-club-buys-the-red-car-museum/ |access-date=16 April 2021 |newspaper=Seal Beach Sun |date=4 March 2021}}</ref>

==Service==
The route ran "flyer" service between Downtown Los Angeles and Willowville (a route also served by the [[Long Beach Line]]), making flag stops only at Vernon, Slauson, Watts, Compton and Dominguez Junction.

===''Commodore''===
{{multiple image
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 
 | footer = 
 | image1 = PE1000 Commodore.jpg
 | alt1 = 
 | caption1 = Pacific Electric Car 1000, the first ''Commodore''
 | image2 = Pacific Electric Railway 1299.JPG
 | alt2 = 
 | caption2 = Pacific Electric Car 1299, the ''Commodore'' parlor car from the 1942 season until its discontinuance<ref name=Veysey25 />
 }}
The ''Commodore'' was a [[parlor car]] which ran a limited schedule during the summer seasons. It was the only such service operated by Pacific Electric. Beginning in 1936, the special was intended to attract commuters with summer homes in the area.<ref name=Schwieterman62 /> Passenger paid a 35¢ premium ({{inflation|US|0.35|1936|fmt=eq}}) per trip, or could acquire a weekly pass for $6.75 ({{inflation|US|6.75|1936|fmt=eq}}) which was also accepted for regular trips on the line.<ref name=Veysey24>{{harvnb|Veysey|1958|p=24}}</ref> Initial ''Commodore'' runs called at Balboa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach before continuing nonstop to Los Angeles. By the end of its life in 1949,<ref>{{harvnb|Schwieterman|2004|p=63}}</ref> the car only called at Huntington Beach between Newport and Los Angeles.

==Route==
The Balboa Line followed the [[Long Beach Line]] as far as North Long Beach (Willow Street). From that junction the line branched southwesterly on dual tracks across [[Long Beach Boulevard (California)|American Avenue (Long Beach Boulevard)]] to enter a private right of way which cut diagonally across the city street grid of Long Beach and also forms part of the boundary of Long Beach and the City of [[Signal Hill, California|Signal Hill]].

The line crossed [[Atlantic Boulevard (Los Angeles County)|Atlantic Ave.]] at grade and passed under Orange Ave. Continuing southeasterly the line crossed at grade: Cherry Avenue, the [[California State Route 1|Pacific Coast Highway]], Temple Street, Anaheim Street, Redondo Avenue, Seventh Street, and Ximeno Avenue.

The dual tracks on private way then skirted the [[Colorado Lagoon]] and paralleled Appian Way (by the Marine Stadium) from Nieto Avenue to the [[San Gabriel River (California)|San Gabriel River]] in Long Beach, and used three wooden [[trestle bridge]]s in crossing Alamitos Bay and the river. East of the San Gabriel River the line entered [[Seal Beach]] in private way in the center of Electric Avenue, and up to 1942, crossed Anaheim Bay on a trestle to Surfside and Sunset Beach. In 1942, construction of the U.S. Naval Ammunition and Net Depot caused the line to be rerouted north from Electric Avenue on 17th Street to the Ocean Side of Pacific Coast Highway around [[Anaheim Bay]] to Sunset Beach.

The tracks followed a private right of way south of Pacific Coast Highway to Phillips Street and then turned onto another private right of way dividing Pacific Avenue in Surfside and Sunset Beach. The line then ran along Pacific Avenue through Surfside and Sunset Beach. Leaving Sunset Beach the line followed a private way between Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean to the Pacific Electric station on the south side of Ocean Avenue at Main Street in Huntington Beach.

The line was double track to Huntington Beach and single track from there to Balboa.

From Huntington Beach the line continued on a private way on the Ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway to approximately 59th Street in Newport Beach, where the line entered a private right of way dividing Seashore Drive. At 32nd Street the tracks curved into Newport Boulevard. At McFadden Place the line entered a private right of way dividing Balboa Boulevard, and continued on Balboa Boulevard to the terminus of the line at Main Street in Balboa.

===List of major stations===
{| class="wikitable"
! Station
! Mile<ref name=erha /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/maps/and_timetables/1934-09-01PEsystemPTT.pdf |title=Pacific Electric Time Tables |date=September 1, 1934 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=Pacific Electric |website=wx4's Dome of Foam |access-date=September 1, 2021 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Veysey|1958|p=114}}</ref>
! Major connections
! Date opened
! Date closed
! City
|-bgcolor = #{{rcr|Pacific Electric}}
|colspan = "6"|
|-
| [[Pacific Electric Building|Los Angeles<br />{{small|Pacific Electric Building}}]]
| 0
| [[Alhambra–San Gabriel Line|Alhambra–San Gabriel]], [[Annandale Line|Annandale]], [[Fullerton Line|Fullerton]], [[Hawthorne–El Segundo Line|Hawthorne–El Segundo]], [[La Habra–Yorba Linda Line|La Habra–Yorba Linda]], [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[Monrovia–Glendora Line|Monrovia–Glendora]], [[Mount Lowe Railway|Mount Lowe]], [[Pasadena Short Line]], [[Pasadena via Oak Knoll Line|Pasadena via Oak Knoll]], [[Pomona Line|Pomona]], [[Redlands Line|Redlands]], [[Redondo Beach via Gardena Line|Redondo Beach via Gardena]], [[Riverside–Rialto Line|Riverside–Rialto]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]], [[San Pedro via Gardena Line|San Pedro via Gardena]], [[Santa Ana Line|Santa Ana]], [[Santa Monica Air Line]], [[Sierra Madre Line|Sierra Madre]], [[Sawtelle Veterans Home|Soldiers' Home]], [[South Pasadena Local]], [[Upland–San Bernardino Line|Upland–San Bernardino]], [[Whittier Line|Whittier]]<br />[[Los Angeles Railway]] [[B (Los Angeles Railway)|B]], [[H (Los Angeles Railway)|H]], [[J (Los Angeles Railway)|J]], [[R (Los Angeles Railway)|R]], [[7 (Los Angeles Railway)|7]], and [[8 (Los Angeles Railway)|8]]
| 1905
| 1961
| rowspan=4 | Los Angeles
|-
| [[Amoco Junction, Los Angeles|Amoco]]{{dubious|Amoco?|date=September 2021}}
|
| [[Fullerton Line|Fullerton]], [[Hawthorne–El Segundo Line|Hawthorne–El Segundo]], [[La Habra–Yorba Linda Line|La Habra–Yorba Linda]], [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[Redondo Beach via Gardena Line|Redondo Beach via Gardena]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]], [[San Pedro via Gardena Line|San Pedro via Gardena]], [[Santa Ana Line|Santa Ana]], [[Santa Monica Air Line]], [[Sawtelle Veterans Home|Soldiers' Home]], [[Whittier Line|Whittier]]
| 1902
| 1961
|-
| [[Slauson station (A Line)|Slauson Junction]]
| 4.27
| [[Fullerton Line|Fullerton]], [[Hawthorne–El Segundo Line|Hawthorne–El Segundo]], [[La Habra–Yorba Linda Line|La Habra–Yorba Linda]], [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[Redondo Beach via Gardena Line|Redondo Beach via Gardena]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]], [[San Pedro via Gardena Line|San Pedro via Gardena]], [[Santa Ana Line|Santa Ana]], [[Whittier Line|Whittier]]
| 1902
| 1961
|-
| [[Watts Station|Watts]]
| 7.45
| [[Hawthorne–El Segundo Line|Hawthorne–El Segundo]], [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[Redondo Beach via Gardena Line|Redondo Beach via Gardena]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]], [[San Pedro via Gardena Line|San Pedro via Gardena]], [[Santa Ana Line|Santa Ana]]
| 1902
| 1961
|-
| [[Compton (LACMTA station)|Compton]]
| 10.92
| [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]]
| 1902
| 1961
| rowspan=1 | [[Compton, California|Compton]]
|-
| Dominguez Junction
| 13.31
| [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]], [[San Pedro via Dominguez Line|San Pedro via Dominguez]]
| 1902
| 1961
| rowspan=1 | [[Rancho Dominguez, California|Rancho Dominguez]]
|-
| [[Willow (LACMTA station)|Willowville]]
| 17.52
| [[Long Beach Line|Long Beach]]
| 1902
| 1961
| rowspan=4 | [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]]
|-
| [[Zaferia, Long Beach|Zaferia]]
| 20.11
| 
| 1904
| 1950
|-
| [[Alamitos Heights, Long Beach, California|Alamitos Heights]]
|
| [[Alamitos Heights Line|Alamitos Heights]]
| 1904
| 1950
|-
| [[Naples, Long Beach|Naples]]
| 23.00
|
| 1904
| 1950
|-
| Seal Beach
| 24.11
| [[Alamitos Bay Line|Alamitos Bay]]
| 1904
| 1950
| rowspan=1 | [[Seal Beach, California|Seal Beach]]
|-
| Anaheim Landing
| 24.61
|
|
|
|-
| Sunset Beach
| 26.70
|
| 1904
| 1950
| rowspan=2 | [[Huntington Beach, California|Huntington Beach]]
|-
| Huntington Beach
| 32.46
| [[Huntington Beach–La Bolsa Line|Huntington Beach–La Bolsa]], [[Santa Ana–Huntington Beach Line|Santa Ana–Huntington Beach]]
| 1904
| 1950
|-
| Newport Beach
| 37.82
|
| 1905
| 1950
| rowspan=3 | [[Newport Beach, California|Newport Beach]]
|-
| East Newport
| 38.53
|
|
| 1940
|-
| Balboa
| 39.66
|
| 1906
| 1940
|-bgcolor = #{{rcr|Pacific Electric}}
|colspan = "6"|
|}

==References==
{{Free-content attribution|
| title = 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes
| author = [[California Department of Transportation]]
| publisher = 
| source= [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]
| documentURL = http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/pacificelectric/1981-caltrans-inventory-of-routes.pdf
| License statement URL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-CAGov
| license = the [[public domain]] as a work of the [[State of California]].
}}
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFSchwieterman2004}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Crump |first=Spencer |title=Ride the big red cars: How trolleys helped build southern California |year=1977 |publisher=Trans-Anglo Books |isbn=0-87046-047-1 |oclc=3414090 |pages=111}}
* {{Schwieterman-Leaves-Western|pages=61–64}}
* {{Veysey-PE-1958}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML |display=title,inline}}
*[https://www.longbeach.gov/park/park-and-facilities/directory/pacific-electric-greenbelt/  Pacific Electric Greenbelt] - City of Seal Beach
*[https://www.sealbeachca.gov/Departments/Community-Services-Recreation/Parks-Facilities/Electric-Ave-Greenbelt Electric Avenue Greenbelt] - City of Seal Beach

{{Pacific Electric Railway|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Pacific Electric routes]]
[[Category:Standard-gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1904]]
[[Category:Railway lines closed in 1950]]
[[Category:1904 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1950 disestablishments in California]]
[[Category:Closed railway lines in the United States]]