The Long Track Back
The Fall of the Red Cars: How LA Gave Up the Rails
Los Angeles once featured the largest electric railway system, the Pacific Electric Railway, Red Cars! connecting key regions. However, by 1961, the rise of automobiles led to its demise, shifting the city’s transit identity towards freeways.
Last Updated on August 9, 2025 by Daily News Staff
At one time, Los Angeles boasted the largest electric railway system in the world. The Pacific Electric Railway — known as the Red Cars — stretched over 1,000 miles, connecting Downtown LA to Pasadena, Long Beach, Santa Monica, and beyond. It was a marvel of early 20th-century transit planning and an integral part of life in Southern California.
But by 1961, it was gone.
@stmblog The A Line follows the exact route of the old Red Car — once the largest electric rail system in America. In 1961, it disappeared. In 1990, it came back. LAMetro TransitTok HistoryInMotion UrbanPlanning #LosAngeles https://stmdailynews.com/the-fall-of-the-red-cars-how-la-gave-up-the-rails/ ♬ original sound – STMDailyNews – STMDailyNews
The Red Cars fell victim to a perfect storm: the rise of the automobile, the birth of suburbia, a freeway construction boom, and political decisions that prioritized highways over rail. General Motors, Standard Oil, and Firestone Tire — companies that would benefit from a car-dominated world — were famously linked to efforts to dismantle electric rail systems across the country, including LA.
By the late 1950s, LA’s transit identity had shifted completely. The city that once led the world in streetcars became the poster child for freeway culture.
But while the Red Cars were gone, the need for mass transit never left. And by the late 1980s, Los Angeles was ready to reconsider rail.
Next Up: The Blue Line Revival: LA Takes a Risk on Rail
Related Links:
Pacific Electric (wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric
Metro Transportation Library and Archive
