Red Cars Are Back on Track

After a 40-year absence, Red Cars are making a return to San Pedro.

Scheduled to begin operation by September, a 1.5-mile trolley line will take passengers from the World Cruise Center to downtown San Pedro, Ports O’ Call Village and Cabrillo Marina. The revival of the cars is an effort to stimulate tourism around the Port of Los Angeles.

“There are 500,000 cruise passengers a year” at the World Cruise Center at the port, said Bob Henry, project manager for the Port of L.A. Waterfront Red Car Line. “The question was asked, ‘How [do we] get them out of the terminal to spend money in San Pedro?’”

The answer that a citizens advisory committee came up with was to resurrect the Red Cars, which crisscrossed the city and the port community until they closed in 1961.

The trolley is an homage to mass transit’s yesteryear, when Pacific Electric Red Cars ran throughout Los Angeles. The hope is that nostalgia and curiosity will attract local visitors and provide a reason for cruise passengers to linger around the port and spend their money.

“What it will do is connect San Pedro’s ‘string of pearls,’” Henry said, referring to the town’s somewhat isolated tourist attractions. The trolley’s conductors will act as tour guides, telling stories about the history of the Red Cars and giving information about the port; Ports O’ Call Village, a 15-acre, New England-style tourist attraction; and the marina, which is home to 1,100 slips for small boats.

Once a bustling cluster of shops and restaurants, Ports O’ Call Village is a shadow of its former self. A decade ago, 98% of the storefronts and restaurants were occupied. Currently, only about half of the 71 units are filled.

The idea to use the trolleys to attract tourists just might work, said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

“You look at other cities that use heritage trolley lines, like New Orleans and San Francisco--they found out it was not only viable transportation, but interesting to tourists,” Kyser said. “It will appeal to local residents who are old enough to remember the old line and also to outside tourists.”

The trolley line will feature two replica Red Cars and one restored car that will run on the original tracks from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Mondays, coinciding with prime arrival and departure times for cruise ships. The cars will look historic but will have modern machinery underneath.

“There are regulatory demands and practical limitations we have to consider,” said John Smatlak, a railway preservation consultant who is working on the project.

“We had to ask, ‘How do we capitalize on the flavor of a vintage trolley with a modern vehicle?’”

That meant installing new steel frames while preserving the classic wooden exteriors.

The Red Cars will feature walkover seats, or seats that can be flipped over to face whichever direction the trolley is moving. The interior of the cars will be painted in authentic Red Car colors.

Work on the trolley tracks, including replacing about 1,000 old ties, was completed about a year ago.

A fare box will collect $1 from each passenger, which will entitle him or her to unlimited rides within a period of several hours. But officials don’t expect that the Red Cars will be a moneymaker.

“The fare box never gives back what you pay for it,” Henry said. “But it’s a long-term investment in the community.”

Open houses are being held the first Saturday of each month so the public can see the restored car and the two replicas as they are being built at Berth 155A on Pier A Street in Wilmington.