Made in 1913-1914 for the Pacific Electric, this silent motorman and conductor training film was rescued from destruction by Robert Warr and Wally Shidler. Only about ¼ of the original production survived, but what does remain provides an intriguing look back on the early days of the Los Angeles streetcar system. At 1:35, a crossing with a defective automatic flagman is shown, and a multi-car trolley with 500 class units almost hits a passing Model T. The location is near present-day Venice Blvd. and Sepulveda. At 2:20, a car motorman uses a phone to inform the dispatcher of the issue while at 2:40 the conductor surveys the area and helps a passenger board before giving the all-clear. At 3:09, a conductor is seen getting in a conversation with a lady passenger and missing a passenger stop. He is chewed out by the passenger. At 4:22 a courteous conductor is shown assisting passengers in unloading and loading. At 4:59, a train being operated at a high rate of speed nearly runs down passengers getting off of an inbound train. At 5:25 a motorman uses proper procedure and slows down when nearing a stopped car. At 6:00, a conductor uses a phone box to phone the dispatcher. The proper forms not being available results in an issue with the trip paperwork, causing a near head on collision (8:50) with another car. At 8:29, work motor car 1543 is briefly shown. At 9:00, car 547 operated at too high a rate of speed in a curve strikes a pedestrian walking on a bridge on the Glendale line. This is followed by a motorman who follows the rules, operates at slow speed and prevents a disaster.
The wooden “500 class” trolleys shown in the film date back to the very beginning of the Pacific Electric’s corporate existence. They were the first new cars ordered by the PE, and were also Southern California’s first standard gauge electric interurban cars. Built in three groups beginning in 1902, the “Fives” were known as “Huntingtons” and used for light interurban and suburban service.
The Fives were divided into two basic groups of fifty cars each, the “Small” Fives, or 500s, ultimately numbered 500-549, and the “Big” Fives, or 550s, numbered 550-599. Cars 500-549 were built by the St. Louis Car Company over two orders between 1902 and 1909. Cars 550-599 were created in 1911-1912, when the PE extensively rebuilt a group of older cars inherited from a predecessor company. A 1922 article on equipment assignments in the Pacific Electric Magazine described the Fives as general-purpose utility cars:
“The 500-class cars, being smaller and lighter are used for short haul suburban service where frequent stops make high speed impossible and are used as general utility cars to meet emergencies in all class of service.”
The arrival of modern steel equipment, and ultimately the effects of the Great Depression (which cut heavily into transit ridership nation-wide in the early 1930s), combined to reduce the need for the Fives. Official retirements of the 500s began in 1934, although many had already been in storage for long periods of time. All of the Fives were retired from passenger service by 1940. Following retirement, the bodies of many 500s were sold to the public for use as “pre-fab” structures, finding use as storage buildings, restaurants and even as housing. Because they were reused in this way, several survived long enough to be preserved. Of the four cars known to exist today, three are at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
