LATL 1238 at Vermont and 8th
Los Angeles Transit Lines no. 1238 rounds the corner at Vermont and 8th Streets in this N Line image dated August 2nd, 1950.
Note what may be an LATL work truck and crew doing demolition or repair in front of the Citizens Bank building.
Alan Weeks Photo, Alan Weeks Collection
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This photo vividly illustrates one main reason why transit operators switched from rail transit to bus transit. Witness the truck in the right portion of the photo, the track with the Los Angeles Transit Logo on its door. This truck was engaged in maintenance of the LATL track at this intersection. Note the City of Los Angeles was NOT doing this maintenance as it would have been doing for a routine street repair, LATL was doing it. Of course, with bus transit, municipalities would be responsible for right-of-way maintenance. It is likely that the tax collector would also have been alert to any improvements that LATL might make to its physical plant, and these improvements would be reflected in LATL’s property tax bill. With bus transit, right-of-way expenses and tax liabilities would disappear.
I have often thought if the people – those actually living in the communities served by these rail lines – had anywhere near the nurturing attitude for public transit that they displayed for their roads and freeways the transit companies might have felt half ways appreciated. Everyone thought somebody was getting rich pawning off the old trolleys on us on worn out old track. So go ahead and tax them ! Then the buses became unprofitable and even the airlines wanted a subsidy. I guess we got what we paid for ….remember when it didn’t matter anyway because miraculously everything was going to be replaced by modern monorails?
How does this shot relate to this one: https://www.pacificelectric.org/collections/ken-l-douglas-collection/latl-9209-at-vermont-and-west-8th-1950/