Daily Excursion Fares

By Steve Crise

As we approach the height of the summer vacation season, we present this advertisement from an unknown Southern California newspaper offering excursion fares to local Southern California beaches that various Pacific Electric Railway lines served.

We don’t know the exact date this ad ran, but there is a significant clue found in the list of the beach city routes. A 55¢ round-trip fare would bring you to the shores of some of the most desirable waterfront sites in Southern California.

Long Beach, East Long Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington, Redondo Beach, Hermosa and Manhattan were some of the locations offered to city dwellers giving a brief escape from the sweltering summer heat of the inner city and suburbs.

Of particular interest to our story and for the purpose of dating this ad I direct to your attention the cities of Hermosa and Manhattan. Passenger service along the surf-hugging main line that served both of these summer destinations, was abandoned in whole from Culver City to Redondo Beach as of May 12, 1940, thus dating this ad from a few months to a few years before service was discontinued.

As a comparison, a 55¢ fare in 1940 would fetch about $12.05 in 2024 dollars. Still a good deal considering the price of gas and parking fees near beach-side locations.

This story is also a wonderful opportunity to challenge the much-touted myth that you could ride the Pacific Electric Railway to any destination in Southern California for just a nickel. Clearly this was not the case.

PE rails followed the coastline over many route miles. Here 891 pulls into Manhattan Beach on the Redondo line. Charles D. Savage photo, image from the Donald Duke Collection

This rather well know photo accompanying our story shows an 800-class wooden Interurban car, number 841 to be exact, heading inbound to Los Angeles on the Redondo Beach Line approaching Playa Del Rey shortly before service was discontinued in 1940. Photographer Charles D. Savage used the close proximity of the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean that were only a few feet away from the main line to perfectly illustrate one of the weaknesses of this uniquely Southern California electric railway line.