Only the 736 Will Survive
Image courtesy Guy Span
By Ralph Cantos
Image courtesy Guy Span
Hollywood car 736 burst into the morning sun as it approaches 1st & Hill Streets. The third rail was for the LARY / LATL A line that was abandoned on June 30, 1946. It was one of the first dirty deeds by the new LATL management. This photo probably dates to about 1946-47. The crossover in the foreground was removed when the A line third rail was pulled up.
By the end of 1950, all rail service on Hill Street was abandoned and the car tracks quickly paved over. About the same time, construction of the “space-age” Hollywood Freeway was well under way. EVERYTHING in the scene will be bulldozed into oblivion except the 736. It would be sold for continued operation in Buenos Aires, proving once again that “one cities junk, is another cities treasure.”
Photo from the collection of Guy Span
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And the “tradition” of Red Cars going to Argentina was revived in this century when some of San Diego Trolley’s first cars were sold to a city south of Buenos Aires.
Don’t you just love that rock in the switchpoint. I am assuming 736 got through without derailing – just barely.
SHARP EYE GARY !!!
Let’s look at this pic a little longer.
The car is APPROACHING the switch with the rock, the motorman with his white shirt and tie can be plainly seen, the car hasn’t been over the rock yet.
Secondly, the rock is between the narrow gauge rail and the reverse switch point of the standard-gauge only crossover, which wouldn’t be used unless the car was crossing over from one track to the other. The flanges won’t go in the gap where the rock is.
Looks like the south side of the loop track at Orange Empire. And the standard gauge rail right in front of the car looks rather questionable.