Ride the Big Red Cars

"Ride the Big Red Cars" takes its name from the famous slogan of the Pacific Electric, whose comfortable and speedy interurbans linked Southern California's mountains, beaches, orange groves, and cities for more than half a century. The P.E., at its peak, had 1.164 miles of track and operated 6,000 scheduled cars daily. The Pacific Electric boasted that it was the 'world's greatest electric railway,' and it provided rapid transit in an era when autos were primitive and there were few roads. The text is supplemented by more than 200 beautifully-reproduced photographs and maps which nostalgically show Southern California's earlier days, making the book one that you can look at as well as read.