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Tag: Red Car

  • On The Other Side Of The Tracks

    Images of The Week

    Anaheim Bay – 1914

    These four photographs provide an almost 180 degree glimpse of Anaheim Landing take from the Pacific Electric tracks ninety-six years ago.

    This shot faces north towards where J. H. McGaugh Intermediate School will be built in about forty years.  The dock just left from the center was a familiar Anaheim Landing landmark for years.

    The photographer turned a bit to his right to give us a nice shot of some homes along the shore of Anaheim Bay.  These homes would either be destroyed or moved into Seal Beach when the Navy took over the bay in 1944.  Note the man in suspenders taking a break in the sand.

    A little more to the right to show some more homes and the marshy area that will someday become the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge.

    And finally a view towards what would become the Surfside Colony and Sunset Beach.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    Bookmark and Share– Michael Dobkins

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  • Pacific Electric’s 1914 Training Film

    The Pacific Electric’s Newport line was crucial to the development of Seal Beach and the coastal cities of Orange County down to Newport Beach. The Pacific Electric red car trolleys once ran along Electric Avenue through the city for most of the first half of the 20th century.  A second line came across the bridge from the Long Beach Peninsula on Ocean Avenue and turned down Main Street to join the main line at Electric Avenue.

    Here’s an eight minute portion of a Pacific Electric training film from 1914 posted on YouTube. It’s best to keep in mind that this film was originally made to instruct PE employees how to do their jobs and not entertain. Still, it does offer an interesting glimpse into what it was like to ride on a red car in 1914.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCTyMo8vak4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0]

    This video was taken from an 8mm film compiled by Interurban Films, a specialty film company that compiled railroad footage into film collections for rail fans. Interurban Films was founded and run by the late Bruce Frenzinger, one of the founding members of the Seal Beach Historical & Cultural Society and a driving force in the initial acquisition and restoration of the Red Car Museum back in the seventies. The next time you visit the Red Car Museum, toot the train whistle in Bruce’s honor.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you.