Balboa Line

Originally planned by the Pacific Electric, the line was turned over to the Los Angeles Interurban Railway in 1904 who proceeded to build out the tracks south from Long Beach until reaching Balboa in 1906.[1]

The Newport Beach to Balboa segment was reduced to a single daily round trip in June 1940 and was fully abandoned on November 18 of that year.[2] This started a series of service abandonments and restorations — all Newport trains were discontinued on that date.[2] In July 1942, passenger service was briefly restarted with runs of the club car Commodore, lasting just under two months.[2] Service was fully restored on May 2, 1943, owing to the need to move workers for the war effort and Pacific Electric lacking motor coaches to do so; trains ran between Huntington and Long Beach, where passengers transferred to Long Beach Line cars.[2] By July, morning and evening runs were discontinued, as noise from the interurban line interfered with the United States Navy submarine listening post at Seal Beach. Service was fully discontinued at the end of September under further direction by the Navy. Rush Hour service began again in June 1944, but was discontinued after three months. A fifth restoration with a more comprehensive schedule started in June 1945, but service was again discontinued after three months.

June 1946 brought the last incarnation of the line. By mid-1948, Pacific Electric had purchased the requisite Southern Pacific Railroad lines to allow them to move freight to Newport and Huntington without the trip through Long Beach and Sunset Beach.[3] Commodore service lasted seasonally until September 1949, its final run. The last passenger train on the line ran to Newport from Los Angeles on June 30, 1950.[2]

Though ridership early on was very high, it had slowly dwindled to 55,390 in 1948.[1]

Today, the beach route between Long Beach and Balboa is heavily trafficked, and plans to revive rail service along this corridor have been proposed sporadically.

The route ran "flyer" service between Downtown Los Angeles and Willowville (a route also served by the Long Beach Line), making flag stops only at Vernon, Slauson, Watts, Compton and Dominguez Junction.

Commodore

Pacific Electric Car 1000, the first Commodore

Pacific Electric Car 1299, the Commodore parlor car from the 1942 season until its discontinuance[2]

The Commodore was a parlor car which ran a limited schedule during the summer seasons. It was the only such service operated by Pacific Electric. Beginning in 1936, the special was intended to attract commuters with summer homes in the area. Passenger paid a 35¢ premium (equivalent to $6 in 2019) per trip, or could acquire a weekly pass for $6.75 (equivalent to $124 in 2019) which was also accepted for regular trips on the line.[2] Initial Commodore runs called at Balboa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Long Beach before continuing non-stop to Los Angeles. By the end of its life in 1949, the car only called at Huntington Beach between Newport and Los Angeles.