Watts Line

The Watts Line was a local line of the Pacific Electric Railway that operated between the Pacific Electric Building in Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States and the Watts Station at 103rd Street in Watts, Los Angeles. It was the primary local service for the Southern District, which also included the Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Ana and Whittier interurban lines. The route operated along the Southern Division's Four Tracks route, with the Watts Line using the outer tracks and the Long Beach line and other limited stop lines using the inner tracks.[1] It operated between 1904 and Nov. 2, 1959. During the 1910s, its service was combined with the South Pasadena Line of the Northern District. From 1938 to 1950, the line was combined with the Sierra Vista Line, which was the main local line in the Northern District.

A Watts Line car at Slauson Junction, c. 1902

Watts
The quadruple-tracked line south of Downtown Los Angeles
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Watts
Service
Type	Streetcar
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Daily ridership	37,436 (peak, 1946) 4,325 (close, 1958)
History
Opened	1904
Closed	1959
Technical
Line length	7.45 mi (11.99 km)
Number of tracks	2-4
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Pacific Electric Building  H   J   R   H   U  Amoco to Santa Monica Air Line Vernon Avenue  V  Slauson Junction to Whittier & La Habra–Yorba Linda Fleming to Ascot Park Florencita Park Florence Nadeau Graham Latin Watts end of local service

Tracks north of Washington Street were removed or paved over (except a short spur track) after PE service ended. In the late 1980s, the right of way was rehabilitated with one or two tracks used for freight rail (with electrification removed) and two tracks rebuilt to modern light rail specifications. Service along the line between Washington Boulevard and 103rd Street recommenced in 1990 as the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line (renamed the A Line in 2019), with stations at Washington Boulevard, Vernon Avenue, Slauson Avenue, Florence Avenue, Firestone Boulevard, and 103rd Street.