San Pedro — Trolley Anniversary

Rail Transit Online, August 2004

The San Pedro Red Car Line celebrated its first anniversary the weekend of July 17-18 by importing Pacific Electric 332, a single-truck Birney car, from the Orange Empire Railway Museum.  No. 322 was built in 1918 and served several PE local lines, including those in San Pedro, until it was retired in 1941 and sold to MGM Studios along with sister cars 331 and 337.  The trolley then had a distinguished movie career, appearing in several notable films including the classic musical, “Singin' in the Rain.”  In 1966, No. 331 and No. 332 got a third lease on life when they were donated to the trolley museum and eventually restored to their original configuration.  No. 332, now painted green and cream as Tucson No. 10, was available for rides during the anniversary weekend along with Red Car Line Nos. 1058, 501 and 500, the latter have just entered revenue service after passing all acceptance tests.  For the period ending June 30, 2004 (representing just over 11 months of operation), the Red Car had carried 80,435 passengers during 212 operating days, a daily average of 379 boardings.