Red Car myth debunking
I'm going to presume that it's now common knowledge for Los Angeles history buffs that there was no corporate conspiracy to kill the Red Car, either to construct freeways or to sell more automobiles. Apparently the PBS History Detectives program embraced the conspiracy theory model so familiar to us from the excellent film Roger Rabbit, rather than more academic soruces.
USC's Peter Gordon took issue with the sloppy history in this sort-of-rantish post about the hipocracy of Public Television and it's high minded viewers. He points his readers to this excellent paper written by economic historian George Hilton in 1976 that explains how the interurban electric railway system in Los Angeles died a natural death as it became obsolete. Hilton claims that Los Angeles' decentralization, a factor encouraged by the existance of the Red Cars, led to the irrelevance of a rail system with a central hub.
One of the interesting things I noticed while reading the paper was that the last lines to see regular or heavy use were the Long Beach and San Pedro lines, with the Long Beach lines being shut down as late as 1961. Those lines were beset by an astounding array of grade crossings, operating at relatively low speeds, and they remained in use for a very long time. Obviously today's Blue line has taken over the role of the Red Car's final, and most used line, what specific economic benefit would San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City regain from the return of mass transit?
(Props to LA Observed for pointing out the post and Peter for writing it in the frist place)
USC's Peter Gordon took issue with the sloppy history in this sort-of-rantish post about the hipocracy of Public Television and it's high minded viewers. He points his readers to this excellent paper written by economic historian George Hilton in 1976 that explains how the interurban electric railway system in Los Angeles died a natural death as it became obsolete. Hilton claims that Los Angeles' decentralization, a factor encouraged by the existance of the Red Cars, led to the irrelevance of a rail system with a central hub.
One of the interesting things I noticed while reading the paper was that the last lines to see regular or heavy use were the Long Beach and San Pedro lines, with the Long Beach lines being shut down as late as 1961. Those lines were beset by an astounding array of grade crossings, operating at relatively low speeds, and they remained in use for a very long time. Obviously today's Blue line has taken over the role of the Red Car's final, and most used line, what specific economic benefit would San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City regain from the return of mass transit?
(Props to LA Observed for pointing out the post and Peter for writing it in the frist place)
3 Comments:
And of course, Peter Gordon and George Hilton are totally unbiased observers with no particular ideological/economic ax to grind. Riiiiight?
All economists have an ideological axe to grind. What axe exactly are you accusing these two of grinding?
"I'm going to presume that it's now common knowledge for Los Angeles history buffs that there was no corporate conspiracy to kill the Red Car, either to construct freeways or to sell more automobiles."
...that presumption is a bitter draft of iniquitous false brew to the devotees of the Red Car. Read about the "General Motors streetcar conspiracy" in Wikkipedia - the case for the conspiracy is not insubstantial. In United States vs. National City Lines, Inc., the Court of the Land found the bus company and its subsidiary General Motors guity of conspiracy as charged (a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust laws). The fact that the penalty was so trivial confirms who and what interests really run this country.
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