D (Los Angeles Railway)

D
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Los Angeles Railway
Locale	Los Angeles
Termini	Bonnie Brae Street and Beverly Boulevard Central Station
Operation
Opened	1920
Closed	1947
Technical
Track gauge	narrow gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map edit Bonnie Brae and Beverly 3rd and Bonnie Brae 3rd and Alvarado Alvarado and 6thH, 3 5th and Beaudry 5th and FigueroaU 5th and Flower 5th and Grand 5th and Olive 5th and HillPacific Electric Railway 5th and BroadwayP, W, 5, 9 5th and SpringN, 7, 8 5th and MainO, Pacific Electric Railway 5th and Los Angeles 5th and Maple 5th and San Pedro Central StationSP U

D was a line operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1895 to 1947.

History

Bonnie Brae Line (1895-1920)

During the early days of LARy, the route ("Bonnie Brae") had to compete with multiple other streetcar companies, running a circuitous route to avoid them between Central Station and the northern portion of Westlake, by way of 5th Street, Olive Street, 6th Street, Figueroa Street, 7th Street Alvarado Street, Webster Avenue, and Bonnie Brae Street.

Following the Great Merger of 1911, Pacific Electric divested most of its Los Angeles local routes to LARy, allowing D to use former LAIU trackage on West 6th street Westlake. The Figueroa and 7th street portions of the line were eliminated, shortening the trip by a quarter of a mile. In 1920, the Bonnie Brae Line was renamed D.

D Line (1920-1947)

Early in the 1920s, the 5th street segment was extended so that 3, U, and D lines could run straight along 5th street through Downtown and shortening the route by an additional quarter mile. Unfortunately, this made D little more than a branch of two much more popular routes, with the closure of Central Station in 1940, and no major destinations on East 5th Street, ridership downtown reduced significantly. At the same time, however, the removal of the I line improved ridership in Westlake. The route was removed by Los Angeles Transit Lines in 1947.

Sources

Electric Rail Heritage Association