The tracks start at Long Beach Blvd and Ocean Boulevard and follow the boulevard up past the 405 Freeway where it goes inland to the other cities. Some of the names are street names and not specifically city names. The old red cars are now called the Blue line... Hello, Having grown up in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area, we saw and were a part of the confusion with early traffic. Prior to the freeways being built and opened, the surface streets still had the truck transports coming from the LA/LB Harbor area, right through our Westside of Long Beach area and into the busy downtown Los Angeles area. When our mom took us to Los Angeles, she did not have a car of her own. So, we taxied to downtown Long Beach and got a trolley ride on the Big Red Cars, through downtown Long Beach, out through the backside of Bixby Knolls and through the cities of Compton, small areas of South Central Los Angeles to the downtown LA Red Car Station. It was near the old Richfield building with the distinct tower on top. Currently, the same tracks, but with modern cars are still being used as a way to get to downtown Los Angeles. But, instead of a red car, it is called the “Blueline.” The direction and cities are the same, just a little bit different in their own history. Since the 2028 Olympics are coming to So Cal, Los Angeles in particular, the Blue Line trolleys from Long Beach certainly will play their parts in moving folks from one venue to another without having to drive in traffic during those hectic times… Following them in cars during our teenage years was hectic. One did not know when they would stop, but we got the picture of staying in the right side lane in downtown Long Beach. In Los Angeles, it was worse, as the red cars went down some very busy streets and stopped to let people on/off in the middle of the streets. Plus, the overhead lines on those streets were a giant blight added to the mix. These days, in Long Beach, there are designated center stations for pedestrians to get on and off of the Blue Line Cars. From the shoreline to Downtown Los Angeles on one track to and from… Jnaki In our Driver Education cl***es and we saw the problems of sharing the road with trolleys. The teenagers we knew never had an accident with the red cars or in Los Angeles. For the most part, the downtown areas of Long Beach were and still are shared with the Red Cars, now, Blue Line Cars. But out beyond the city limits, they run along the empty areas near residential areas and cross a few streets. It has been and still is a method of public transportation that we started riding in the early 50s to Los Angeles. Then from the main L.A. terminal around 6th street, today it is the center of the Blue Line, we took a taxi to meet our dad for lunch or shopping. As far as the traffic in the LA Metro area, it is horrendous and one needs to be calm to finagle the roads to get where you want. Timing is the best as far as when to go, directions, and alternative side streets, then it is just like any other place, a good road trip... YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
