# Watts Line

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{{use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox rail line
|name        = Watts
|image       = File:Electric railway review (1906) (14760698712).jpg
|image_width = 300px
|color       = {{rcr|Pacific Electric|Watts}}
|caption     = The [quadruple-tracked](/source/Quadruple-track_railway) line south of Downtown Los Angeles
|type        = [Streetcar](/source/Streetcar)
|system      = [Pacific Electric](/source/Pacific_Electric)
|locale      = [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California)
|start       = [Pacific Electric Building](/source/Pacific_Electric_Building)
|end         = [Watts](/source/Watts_Station)
|stations    = 
|routes      = 
|daily_ridership = 37,436 (peak, 1946) <br /> 4,325 (close, 1958)
|open        = {{circa|1906}}
|close       = {{end date|1959|11|2}}
|owner       = [Southern Pacific Railroad](/source/Southern_Pacific_Railroad)
|operator    = [Pacific Electric](/source/Pacific_Electric) (1904–1958)<hr />[Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority](/source/Los_Angeles_Metropolitan_Transit_Authority) (1958–1959)
|character   = 
|stock       = 
|linelength_mi  = 7.45
|tracklength = 
|tracks      = 2–4
|gauge       = {{RailGauge|sg|allk=on}}
|electrification = {{600 V DC|conductor=overhead}}
|speed       = 
|elevation   = 
|map         = {{PE S Watts}}
}}

The '''Watts Line''' was a local line of the [Pacific Electric Railway](/source/Pacific_Electric_Railway) that operated between the [Pacific Electric Building](/source/Pacific_Electric_Building) in [Downtown Los Angeles](/source/Downtown_Los_Angeles) and the [Watts Station](/source/Watts_Station) at 103rd Street in [Watts](/source/Watts%2C_Los_Angeles). It was the primary local service for the Southern District, which also included the [Long Beach](/source/Long_Beach_Line), [San Pedro](/source/San_Pedro_via_Gardena_Line), [Santa Ana](/source/Santa_Ana_Line) and [Whittier](/source/Whittier_Line) [interurban](/source/interurban) lines. The route operated along the Southern Division's [Four Tracks](/source/Quadruple-track_railway) route, with the Watts Line using the outer tracks and the Long Beach line and other limited stop lines using the inner tracks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.erha.org/peswat.htm |title=Pacific Electric Watts Line |publisher=Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Slauson Junction.jpg|thumb|left|A Watts car at [Slauson Junction](/source/Slauson_Junction) prior to the expansion to four tracks, {{circa|1902}} ]]
Pacific Electric undertook a program to [quadruple-track](/source/Quadruple-track_railway) the [Long Beach Line](/source/Long_Beach_Line) between Los Angeles and Watts starting in 1906.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=A Four Track Line on the Pacific Coast |url=https://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/ERJ/srj-street-railway-journal/1906-srj-volume-27-no-23-june-09.pdf |access-date=19 August 2025 |magazine=Street Railway Journal |volume=XXVII |number=23 |publisher=[McGraw Publishing Company](/source/McGraw_Publishing_Company) |date=June 9, 1906 |page=926}}</ref> Local service was separated from the Long Beach Line in April 1907 when the four tracks were completed to [Slauson Junction](/source/Slauson_Junction).<ref>{{cite news |title=Four-Track System on P.E. Line |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-express-four-track-s/179291861/ |access-date=20 August 2025 |agency=Los Angeles Express |date=April 29, 1907 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=Emblem1959>{{cite magazine |title=Watts Rail Line Goes to Bus |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/employeenews/Emblem_1959_Dec.pdf |access-date=11 April 2021 |magazine=Emblem |publisher=[LAMTA](/source/LAMTA) |date=December 1959 |page=12}}</ref> Completion of the line south Watts was delayed due to lack of materials, caused by sudden call to double track the new [Covina Line](/source/Covina_Line).<ref>{{cite news |title=Two and four tracks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114768469/ |access-date=17 December 2022 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |via=Newspapers.com |date=6 July 1907 |page=24}}</ref> The full four-track system opened that October.<ref>{{cite news |title=Four Tracks to Watts Relieves Congestion |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-express-four-tracks/179294118/ |access-date=20 August 2025 |newspaper=Los Angeles Express |date=October 14, 1907 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Local trains ran on the inside set of tracks while Watts Locals ran on the outside set.

During the 1910s, its service was combined with the [South Pasadena Line](/source/South_Pasadena_Local) of the Northern District. From 1938 to 1950, the line was combined with the [Sierra Vista Line](/source/Sierra_Vista_Line),<ref name=1958History>{{Veysey-PE-1958 |pages=93–94}}</ref> which was the main local line in the Northern District. Streetcars were removed and replaced with a parallel bus service on November&nbsp;2, 1959.<ref name=Emblem1959 /><ref name=Nov2>{{cite web |title=November 2: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History |url=https://metroprimaryresources.info/this-date-in-los-angeles-transportation-history/november/november-2/ |website=Metro Primary Resources |date=24 October 2012 |publisher=Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archives |access-date=11 April 2021}}</ref>

Tracks north of Washington Boulevard were removed or paved over (except a short [spur track](/source/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](/source/Railway_electrification_system) removed) and two tracks rebuilt to modern [light rail](/source/light_rail) specifications. Service along the line between Washington Boulevard and 103rd Street recommenced in 1990 as the [Los Angeles Metro](/source/Los_Angeles_Metro) [Blue Line](/source/A_Line_(Los_Angeles_Metro)) (renamed the A Line in 2019), with stations at [Washington Boulevard](/source/Washington_(Los_Angeles_Metro_station)), [Vernon Avenue](/source/Vernon_(Los_Angeles_Metro_station)), [Slauson Avenue](/source/Slauson_(Los_Angeles_Metro_Blue_Line_station)), [Florence Avenue](/source/Florence_(Los_Angeles_Metro_station)), [Firestone Boulevard](/source/Firestone_(Los_Angeles_Metro_station)), and [103rd Street](/source/103rd_Street%2FWatts_Towers).

==Stops and stations==
The following were stops and stations along the Watts line:<ref>{{cite web |title=1944 Pacific Electric Station List |url=https://www.pacificelectric.org/collections/douglas-neilson-collection/1944-pacific-electric-station-list/ |website=Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society |publisher=Pacific Electric |access-date=20 June 2025 |date=January 1, 1944 |page=6}}</ref>
* [Pacific Electric Building](/source/Pacific_Electric_Building) (6th & Main)
* 7th & Main
* 8th & Main
* 9th & Main
* 9th & Los Angeles
* 9th & Maple
* 9th & San Pedro Street
* 9th & Stanford
* 9th & Central Avenue
* 9th & Naomi Street (inbound)
* 9th & Hooper (outbound)
** (begin Four Tracks)
* Long Beach Avenue
* 14th Street
* 16th Street
* [Washington Blvd](/source/Washington_station_(Los_Angeles_Metro))
* 20th Street
* 24th Street ([Amoco Junction](/source/Amoco_Junction)) – interchange with Air Line
* Adams Boulevard 
* Santa Barbara Avenue
* 41st Street
* [Vernon Avenue](/source/Vernon_station)
* 48th Place
* 52nd Street
* 55th Street
* [Slauson Avenue](/source/Slauson_Avenue) ([Slauson Junction](/source/Slauson_station_(A_Line))) – interchange with [Whittier](/source/Whittier_Line)
* 60th Street
* Gage Avenue
* 68th Street
* 68th Street
* [Florence Avenue](/source/Florence_station_(Los_Angeles_Metro))
* 76th Street
* Nadeau
* 82nd Place
* [Graham](/source/Firestone_station)
* Kent (88th)
* 92nd Street
* 97th Street
* [Watts](/source/Watts_Station) (103rd Street)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML |display=title,inline}}

{{PE Watts Stations}}
{{Pacific Electric Railway}}

Category:Pacific Electric routes
Category:1906 establishments in California
Category:Railway services introduced in 1906
Category:Railway services discontinued in 1958
Category:1958 disestablishments in California
Category:Closed railway lines in the United States

{{US-rail-transport-stub}}
{{California-transport-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Watts Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Line) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Line?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.