Los Angeles Railway Corporation records: Finding Aid mssLARailway
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
June 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Updated by Brooke M. Black in August 2023.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Los Angeles Railway Corporation records
Creator:
Lewis, Edwin L.
Identifier/Call Number: mssLARailway
Physical Description:
7 Linear Feet
(4 boxes, 10 volumes, 5 folders, 1 roll)
Date (inclusive): 1857-1954
Date (bulk): 1887-1954
Abstract: A group of material related to the Los Angeles Railway Corporation.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Los Angeles Railway Corporation records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of Edwin L. Lewis, 1935-1939. Gift of Mrs. Collis H. Holliday, December 1981. Transferred from Huntington Library ephemera
collections, February 2015.
Biographical / Historical
The Los Angeles Railway Corporation, formed in 1910, was the final result of various mergers and consolidations of the numerous
local and interurban railways which developed in Los Angeles and adjacent communities. In that year Henry E. Huntington yielded
his interests in the Pacific Electric Company to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, which subsequently controlled the
interurban lines while Huntington incorporated the Los Angeles Railway Corporation, which then operated the Los Angeles city
lines. This material was collected by Edwin L. Lewis, who had begun working for the Los Angeles Cable Railway Company in 1888,
and eventually became the manager of the Los Angeles Railway Building in 1921.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of source material, mainly statistics, reports, and time schedules, related to the Los Angeles Railway
Corporation; the material was collected by Edwin L. Lewis for his projected book on the railway systems of Los Angeles. The
collection also includes letters, manuscripts, memorandum books, scrapbooks (with indexes), maps, and documents, including
Edwin Lewis' two-volume typescript titled, "Street railway development in Los Angeles and environs, 1895-1938," related to
Los Angeles area rail and transportation systems including the Pacific Electric Railway Company.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1940-1981. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy
summary report.
General
Former call number: mssLos Angeles Railway records.
Related Materials
There is a related collection of approximately 1,200 photographs in the Photo Archives (photCL 58). Boxes 21 and 27 contain
indexes with information related to the manuscripts.
Arrangement
Organized in two series: Series 1: Reports, correspondence, expenses, ephemera, freight stations, passenger data; Series 2:
Maps, memo books, essays, scrapbooks, documents.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Local transit -- California -- Los Angeles -- History
Street-railroads -- California -- Los Angeles -- History
Street-railroads -- California, Southern -- History
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Business records -- California, Southern
Letters (correspondence) -- California, Southern
Manuscripts -- California, Southern
Maps -- California, Southern
Memorandums -- California, Southern
Reports -- California, Southern
Scrapbooks -- California, Southern
Los Angeles Railway
Pacific Electric Railway Company.
Reports, correspondence, expenses, ephemera, freight stations, passenger data
Box 1
Reports, schedules, statistics, expenses, ephemera
1857-1938
Box 2
Correspondence, memorandum, plans, budgets, historical information
1932-approximately 1941
Box 3
Card file of freight stations, etc.
Maps, memo books, essays, scrapbooks, documents
Folder 2
Map of Property to be Sold at Auction by the Los Angeles Improvement Co.
1886 January 23
Folder 3
Memorandum books
1887-1912
Folder 4
Edwin L. Lewis. Essays on Los Angeles Street Railways
1931
Folder 5
Index to scrapbooks regarding Los Angeles Railway "Historical Data"
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235628.
Volume 1
Scrapbook, Historical Data, Book 1
1873-1932
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235628.
Volume 2
Scrapbook, Historical Data, Book 2
1878-1932
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235628.
Volume 3
Scrapbook, Historical Data, Book 3
1891-1933
Scope and Contents
Complied by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235628.
Volume 4
Scrapbook, Historical Data, Book 4
1827-1935
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235628.
Volume 5
Scrapbook re: Pacific Electric Railway
1902-1948
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235629. Contains loose material.
Volume 6
Index to scrapbook re: Pacific Electric Railway
1877-1932
Scope and Contents
Compiled by Edwin L. Lewis. Formerly call number: 235629.
Volume 7
Street Railway Development in Los Angeles and Environs, Volume I, by Edwin L. Lewis
1935
Volume 8
Street Railway Development in Los Angeles and Environs, Volume II, by Edwin L. Lewis
1938
Volume 9
Los Angeles Railway Corporation. Plan and agreement of exchange
1938-1939
Volume 10
Los Angeles Railway Corporation. $9,000,000 general mortgage 5% bonds and $8,954,400 5% preferred stock
approximately 1938
Scope and Contents
Cover is loose.
Roll 1
Blueprint copy of F.H. Olmstead tracing of Henry J. Stevenson's Map of the City of Los Angles
1876-1900
