SeeCalifornia.com

Reviewed by Craig MacDonald

If you’ve been lucky enough to visit the incredible Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California, you may have been able to take an exhilarating ride on a Big Red Car (top right photo) that made Southern California’s transportation system world-famous for over 50 years.

Jim Walker, who helped found this unbelievable museum, wrote “Pacific Electric Red Cars.” The author of over 40 railways books has thankfully preserved the history and excitement of the Red Cars through hundreds of photos, which capture the spirit of the cars, those who rode them and the people responsible for their success.

Walker wrote that at its peak in the 1920s, Pacific Electric (P.E.) had 1,164 miles of track; 950 passenger cars and 2,700 trains that ran every day! It became known as a safe, inexpensive, fun way to travel.

Thanks to Walker for his railway dedication; to the Dorothy P. Gray Transportation Library and others, who helped provide photos, and to Arcadia Publishing for preserving this important part of history for future generations.  Read the full book review…>