A marvelous DVD showing the beginings through to the end of "The Big Red Cars". Very well researched and produced with an excellent commentary on an era largely forgotten. The DVD takes both a nostalgic and pragmatic look at the Pacific Electric's rise and fall, and looks at the people who created and evolved the system, interviews with those who operated the "big red cars" and those riding them plus the communities served.
There is an excellent bonus sequence taking a tour of present day hints of the old Pacific Electric routes and pointing out telltale signs of what once was from track cracks in pavement to "ancient" advertising signs showing through faded modern paintwork, from rusting bolts on buildings that held aloft the electric cables to modern building alignments still respecting the old right-of-ways.
It is a DVD to be enjoyed over and over.

Wow! This is an extremely well done presentation on the COMPLETE history of the PE. Covers everything from the early days of Los Angeles to the abandonment and after. Whether you're familiar with the Pacific Electric or not, I'm sure you'll find this very entertaining. A lot of content came from the Transit Gloria Mundi's 3 DVD set of Pacific Electric content. Some of the content came from the world class Huntington museum, library and gardens in San Marino.

The best part is something that looks like it was just thrown in as an extra. To me it alone would be worth having. The camera follows a VERY passionate and knowledgeable "foamer" around current day LA showing us areas where the Red Cars ran and what they look like now including little artifacts of what is still there and in some cases buried (I never heard of the term "track crack" until now).

It's guaranteed you won't be disappointed with this one!

The world needs more videos like this--it is entertaining and very informative because it gives the detailed history of a great lost system and does not feature endless run-bys.
One gets to know how and why Pacific Electric was created,what it did for the develpment of Southern California and why it disappeared.The bonus feature describes the sad remains that would be difficult to find by your own travels.

The video brought back old memories of my youth. I was born and raised in L.A. and the Red Cars and buses were part of my daily life. Also the Yellow cars and buses. You could go all over Southern California in the Red Cars and I did. Too bad the system is not still here. We could have saved so much money if we had.

Loved it. Will look over your list and look for more.

I was impressed by this video. I actually learned a lot more than I already knew about the Pacific Electric. I recommend it for any traction fan.

This video should be required viewing of all transportation administrators and planners in and around the greater Los Angles area.
It is possible to return to your roots.

I watched this DVD some time ago and agree with everything the other reviewers said. Excellent journalism about the rise and fall of the Big Red Cars. It also put to bed all those conspiracy theories about City Lines and General Motors plotting to replace them with buses. Sadly, they were just no longer a viable business enterprise. I only rode one once, LA to Long Beach and back. Wish they'd preserved all their rights of way though. Sure would have made today's rapid transit far easier to implement in the LA area.

I enjoyed the video very much. It was very well done. Stephanie Edwards was very good as the narrator. It was both entertaining and educational. I have already watched it twice and will watch it many more times and share it with friends.

I and my family have watched the Pacific Electric DVD, and we have decided that it was one of the better ones on the Pacific Electric! It has a very fine historic guide line of the PE history! If you are interested in the PE history and have a pictorial history to go along with it, this is a great DVD for you!!

Really excellent video.Will be looking for more.

Very interesting program. Today with the herrendous traffic problems they have in Calif. they should have never done away with this mode of transportation but upgraded it.
To do so now would be cost prohibitive.

Great for train lovers, better for history lovers!

Footage that was incredibly done from the earlier days of the big red cars....!!!

I had the fortune to be able to ride on the very last car to Riverside and back to Glendale....!

This DVD was done with great detail. They had photos of different types of cars and locomotives. But to me the most interesting thing was the first hand interviews of people who worked, rode and photographed it.

I would recommend that anybody who lives or has spent time in Los Angeles county watch this. If you've ever sat in standstill rush hour traffic on I-405 and wondered why LA has to be like this, the answer is in this documentary.

5/5 The most informative and comprehensive history of LA rail history I have seen to date. Highly recommended.

it is a good historical overview. Particularly, for me, the post wwII decline. I don't mind an occasional bus because it is the reality of that era. Early views of NYC are good too. I saw the church I used to attend when I lived there.

For many years, I spent a lot more time in New York and Chicago than I did Los Angeles. They were compact, yet you quickly learned how to get to any part by public transportation. Your DVD pointed out from the start that L.A. Was spread out, as much caused by the growth of Pacific Electric as anything else. Also the main part of the city was considerably back from the water, a factor which inhibited the growth of the other two cities in that direction. Now with a daughter living in Los Angeles, I have visited it many times and quickly realized the importance of having an automobile. The background to the demise of P.E. was what the DVD offered, and this was accomplished in a most interesting manner.

Very entertaining & informative. It explained well the flaws in the PE business model that doomed it. Great for train buffs and students of LA social history alike. Thoroughly recommended - an Australian admirer of PE.