Nostalgia & History > A few PE motors

Pacific Electric #1605. - Tony J.

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PE1648 once was a 72-foot long Brill gas-electric passenger-baggage combo on the NWP. It was rebuilt in 1944 by shortening it to 43-feet, 3 inches. – Tony J.

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Here's PE1649 (ex-NWP904) at Orange, CA. on 12/30/1945. - Jack Whitmeyer photo. - Tony J.

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The "Orange Island" did not have wires so they had to use an internal combustion powered locomotive. I don't have my books handy, but I believe that they may have used one of the earliest diesels ever made, one made for the Dan Patch line, which was picked up second hand. Some of the tracks are still in place, but they are isolated bits and pieces, with the possible exception of a long unused spur crossing Katella.

The poles were, of course, to activate the signals when under wire.

Don;t know of any evidence that the "Dan Patch " locos were ever used at Orange. They were gas-electrics, btw, rather than diesels.




john1082 Wrote:
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> The "Orange Island" did not have wires so they had
> to use an internal combustion powered locomotive.
> I don't have my books handy, but I believe that
> they may have used one of the earliest diesels
> ever made, one made for the Dan Patch line, which
> was picked up second hand. Some of the tracks are
> still in place, but they are isolated bits and
> pieces, with the possible exception of a long
> unused spur crossing Katella.
>
> The poles were, of course, to activate the signals
> when under wire.

The Dan Patch locomotive apparently was used in the PE lines in the harbor area. There has be discussion about the use of electric or internal combustion locomotives on the Orange Island. It seems from information that I have found that the line was elelectrically operated until about 1944 and then when the PE got some internal combustion units.

Does anyone have any pre 1940 photos of the Orange Islands locomotive?

The line had wires over it it least into Orange up until the forties and when the line
to Santa Ana was abandoned it went to infernal combustion and might I add with an
interesting collection of same.