The Seal Beach Red Car Museum is located aboard Car No. 1734, a restored Pacific Electric Railway car on the corner of Main and Electric. The museum is a rare and unique glimpse into the mass transit system that once served Southern California using streetcars.
In February 2021, the Seal Beach Lions Club announced the purchase of the Pacific Electric Railroad Historic Red Car from the Seal Beach Historical Society. The red car will remain on site. The club plans to assess the Red Car’s condition and continue the restoration.
The Newport-Balboa Line was the first Pacific Electric line in Orange County. It ran down the coast from Long Beach to Newport Beach.
The PE began reducing service on this line in the 1940s; the last passenger run was in 1950. The once-popular Red cars were replaced by automobiles and buses.
At one time, Pacific Electric had over 1000 miles of trolley lines and 2700 scheduled trains daily in the Los Angeles area. You could board a red car trolley in Los Angeles and travel to the Balboa Pavilion. The Pacific Electric Railway began reducing service on the Newport-Balboa line in the 1940s, and the last passenger train run was in 1950.
If you would like to ride a Pacific Electric Railway red car trolley, we recommend taking a trip to Perris, California, and visiting the Orange Empire Railway Museum. On weekends the museum operates restored trolley cars along a two-mile track.
The greenbelt on which Seal Beach Red Car Museum sits was the old right of way for the Red Cars. The Newport-Balboa line ran down the coast from Long Beach. The trains reached Huntington Beach via Seal Beach in 1904, and the tracks were extended to Newport Beach in 1905 and finally to Balboa in 1906.
The Seal Beach Red Car is a fixed display with only a few feet of track on the original right of way. If you want to ride a Pacific Electric Trolley car, you can do so at the Orange Empire Railway Museum, or San Pedro has a 1.5-mile ride on fully restored trolleys.
If you want to ride in a Red Car take a trip to the Orange Empire Museum in Perris, CA https://daytrippen.com/orange-empire-railway-museum-perris-day-trip/