General Motors, Mack Trucks (buses), Firestone Tires, a couple of oil companies were among the investors in American City Lines. In the Pacific slope area there was Pacific City Lines which was controlled by American City Lines. These companies ended up acquiring many city rail systems. Among those that come to mind are Baltimore, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale (Calif.), Fresno, Sacramento, Butte. And many more.
Many of these were owned by investors (sometimes railroads or power companies) that wanted to unload what they saw as a money lossing investment.
Many of the rail operations were in need of major capital money for replacement of track, overhead (wires) and equipment. These were often wornout and at or beyond economical life. The communities were looking at repaving the streets and looking at the rail systems to pay a share of the costs.
The automobile had become common place and the rails were often in the way of faster and safer use of the automobile. It was popular to embrace the automobile and shun the public transit.
So, the way for the transit (streetcar) companies to go was often seen as converting to motor bus. The maintenance of the track and wire would be elliminated. The company would be releived of paying for the reconstruction of streets. The buses got free use of the public streets for only paying the gasoline tax.
Many of the existing investors did not want to go further into debt to make this change. So when National City Lines (or anyone else) make an offer to buy them out the owners often jumped at the chance.
The Pacific Electric never was puchased by National City Lines. It did sell several local city operations (that already were using buses) to Pacific City Lines (Pasadena, Glendale and Long Beach). The PE's onwer, Southern Pacific, sold several other local city operations that it owned to Pacific City Lines (Fresno, etc.). But the Pacific Electric was an orginator (or terminator) of much freight for the Southern Pacific; several of these lines still provide freight business for the UP.
The Pacific Electric sold its passenger business (rail and bus) to Metro Coach lines in the early 1950s. There is speculation that the Southern Pacific actually gave the business away just to get out from under the obligation and losses.
Metro Coach Lines was headed up by a one-time Union Pacific officer. He began as a surveyor and ended up with a responsible position in its industrial development department.
Brian Norden
