Orange Empire Railway Museum, 2201 S. "A" St.,  Perris, California. Parking is always free. Call: (951) 943-3020.  www.oerm.org
 

Top photo: L.A. Railway PPC 3001 Built in 1937, retired in 1963. Built by the St. Louis Car Company; Length 46 ft., Weight: 34,780 pounds, Seats: 61 people.

Car 3001 was Los Angeles' first PCC-type streetcar. It was unveiled on March 22, 1937 by Mayor Frank Shaw and child film star Shirley Temple, in a ceremony in front of City Hall. Public reaction to these modern cars was very favorable, and Los Angeles ultimately purchased a total of 165 PCCs between 1937 and 1948.

Car 3001 and its sisters were initially assigned to the Pico Boulevard P Line, which was the L.A. Railway's busiest. As more PCC cars were added to the fleet, other lines were converted to PCC service.

As motor bus substitution shrank the streetcar system in the 1950's, PCCs replaced older streetcars on the remaining lines. By 1958, the PCCs were Los Angeles' sole remaining class of streetcars. Car 3001 was used until the abandonment of all streetcar service in 1963, in which year it came to the Orange Empire Railway Museum. It has been restored to its as-delivered color scheme, which it wore from 1937 until repainted by the L.A. Transit Lines in the late 1940's.