BusTalk

[morganw]

In Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely, he mentions the Bay Cities Transit Co. (Chandler's Bay City is thought to be Santa Monica which was lumped with Venice, West L.A. &c into Bay Cities).

"A big blue bus blared down the street to the little circle where the street car used to turn on a turntable."

then soon after

"The little sidewalk car came trundling along the wide concrete walk. I got on it and rode to the end of the line and got off and sat on a bench where it was quiet and cold and there was a big brown heap of kelp almost at my feet." and a bit later "I got back on the sidewalk car the next time it came and rode back almost to where I had left the hotel."

(from Chapter 34)

The only transit-related reference to "sidewalk car" I found in the early motor coach era was from 1924

"A. R. Meister of Sacramento, after pro-
longed study and experiment, developed and brought to San
Francisco and exhibited to members of your Board an accep-
table low-floor vehicle which he called a "sidewalk car." This
vehicle was then run all around the water front and conveyed
members of your Board, the Chief of Police, Capt. Gleeson of
the traffic squad, and members of the State Board of Harbor
Commissioners, and merited their general commendation."

I did find that Yellow Coach made a low-floor coach in 1938, the YC738, but some references to that as a "parlor" coach that wouldn't "trundle". Also, low-floor seems to sometimes mean low enough to not need stairs and sometimes mean front-engine, rear drive, banned for interstate commerce in 1935, increasing my confusion.

Now, toy pedal cars are sometimes called sidewalk cars, but I can't imagine one with room for a passenger, carrying a hardboiled detective. It does say the car is on the sidewalk, though. During the depression in L.A., there were "jitney" drivers: the unemployed who owned cars acting as cab drivers, but this transport is running on a schedule.

My guess is a 30's version of what today would be called a low-floor mini-bus and back then would look something like this.

Anyone know?

[morganw]

I found two references and two photos of sidewalk-running public transit in the Venice/Ocean Park/Santa Monica areas:


Los Angeles Public Library archives.


source

reference @ 1916

reference in Santa Monica: A History on the Edge By Paula A. Scott. The tram in the photo looks like the second one pictured: passengers all facing outwards in an oval. I think I've seen something like this in photos from Burning Man

It's not obvious in any of the photos where the driver's controls are.

Edited to add: found a few more sources for battery-electric "trackless trams" (how a single-car trackless tram is different from a bus, I haven't figured out yet)

EHRA: Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California


Controls (and operator) visible!

Edited again: found some more photos that show that the squarish car is most likely just the evolution of the oval one: canopy added & rubber skirt replaces the wicker one. The 1st photo seems to show the car from the back.

[Hart Bus]

my initial reaction to seeing these vehicles is that they are elongated versions of what used to carry sightseers sup down the boardwalks of Atlantic City and Asbury Park,New Jersey inn their heyday