PE 717

Construction: Steel. Length: 52’ 2”. Weight: 61,700 lbs. Seats: 65.

Car 717 comes from the PE’s largest, and best-known, class of cars. Nicknamed “Hollywood Cars” for their many years of service on lines in the Hollywood area, a total of 160 were built between 1922 and 1928, at the height of the system’s development. The cars were equipped for multiple-unit operation, and ran in trains of up to three cars.

The Museum acquired car 717 in 1960 following the abandonment of the last line to use the Hollywood cars, the Watts Local. The image of car 717 has been immortalized by the Disney Studios, who used this car as the basis for building a replica Hollywood car for the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

Car 717 has been painted to recreate the unique “Valley Seven” subclass for the Museum’s collection. In 1938, cars 735-749 were modernized to provide better service between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Dubbed “Valley Sevens”, these 15 cars received rewound traction motors to increase their top speed, upgraded brake equipment, and a new paint scheme. All 15 of the “Valley Sevens” were among a group of cars sold to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1952.

Renumberings: Car 717 was renumbered 5167 in 1949, and became MTA 1815 in 1958.

Pacific Electric's famed "Hollywood" cars are some of the most recognizable images of the golden age of electric traction. OERM is fortunate to own five of the famous cars, but time and outdoor storage has not been kind to them. The final group of ten Hollywood Cars that survived into the late 1950's received an incredible amount of heavy service in their final years with only minimal maintenance. Cars like the 717 then saw many decades more service upon arrival at Perris. The time has now come for major rebuilds of the cars in order to permit them to safely transport passengers once again.

For decades, Car 717 was one of the most regularly used cars on OERM's Museum Railway. By the late 1990s, the wear on the car's wheels reached the point where the car was removed from the regular operating pool, pending a complete rebuild of its trucks and motors. Work began on the first truck for 717 in January 2004 and was completed in April 2005. Work is now underway on truck number two. In further good news, all five of the Museum's Hollywood Cars will finally receive an indoor home with the completion of Carhouse Seven in 2006.

The photos below provide details of some of the effort necessary to rehabilitate the badly worn components on the trucks and motors. OERM volunteers are providing the majority of the labor for the job, with bearing and traction motor contracted out to help shorten the project timeline. Costs for the rebuild of the first pair of trucks for car 717 are estimated at $22,000 and a fund has been set up to accept donations. Through August of 2005, $15,420 had been donated to the fund and over $11,000 has been expended in the rebuild of the first truck.

You can help return OERM's Hollywood Car's to service with a tax-deductible donation to the Hollywood Car Fund. OERM, PO Box 548, Perris CA 92572. Donations can also be charged to your credit card. Contact the Museum office during regular business hours at (951) 943-3020.


January 2004- an unrebuilt truck is removed from under car 5123 for overhaul	The extent of wear on some of the brake rigging components is illustrated in this view of one of the live levers, seen here after sandblasting.	Here are a group of the brake levers during rebuild. In this view you can see the new bushings that were installed.


The truck frame in primer- August 2004	Bearings like these axle bearings that support the traction motors were repaired, rebabbitted and machined.	Old pedestal liner on the right, new liner on the left


Hanger brackets with new bushings installed	Refurbished brake rigging being installed- February 2005	Refurbished traction motor


The finished truck (less motors) is rolled out of the OERM shop in April 2005.	Car 717 waits patiently for the first of its new trucks. A refurbished traction motor sits in the foreground.	Installing the traction motors in the truck, April 2005


717 is lifted in the OERM shop in order to roll the trucks out from underneath the car	This truck was the first to be replaced- note the obvious wheel wear	Old truck out from under the car


Preparing to remove the carbody brake rigging for inspection and repair	New truck in place under the car 6/26/05	At work on the second truck frame