photolitherland, here is a link to the history of the Pacific Electric Railway (the Red Car line).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric_Railway
Below are various photos from the railways twilight years (1953).
The location for this photo is east of Crenshaw on Exposition Blvd.
(notice the Barnum & Bailey rail car)
gokhan/transittalk
Below: At Ocean Park near the end of the Santa Monica Air Line.
gokhan/transittalk
Below: P.E. car in the Northvale Road Trench, going west toward Overland Ave. in 1953.
(it's really fun to find these locations on a contemporary map)
gokhan/transittalk
The other major transit was the Los Angeles Railway (LARy).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Railway
Below: A yellow and green LARY car southbound on Crenshaw Blvd in 1954.
Gokhan/transittalk