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Description

Another Point of Divergence cover. This one is set on my "TrolleyWorld" timeline, where the big three transit companies in Los Angeles put on a cross-county "parade" of trolleys covered in Christmas lights. So I did a "poster" adversiting that year's parade (2013), and followed it up with this "article" from a newspaper on the timeline:

“A Hundred and Fifty Kims of Light!”

A brief history of Los Angeles County's “Parade of Lights”

-=-=-=-

By Francine Rivera, Staff Writer, Silverstone Sun

-=-=-=-

     This year, Los Angeles County's “Parade of Lights” celebrates its seventy-seventh anniversary. In fact, there are now very few people who know the far more modest origins of this parade and even fewer who remember a time when there wasn't this trolley parade every December.

     Placing holiday decorations and lights on trolleys wasn't a new thing even back in 1937. Companies all over, and not just in the Republic, had been doing such almost since the beginning, as the wide spread adoption of electric railcars and electric Christmas lights happened in the same decade. Placing a string of colorful electric lights on a vehicle that itself ran on electricity just seemed natural and by the early 20th century, there was hardly a company in North America that didn't at least decorate one of their trolleys for the holidays.

     But they were just that: Decorations. Apart from the occasional newspaper silverprintings taken when the decorated car (or cars) rolled out of the shops, the average rail company simply used the cars as a normal part of their fleets until with the end of December and the new year, the decorations were removed.

     In 1925, however, Silverstone & Jade tried something new. They had been decorating cars since their days as the Silverstone & San Pedro. This year, however, they announced that the decorated cars (fifteen of their new 400 series) would not just operate as normal during December, but would “parade” along their tracks from Silverstone to Los Angeles and then continue down the newly completed Grand Union Trackage to San Pedro.

     So on the evening of December 12, 1925, fifteen S&J cars, covered with lights, ribbons and boughs made their way slowly down to San Pedro, where the company put on a two-day faire at the Point Fermin end of the line, celebrating the new 400s (most of which returned to regular service after the parade), the new Grand Union, and, of course, Christmas.

     For the next two years, Silverstone & Jade did similar parades, though the one in 1927 went east from Silverstone to La Sierra due to a usage conflict on the GUTs. In 1928, however, war fears with the newly formed Owen's Incorperacy caused the parade to be canceled. 1929 and then 1930 came around, along with the recognition of the Incorperacy and the disappearance of those fears, but S&J did not resume the parade.

     The concept seem forgotten until 1934, when Sierra Foothill decided to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its Los Angeles line by having its own parade, running from San Fernando to Los Angeles on December 1st (this was the start of the “first Saturday in December” tradition). It proved to be quite popular, and Sierra Foothill actually made a good profit on the affair by selling tickets to ride the cars as they paraded and by having carnivals both at the start in San Fernando and the end in Los Angeles.

     Naturally, as the line went through Silverstone, this reminded the residents of their own parades of just a few years back, so 1935 saw two competing parades – one from San Fernando to Los Angeles, the other from Silverstone to San Pedro. Then, the following February came in with rumors that Pacific Electric was going to do its own parade as well, duplicating at least the Los Angeles to San Pedro portion of S&J's route.

     Obviously, this caused a lot of confusion, as the three companies started arguing trackage rights, negotiating how close they could operate faires to one-another, and simple timing issues all the way from Spring through the Summer. It did not quite start a war, but it seemed as if it would at times. Come December and 1936's parades actually interfered with one-another as they reached downtown Los Angeles, causing a jam-up of cars that took two hours to untwist, leaving those in San Pedro wondering what had happened to the parade. All three parades cause confusion about where to watch, what carnivals were open, and what time the cars would be passing through parade-goers areas. It is commonly held to be a disaster.

     Then in that following January, the Mayors of Los Angeles and Silverstone stepped in and floated the concept to the boards of the companies that three competing parades could not avoid causing conflict, confusion and a loss of revenue. However, one big combined parade...

     It is said that Christmas lights went on over everyone's heads.

     Saturday, December 4th of 1937 saw the first official “Parade of Lights”, with almost fifty cars from the three companies running three separate routes that came together at Los Angeles, then followed the GUTs south to San Pedro and Point Fermin park. At over a dozen places along the route, “Carnivals of Light” were set up to entertain parade watchers until the cars passed through their areas.

     Normal transportation was difficult during that evening, but almost everyone agreed that it had been worth it and the parade was scheduled as an annual event, with handshakes all-around.

     Over the years the parade has continued to grow, and is now one of the premier annual events in Los Angeles County, with over a million residents and tourists coming to line the parade routes and visit the faires that now last a full eight days (the “Eight Days of Christmas”) from the Saturday before to the Sunday following the parade. By the 30th parade in 1966, the number of cars had topped one-hundred and the routes, which had been changing – sometimes subtly, sometimes not – the previous years were pretty much formalized and the event could now proudly announce “150 Kims of Light!”

     The parade itself is now organized and run by Point of Divergence Productions, an amusements company working out of Silverstone, and if, somehow, you've avoided seeing the parade all these years, it behooves you to do so this Saturday, December 7th, for they put on a fine show.

Description

Another Point of Divergence cover. This one is set on my "TrolleyWorld" timeline, where the big three transit companies in Los Angeles put on a cross-county "parade" of trolleys covered in Christmas lights. So I did a "poster" adversiting that year's parade (2013), and followed it up with this "article" from a newspaper on the timeline:

“A Hundred and Fifty Kims of Light!”

A brief history of Los Angeles County's “Parade of Lights”

-=-=-=-

By Francine Rivera, Staff Writer, Silverstone Sun

-=-=-=-

     This year, Los Angeles County's “Parade of Lights” celebrates its seventy-seventh anniversary. In fact, there are now very few people who know the far more modest origins of this parade and even fewer who remember a time when there wasn't this trolley parade every December.

     Placing holiday decorations and lights on trolleys wasn't a new thing even back in 1937. Companies all over, and not just in the Republic, had been doing such almost since the beginning, as the wide spread adoption of electric railcars and electric Christmas lights happened in the same decade. Placing a string of colorful electric lights on a vehicle that itself ran on electricity just seemed natural and by the early 20th century, there was hardly a company in North America that didn't at least decorate one of their trolleys for the holidays.

     But they were just that: Decorations. Apart from the occasional newspaper silverprintings taken when the decorated car (or cars) rolled out of the shops, the average rail company simply used the cars as a normal part of their fleets until with the end of December and the new year, the decorations were removed.

     In 1925, however, Silverstone & Jade tried something new. They had been decorating cars since their days as the Silverstone & San Pedro. This year, however, they announced that the decorated cars (fifteen of their new 400 series) would not just operate as normal during December, but would “parade” along their tracks from Silverstone to Los Angeles and then continue down the newly completed Grand Union Trackage to San Pedro.

     So on the evening of December 12, 1925, fifteen S&J cars, covered with lights, ribbons and boughs made their way slowly down to San Pedro, where the company put on a two-day faire at the Point Fermin end of the line, celebrating the new 400s (most of which returned to regular service after the parade), the new Grand Union, and, of course, Christmas.

     For the next two years, Silverstone & Jade did similar parades, though the one in 1927 went east from Silverstone to La Sierra due to a usage conflict on the GUTs. In 1928, however, war fears with the newly formed Owen's Incorperacy caused the parade to be canceled. 1929 and then 1930 came around, along with the recognition of the Incorperacy and the disappearance of those fears, but S&J did not resume the parade.

     The concept seem forgotten until 1934, when Sierra Foothill decided to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its Los Angeles line by having its own parade, running from San Fernando to Los Angeles on December 1st (this was the start of the “first Saturday in December” tradition). It proved to be quite popular, and Sierra Foothill actually made a good profit on the affair by selling tickets to ride the cars as they paraded and by having carnivals both at the start in San Fernando and the end in Los Angeles.

     Naturally, as the line went through Silverstone, this reminded the residents of their own parades of just a few years back, so 1935 saw two competing parades – one from San Fernando to Los Angeles, the other from Silverstone to San Pedro. Then, the following February came in with rumors that Pacific Electric was going to do its own parade as well, duplicating at least the Los Angeles to San Pedro portion of S&J's route.

     Obviously, this caused a lot of confusion, as the three companies started arguing trackage rights, negotiating how close they could operate faires to one-another, and simple timing issues all the way from Spring through the Summer. It did not quite start a war, but it seemed as if it would at times. Come December and 1936's parades actually interfered with one-another as they reached downtown Los Angeles, causing a jam-up of cars that took two hours to untwist, leaving those in San Pedro wondering what had happened to the parade. All three parades cause confusion about where to watch, what carnivals were open, and what time the cars would be passing through parade-goers areas. It is commonly held to be a disaster.

     Then in that following January, the Mayors of Los Angeles and Silverstone stepped in and floated the concept to the boards of the companies that three competing parades could not avoid causing conflict, confusion and a loss of revenue. However, one big combined parade...

     It is said that Christmas lights went on over everyone's heads.

     Saturday, December 4th of 1937 saw the first official “Parade of Lights”, with almost fifty cars from the three companies running three separate routes that came together at Los Angeles, then followed the GUTs south to San Pedro and Point Fermin park. At over a dozen places along the route, “Carnivals of Light” were set up to entertain parade watchers until the cars passed through their areas.

     Normal transportation was difficult during that evening, but almost everyone agreed that it had been worth it and the parade was scheduled as an annual event, with handshakes all-around.

     Over the years the parade has continued to grow, and is now one of the premier annual events in Los Angeles County, with over a million residents and tourists coming to line the parade routes and visit the faires that now last a full eight days (the “Eight Days of Christmas”) from the Saturday before to the Sunday following the parade. By the 30th parade in 1966, the number of cars had topped one-hundred and the routes, which had been changing – sometimes subtly, sometimes not – the previous years were pretty much formalized and the event could now proudly announce “150 Kims of Light!”

     The parade itself is now organized and run by Point of Divergence Productions, an amusements company working out of Silverstone, and if, somehow, you've avoided seeing the parade all these years, it behooves you to do so this Saturday, December 7th, for they put on a fine show.