General Motors and its not so glorious past.

During a stay in L.A. a couple of years back, friends in Manhattan Beach told us a story of the train that used to run along the beach. It seems that the walk- and bike path along the beach was built on top of the old train tracks that ran all the way to Long Beach. They also said that they were under the impression that apparently the American automotive industry had a hand in it's disappearance, allegedly buying train companies and shutting them down to boost their car and bus business; and at the same time laying the groundwork for L.A.s pollution problem. Today I happened upon the story below posted by Kate of Vancouver, BC, on Now Public:

"Beginning in the 1920s, General Motors began investing in mass transit systems. According to historian Marty Jezer (and Congressional hearings held in 1974), between 1920 and 1955, General Motors bought up more than 100 electric mass transit systems in 45 cities, allowed them to deteriorate, and then replaced them with rubber-tired, diesel-powered buses (...) In 1949, General Motors, Firestone Rubber, and Standard Oil of California were convicted by a federal jury of criminally conspiring to replace electric mass transit with GM-manufactured diesel buses. In a noteworthy illustration of justice for corporations, the court fined GM USD 5,000 and forced H.C. Crossman, the GM executive responsible for carrying out GM's policy, to pay USD 1:-. Cities where GM managed to eliminate electric/rail systems, and replace them with buses and private cars, included New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, Oakland, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.


Many people think of Los Angeles as the original automobile city. However, before GM converted the city to buses and private automobiles, Los Angeles was served by the largest electric/rail mass transit system in the United States. The Pacific Electric Railway ran more than 1,000 trains per day over 760 miles of rail lines, carrying light freight as well as passengers. Its last line, to Long Beach, was abandoned in 1961 - the same year the ingredients of smog were first identified in L.A.'s toxic air.


During this same period, GM worked to convert electric-powered commuter railroads to diesel-powered locomotives, which were far more expensive, more complex, and less reliable than electric locomotives, thus requiring more maintenance, and contributing significantly to the demise of the nation's railroad system. For example, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford line showed a profit during 50 years of operation until 1956, the year it began converting to diesel locomotives; by 1961 it was declared bankrupt and a report by the Interstate Commerce Commission censured GM for contributing to its demise."