The first interurban railroad lines, that is, rail transportation between cities and towns, were
small modified railroad passenger cars pulled along by horse or mule power. In Los Angeles, the first horse car line was franchised in 1874, and was called the Spring & Sixth Street Horse Railroad,
which ran from the Plaza (Olvera Street) to what was then called Pearl Street (now Figueroa).
The next type of interurban lines were cable railways, which quickly evolved into electric railroads
in the 1890's, and remained so until the end of electric transit in Los Angeles in the 1950's. This particular horse car may have operated on the Los Angeles Railway before its electrification.
     
     This horsedrawn streetcar has been pulled up alongside a former Pacific Electric waiting station,
little more than a simple shelter from sun or rain, from Rio Vista Junction, now near the current
location of Universal Studios. Today, a new interurban railroad line is planned for that same area.