Pacific Electric 1648, date, location and actual photographer unknown. Scanned from an 8x10 photographic print by M D McCarter.

This car started life as one of the two J G Brill distillate electric 72 foot combination cars built as Northwestern Pacific 903-904 in 1929. They were each powered by twin Hall Scott model 300 six cylinder distillate engines with four Westinghouse 557E2 traction motors.

The well worn cars were brought to the Pacific Electric in early 1943 to help with World War II traffic demands. NWP 904 was placed in service on the San Bernardino line as a test, but it was too long for switching the sharp spurs there. PE's Torrance shop made heavy modifications starting in April, 1943, including shortening the car by 30 feet by removing the passenger section. Electrical equipment was moved from underneath the car to inside the baggage section at this time. The car was back in service in July.

In November, NWP 903 was brought out of the deadline and modified the same way. At the same time, three similar cars, Southern Pacific 7-9, were also at Torrance, also for conversion to switchers.

NWP 903 entered service in February, 1944, but the Pacific Electric had had enough, and the three SP cars were refused. SP 7 went north to the Visalia Electric in April, and the other two were returned to the Southern Pacific.

Switch crews soon demanded footboards, and the distillate fuel was a constant source of trouble. Torrance again took the cars in, adding footboards and ordering carburetors to convert the engines to burn gasoline. NWP 904 was renumbered Pacific Electric 1649 at this time.

Slow speed switching didn't allow the batteries to fully charge, and in April, 1944, both cars were once again at Torrance to fix the charging issues and install the carburetors.

Both cars were formally bought by Pacific Electric on December 31, 1944, and NWP 903 became PE 1648.

In April, 1945, both cars were assigned lasting assignments. PE 1648 went to work at the San Fernando isolated trackage and 1649 was sent to the "island" at Orange.

PE was never satisfied with the performance of either engine, and scrapped 1649 in July, 1951. PE 1648 lingered two years longer but was scrapped in September, 1953.