CLANG, CLANG, CLANG WENT THE TROLLEY : VALLEY'S RED CARS ROLL AGAIN BY BARBARA DE WITT DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER.

A streetcar named Desire, it wasn't.

It was called the Pacific Electric car, affectionately nicknamed the PE and the Rattler.

But most folks referred to the San Fernando Valley's first public transportation system as the ``big red cars.''

Operating from the '20s through the early '50s, the red trolley cars were as much a part of the Valley's history as orange groves and Bob's Big Boy drive-ins.

Leave it to a baby boomer to bring them back. Sherman Oaks businessman Joseph Hafez, 47, will launch Oskar J's Red Car Trolleys on June 14.

But don't look for new tracks on those old asphalt islands along Sherman Way or Chandler and Van Nuys boulevards - this time around they'll be clangin' with gas.

The new red cars with brass trim and decorative windows will run on natural gas, ringing a trolley bell for every stop at major tourist attractions like Universal Studios and the Hollywood Bowl, hotels, shopping centers and downtown museums.

According to Hafez, a former veterinarian who is now in the tourism business, the trolleys are modeled after the original streetcars, but with modern conveniences including air conditioning to make them more comfortable.

``We researched them at the downtown Los Angeles library and watched videos, and these new trolley cars are much like them, designed to carry up to 38 people and featuring old-fashioned bench seats, lots of brass trim, decorative windows, a stop cord, and an open platform in the back,'' he said. Conductors in period costumes will act as tour guides and help people in and out, much as they did in the streetcars' heyday.

Although the cars look more like squeaky-clean Disneyland trolleys than the originals, the whole idea has several Valley residents waxing nostalgic.

Retired fire chief Bob Radke recalls riding the streetcars in the '20s, when they were part of a major real-estate promotion to get people to buy land in what was to become Van Nuys.

``You'd see ads that promised a free trolley ride and a barbecue as an enticement to come here on the red cars,'' he said. ``You see, there was also a line of yellow street cars, but that one didn't come as far as the Valley, so the red cars quickly became linked to this area.''

Radke said the cars were very utilitarian, and the ride was hot and dusty in the summer and wet in the rainy season because most of the windows were open to accommodate smokers.

``It was always a noisy ride, as the cars clanged a long warning as they crossed each street, because in those days there were no signals or crossing guards along the tracks. And they rattled a lot along the tracks, which is why some of us called it the Rattler.''

Unlike the streetcars of San Francisco, the red cars had no place to turn around, so they were built with reversible seats. According to Radke, ``When the cars got to the end of the line out here, the conductor would walk down the aisle and flip the wooden seats over, and then it would go rattling back in the other direction.''

Jean Steinberger, a retired Sherman Oaks schoolteacher, also recalls riding the streetcars. ``I took it to Los Angeles High School and to visit my grandmother back in the late '20s. But I also went sightseeing into Pasadena on the red cars, which were considered more exclusive than the yellow cars,'' she said.

By the late '40s, chrome-heavy automobiles and leaded gasoline became readily available and the red cars were eventually retired.

Some residents, like Helene Davies of Sherman Oaks, miss them.

``I took them in the early '50s before they were gone, and thought they were pretty fast. They went through residential areas and were a good way to get downtown and go shopping. When you think about it, they were crazy to cancel them,'' she said.

Hafez, who moved to the Valley in the '70s, missed the red car experience, but he's ridden plenty of streetcars and trolleys.

``I've taken the trolley in San Francisco, Boston and Hawaii, as well as London and Sydney, and they gave me the idea of bringing them back to L.A. After all, it's a fun way to see the city, and through my tourism business I've encountered a lot of interest in them, which leads me to believe they'll catch on here again,'' Hafez said, adding that his new venture is not competing with public buses or taxis, but is simply a nostalgic alternative.

The first Valley trolley stop will be at Universal City, with the streetcars traveling to Century City, Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Beverly Hills and downtown L.A.

``If it's successful, we'll be making stops at restaurants on Ventura Boulevard, and also along the original streetcar route, which included Van Nuys and Chandler boulevards,'' he added.

But the transportation service isn't cheap. Local passengers will pay a daily fee of $10 ($5 for children) and nonresidents will be charged $29 per day for unlimited access. The trolleys will operate daily at 30-minute intervals from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. in most areas, except holidays. To order the bright red-and-yellow tickets, call [phone].

All aboard! Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for children.

Hours: Beginning June 14, will operate from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Stops: Every 30 minutes. For complete schedule, call [phone].

Among the stops:

Universal Studios

Hollywood Bowl

Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard

Johnny Rockets restaurant on Melrose Avenue

Beverly Center shopping mall

Farmers Market, Los Angeles

Petersen Automotive Museum 

L.A. County Museum of Art

Chinatown

Olvera Street

Little Tokyo

Downtown garment district

Century City Shopping Center

Venice Beach

Fisherman's Village, Marina del Rey

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Former veterinarian Joseph Hafezis ready to tap into Southland nostalgia with his natural gas-powered trolleys modeled after the red cars that traveled L.A. streets from the 1920s to the '50s.

(2--Color) A new Oskar J's Red Car Trolley - running on roads instead of train tracks - does a test run along Ventura Boulevard.

(3--4--Color) Joe Marino, above, checks out the old-style stop cord on the new trolleys, which offer modern amenities such as air conditioning, along with traditional wooden benches, left.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

Box: All aboard! (See Text)