Monrovia–Glendora Line

Monrovia–Glendora
Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia, 1903
Overview
Owner	Pacific Electric
Locale	Southern California
Termini	6th & Main Terminal Glendora
Stations	39
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	varied
History
Opened	1902
Closed	September 30, 1951 (1951-09-30)
Technical
Line length	26.21 mi (42.18 km)
Number of tracks	varied
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC overhead lines
Route map Legend Glendora La Fetra Citrus Avenue end of double track Azusa Puente Largo San Gabriel River Rivas Las Lomas Mount Olive East Duarte Duarte Glenney Greenwood Lexington Creek Monrovia Santa Anita Canyon Santa Fe RR Arcadia Arcadia Wash Santa Aninta Park Golden West Avenue Sunnyslope Michillinda Eaton Canyon La Presa Sunnyslope Rose Avenue Rubio Wash Sierra Madre San Marino Las Rosas El Molino San Pasqual Wash Pasqualito Fletcher Avenue Pasadena Short Line Oneonta Park La Cresta Alhambra–San Gabriel Shorb Sierra Vista Newton Titus Happy Valley Soto Street Viaduct El Sereno Lincoln Park Southern Pacific RR Charlotte Street Marengo Street Upland–San Bernardino Valley Junction State Street South Pasadena Echandia Brooklyn Avenue Union Pacific RR Los Angeles River Santa Fe RR  P  Southern Division 6th/Main Terminal  F  This diagram: view talk

The Monrovia–Glendora Line was a route on the Pacific Electric Railway serving the San Gabriel Valley. It operated from 1902 to 1951, supporting nearby real estate development.

History[]

The route was established in 1902. Passenger service at Monrovia began on March 1, 1903.^[1] The extension to Glendora followed in December 1907.^[2][3]

A proposed four-mile (6.4 km) extension of the line from Glendora to Lone Hill was denied by the Railroad Commission of the State of California in March 1918, citing wartime conditions.^[4]

The final cars ran over the line on September 30, 1951.^[5]

Route[]

From the 6th and Main Terminal in Downtown Los Angeles, the Monrovia–Glendora Line ran on the Upland–San Bernardino Line to "Valley Junction" (near Marengo Street, west of Sota Street) where the San Bernardino Line continued east. From there, the dual tracks continued on private way, in a northeasterly direction, paralleling Soto Street on the west, crossing over Valley Boulevard and the Southern Pacific Railroad Mainline on a steel bridge and continuing northerly to reach Indian Village (in the vicinity of Soto Street and Multnomah Street). Here, a four track system began. A mile or so further north, the four tracks crossed over Mission Road on a concrete viaduct, and then continued northwesterly on private way between the dual roadways of Huntington Drive.

At Sierra Vista (Main Street and Huntington Drive) the Alhambra–San Gabriel Line branched easterly from the four track section and proceeded on Main Street, while the Monrovia–Glendora Line continued north and then east still between dual roadways on Huntington Drive, to Oneonta Park (Huntington Drive and Fair Oaks Avenue). Here, the Pasadena Short Line turned north on Fair Oaks Avenue.^[6] The line then continued on a four track system as far as "El Molino" (El Molino Street) where the system returned to dual trackage. It continued northeasterly still between the dual roadways of Huntington Drive, passed Oak Knoll Avenue, (where the Oak Knoll Line proceeded north into Pasadena), and in a mile or so passed what is now known as Sierra Madre Boulevard (where the local Sierra Madre Line turned north) in San Marino.

Arcadia train station serviced by the Santa Fe Railway – the Monrovia–Glendora Line stopped adjacent to the depot

Proceeding east, the Monrovia–Glendora Line passed southerly of Santa Anita Racetrack and continued northeasterly on private way to St. Joseph Street in Arcadia. The line ran in the pavement of St. Joseph Street from Santa Anita across the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Mainline to 2nd Avenue. The Arcadia train station was the route's San Gabriel Valley transfer point for ATSF passenger trains. It then went on private way as far as Olive Avenue at Monterey Avenue in Monrovia. The line then continued in the pavement of Olive Avenue as far as Shamrock Avenue. From Shamrock Avenue, the dual tracks on private way, followed along Olive Avenue and Royal Oaks Avenue to Las Lomas Road where they then traversed open land to the San Gabriel River. The river was crossed on a two track bridge, which was later reduced to single track after 1938. The line then continued across open land into Azusa and entered city streets at 9th Street and Angelino Avenue. The dual tracks reduced to single track on private way at 9th Street and Pasadena Avenue. Thereafter, the line proceeded east, north of Foothill Boulevard on private way to its terminus in Glendora at Glendora Avenue.

Stations[]

Notes[]

References[]

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under the public domain as a work of the State of California. License statement/permission. Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes, California Department of Transportation, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see this how-to page. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.