Pasadena Short Line

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Pasadena Short Line
Overview
OwnerSouthern Pacific Railroad
LocaleSouthern California
TerminiPacific Electric Building
Downtown Pasadena
Stations14
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemPacific Electric
Operator(s)Pacific Electric
Rolling stockPE 5050 Class PCC cars (last used)
Daily ridership7,693 (last counting)
History
Opened1894 (Pasadena & Los Angeles Electric Railway)
1902 (Pacific Electric)
ClosedSeptember 30, 1951
Technical
Line length11.6 mi (18.7 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gaugenarrow gauge
Electrification600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map

Legend
 Pasadena
Santa Fe RR
 Raymond Hill
South Pasadena
South Pasadena
Monrovia–Glendora / Pasadena via Oak Knoll
 Oneonta Park
La Cresta
Alhambra–San Gabriel / Shorb
 Sierra Vista
Newton
Titus
Happy Valley
Soto Street Viaduct
 El Sereno
Lincoln Park
Southern Pacific RR
Upland–San Bernardino / Riverside–Rialto
 Valley Junction
South Pasadena
 Echandia
Union Pacific RR
Los Angeles River
Santa Fe RR
 P 
Southern Division
 6th/Main Terminal
 F 
This diagram:
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The Pasadena Short Line was a line of the Pacific Electric Railway, running from 1902 until 1951, between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Pasadena, California. The route went through Eastside Los Angeles along the foot of the eastern San Rafael Hills to the western San Gabriel Valley.[1][2]

Route[]

The Pasadena Short Line followed the Monrovia–Glendora Line (Huntington Drive) to Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena (Oneonta Junction). Here, the line branched north along double tracks in the pavement of Fair Oaks Avenue to California Boulevard. It then ran east one block on California Boulevard to Raymond Avenue and then north in the pavement of Raymond Avenue, past Colorado Street several blocks to the North Fair Oaks Carhouse (Located between Raymond and Fair Oaks Avenues). It then exited out the west side of the Carhouse on to Fair Oaks Avenue for its return trip. The Raymond Avenue track was abandoned in 1940 and Fair Oaks Avenue was used in both directions thereafter.

History[]

Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena looking south from Colorado Boulevard, horsecar approaching at center frame, c. 1889.

The route began as a horsecar line. In 1894, the Pasadena & Los Angeles Electric Railway purchased, re-gauged, electrified, and double-tracked a section of the line for streetcar use. Service began on May 6, 1895.[3] Pacific Electric acquired the route in 1898,[3] and the line was again rebuilt to standard gauge. Upon opening on November 9, 1902, service ran between the Raymond Hotel and the junction with the Alhambra Line. Negotiations to cross the existing roads — the Santa Fe Railway, Terminal Railway, and California Cycleway — led Pacific Electric to build a bridge over the right of ways shortly after their service commenced. In 1908, double tracking was completed throughout.[4] Service was replaced by buses after September 30, 1951.[4][5][3]

By 1981, all tracks had been removed along the route.

List of major stations[]

Station Mile[6] Major connections Date opened Date closed City
Pasadena 11.64 , , East Washington, Lamanda Park, , Mount Lowe, , North Lake, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, South Pasadena Local, , 1902 1951 Pasadena
South Pasadena Mount Lowe Railway, South Pasadena Local 1902 1951 South Pasadena
Oneonta Park 8.56 Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Shorb, Sierra Madre 1901 1951
Sierra Vista 7.65 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Shorb, Sierra Madre 1901 1951 Alhambra
Covina Junction[7] 3.37 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, Upland–San Bernardino 1901 1951 Los Angeles
Echandia Junction Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino 1895
Pacific Electric Building 0 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Whittier
Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8 		1905 1961

Southern Pacific depot service[]

Starting on May 1, 1912, some trips along the line began originating at the Los Angeles Southern Pacific station or the Pasadena Southern Pacific station. The Pasadena SP station was closed in 1927, thus the terminus was moved to the Pacific Electric Depot on Raymond Avenue. By August 11, 1932, frequency had been reduced to a single daily franchise car and the service was entirely eliminated on July 30 the following year.[5]

References[]

Definition of Free Cultural Works logo notext.svg 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.

  1. ^ "Bigmapblog.com: "Map of Los Angeles, California Rail Systems (1906)"]". Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. with Pasadena Short Line labeled.
  2. ^ "Bigmapblog.com: "Pacific Electric map of Los Angeles (1920)"". Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  3. ^ a b c Hilton, George W.; Due, John F. (2000) [1960]. The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 409. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
  4. ^ a b "Pasadena Short Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. pp. 48, 49, 85, 86, 138. ASIN B0007F8D84.
  6. ^ "Pacific Electric Time Tables" (PDF). wx4's Dome of Foam. Pacific Electric. September 1, 1934. p. 12. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  7. ^ Whting, ed. (1921). California Appellate Decisions, Volume 34. pp. 306–307. Richard Lammers vs. Pacific Electric Railway Company (District Courts of Appeal of the State of California). Case 3652.


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