Sierra Madre Line

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Sierra Madre
Sierra Madre 1908 PE line and Hotel Shirley.jpg
Sierra Madre 1908 with PE line Depot and the Hotel Shirley in background
Overview
OwnerSouthern Pacific Railroad
LocaleSouthern California
TerminiPacific Electric Building
Sierra Madre, California
Stations24
Service
TypeInterurban
SystemPacific Electric
Operator(s)Pacific Electric
Rolling stockPE 1100 Class (last used)
Daily ridership1713 (last counted)
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1906
ClosedOctober 6, 1950
Technical
Line length16.52 mi (26.59 km)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map

Legend
 Mount Wilson Trail
Sierra Madre
Kinneloa Wash
 Villa
Eaton Wash
 El Rincon
Vinedo
Santa Fe
 Lamanda Park Junction
Lamanda Park
 Halliday
Monrovia–Glendora
 San Marino
Las Rosas
El Molino
San Pasqual Wash
 Pasqualito
Fletcher Avenue
Pasadena Short Line
 Oneonta Park
La Cresta
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:
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The Sierra Madre Line was a Pacific Electric interurban route which ran 16.52 miles (26.59 km) from the Pacific Electric Building in Los Angeles to Sierra Madre.

History[]

Central Ave, Sierra Madre CA in 1904. A mule team is grading the Ave for the installation of the 1905 Pacific Electric street car, in the background is the Old North Church with the original barn roof bell tower.

The line opened to Pasadena on March 19, 1904 and was extended to Sierra Madre in 1906.[1][2] On December 3, 1916 the routing through Downtown Los Angeles changed.[3]

Shuttle service began for evening trips between Sierra Madre and San Marino began by March 1, 1928 with passengers changing to Monrovia–Glendora Line trains to complete the trip.[4][3] Starting March 1939 the rear car of some Glendora trains were disconnected to continue to Sierra Madre. This arrangement became the line's only direct service starting February 21, 1943, as all midday service became shuttles and only rush hour cars from Monrovia trains serving the line.[3]

Weekend and midday service was discontinued on June 11, 1948 and all trips became shuttles. A single morning outbound trip from Los Angeles was added after November 25, 1949. On October 8, 1950 service was virtually abandoned with a single round trip running Sierra Madre and San Marino; this ended on December 28, 1950.[3]

Route[]

The Sierra Madre Line branched north from the Monrovia–Glendora Line in San Marino and its two tracks ran between the dual roadways passing Lamanda Park Junction (Colorado Street and Sierra Madre Boulevard) where it met the local East Colorado Street Line. From this point, the line continued on single track in a northerly direction along a private right of way in the center of Sierra Madre Boulevard to Michillinda Avenue. There the tracks entered into the pavement of city streets and proceeded on Central Avenue (Sierra Madre Boulevard) to Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre where the station was located. It then continued north one and one-half blocks via Baldwin Avenue and turned easterly onto another private right of way (between Montecito Avenue and Highland Avenue) to the end of the line of Mountain Trail Avenue, where a small storage yard was located.

List of major stations[]

Station Mile[5] Major connections Date opened Date closed City
Sierra Madre 16.52 1902 1950 Sierra Madre
El Rincon 14.10
Lamanda Park Junction 12.96 Lamanda Park 1902 1950 Pasadena
San Marino 11.13 Monrovia–Glendora 1902 1950 San Marino
El Molino 9.85 Monrovia–Glendora, Pasadena via Oak Knoll 1902 1950
Oneonta Park 8.30 Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Shorb 1901 1951 South Pasadena
Sierra Vista 7.39 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Shorb 1901 1951 Alhambra
Covina Junction 3.11 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Upland–San Bernardino 1901 1951 Los Angeles
Echandia Junction Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino 1895 1951
Aliso and San Pedro 1.04
Pacific Electric Building 0 Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Whittier
Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8 		1905 1961

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. ^ "Pacific Electric Sierra Madre Line". Electric Railway Historic Association of Southern California. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. ^ Crump, Spencer (1977). Ride the big red cars: How trolleys helped build southern California. Trans-Anglo Books. p. 87. ISBN 0-87046-047-1. OCLC 3414090.
  3. ^ a b c d 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. p. 83. ASIN B0007F8D84.
  4. ^ Hilton, George W.; Due, John F. (2000) [1960]. The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 410. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
  5. ^ "Pacific Electric Time Tables" (PDF). wx4's Dome of Foam. Pacific Electric. September 1, 1934. p. 18. Retrieved September 1, 2021.


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