Alhambra–San Gabriel Line

The Alhambra–San Gabriel Line was a Pacific Electric interurban line which traveled between Los Angeles and Temple City.[1]

Alhambra–San Gabriel Line
Las Tunas Drive in Temple City, 1925
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Temple City, California
Stations	18
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	1300 class (last used)
Ridership	1,063,529 (1938)[1]
History
Opened	June 21, 1902
Closed	November 30, 1941
Technical
Number of tracks	1-4
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Temple City East San Gabriel Rubio Wash San Gabriel Alhambra Wash San Pasqual Wash Alhambra West Alhambra multiple lines 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 Echandia Brooklyn Avenue Union Pacific RR Los Angeles River Santa Fe RR  P  Southern Division 6th/Main Terminal  F

History

The line was built by the Los Angeles & Pasadena Electric Railway starting in October 1901;[2] it was the first standard gauge interurban railway in Southern California. It opened on June 21, 1902 running between Los Angeles General Hospital and the San Gabriel Mission,[2] soon extended to the Masonic Home.[1] The service became a part of the Pacific Electric system by 1911, terminating at the Pacific Electric Building. Tracks were extended to Temple City on July 29, 1924. Cars began bypassing the Mission in 1928.[3]

The last trips occurred on November 30, 1941.[3] After passenger service ended, tracks were retained for freight until removed in 1951.[1]

Route

Between the 6th & Main Terminal and Sierra Vista Junction, the line followed the Northern District main line. At Sierra Vista Junction (where Huntington Drive and Main Street meet near the western border of Alhambra), the line diverged due east along the median of Main Street,[2] continuing down Main through Alhambra (with a freight spur running south on Palm Avenue to the Southern Pacific's Alhambra depot on Mission Road), into San Gabriel (where Main Street becomes Las Tunas Drive) and finally into Temple City, where the line had an off-street terminal at the northeast corner of Las Tunas Drive and Kauffman Avenue. Additionally, there was a branch that turned south on Mission Drive in San Gabriel, passed along the southern edge of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, then turned north on Junipero Serra Drive before rejoining the main line at Junipero Serra and Las Tunas drives.[4]

List of major stations

Station	Major connections	Date opened	Date closed	City
San Gabriel	Southern Pacific Railroad	1901	1941	San Gabriel
Alhambra		1901	1941	Alhambra
Sierra Vista	Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Shorb, Sierra Madre	1901	1951
Covina Junction	Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, Upland–San Bernardino	1901	1951	Los Angeles
Echandia Junction	Annandale, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino	1895	1951
Pacific Electric Building	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, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Whittier Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8	1905	1961

References

1. "Alhambra-San Gabriel Line". Electric Rail Heritage Association. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
2. Orozco, Michael Anthony; Alhambra Historical Society (2012). Alhambra. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 41, 45–50. ISBN 9780738576077.
3. 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). p. 8. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
4. Lines of Pacific Electric: Northern & Eastern Districts. Interurbans. 1976. pp. 48–51. ISBN 0-916374-21-1.