Pasadena via Oak Knoll Line

The Pasadena via Oak Knoll Line was an interurban route of the Pacific Electric Railway, running from 1906 until 1950, between Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown Pasadena, California, with additional service to Altadena during rush hour.

Pasadena via Oak Knoll
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Line number	1
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Downtown Pasadena
Stations	19
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	PE 1100 Class (last used)
Daily ridership	7,693 (last counting)
History
Opened	1906
Closed	December 28, 1950
Technical
Line length	13.8 mi (22.2 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Pasadena Pasadena Short Line Santa Fe RR Colorado and Lake Lamanda Park Monrovia–Glendora & Sierra Madre 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 Echandia Brooklyn Avenue Union Pacific RR Los Angeles River Santa Fe RR  P  Southern Division 6th/Main Terminal  F

History

The Wentworth Hotel, later the Huntington Hotel

The route was originally built in 1906 to reach the Wentworth Hotel (later Huntington Hotel) in Oak Knoll from El Molino. The line was initially known as the Wentworth Line, a designation it retained for some time.[1] It tied into the Monrovia–Glendora Line. The routing through Pasadena was changed in 1913 to Lake Avenue, Colorado Street, Raymond Avenue, and through the car house on Fair Oaks Avenue.[2] A further rerouting in downtown Los Angeles occurred on December 3, 1916. The outbound terminus was changed for all trips to Altadena between October 1928 and May 1929. The routing was reverted after that, but rear cars of a few rush hour trains continued until January 18, 1941.[2]

Congestion at the Pacific Electric Building during World War II forced Oak Knoll Line trains to utilize a loop route around Downtown instead of running directly to the terminal building starting in July 1943. Trains would continue to run to the Main Street Terminal every New Years Day to serve passengers traveling to the Tournament of Roses Parade. The loop line was discontinued on October 5, 1947.[2]

Service was largely discontinued after October 8, 1950 with a single round trip operating between Pasadena and El Molino to maintain the franchise. This ended after December 28.[2] It was the second to last Pacific Electric line to be decommissioned in Pasadena, and was the last line to run along Colorado Boulevard.[1]

List of major stations

Station	Major connections	Date opened	Date closed	City
Pasadena via Oak Knoll
Pasadena	East California, East Orange Grove, East Washington, Lamanda Park, Lincoln, Mount Lowe, North Fair Oaks, North Lake, Pasadena Short Line, West California, West Colorado and Orange Grove	1902	1950	Pasadena
El Molino	Monrovia–Glendora, Sierra Madre	1902	1950	San Marino
Oneonta Park	Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Shorb, Sierra Madre	1901	1951	South Pasadena
Sierra Vista	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Shorb, Sierra Madre	1901	1951	Alhambra
Covina Junction	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, Upland–San Bernardino	1901	1951	Los Angeles
Echandia Junction	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino	1895	1951
Pacific Electric Building	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Fullerton, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, 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. "Pasadena Oak Knoll Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
2. 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). pp. 47, 48. Retrieved 18 January 2021.