Riverside–Arlington Line

The Riverside–Arlington Line is a former Pacific Electric interurban railway line in the Inland Empire. The route provided suburban service between San Bernardino and Arlington with a later extension to Corona.

Riverside–Arlington
Magnolia Avenue with Electric Streetcar in Riverside, date unknown
Overview
Locale	Inland Empire
Termini	Riverside Arlington Corona (1915-1931)
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
History
Opened	1893
Closed	January 9, 1943
Technical
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map San Bernardino–Riverside Riverside–Rialto Riverside SLR Magnolia Casa Blanca Chemawa Sherman Institute Arlington Harrison Tyler Filore Pierce Buchanan Santa Fe Indian Farm Rilanco Porphyry Quarry Corona

History

Magnolia Avenue in Riverside with tracks right of frame, c. 1900

The line was built by the Riverside & Arlington Railway Company in 1893, running between Riverside and Arlington. The route was electrified in 1899, with the first car running on April 11.[1] The Riverside & Arlington was folded into the Pacific Electric in 1911. On October 20, 1914 the route through Riverside was simplified to only run down Main Street.[2]

The extension to Corona opened February 17, 1915. On July 7, 1924 the Riverside–Arlington Line and Arlington–Corona Line services were split, explained as a measure allow Birney cars on the Corona section. The following week, the Arlington terminal was moved further south on the line to a new Arlington station. Between April and June 1928 the service was through-routed was with the San Bernardino–Riverside Line as part of a scheme developed by the California Railroad Commission; this was reverted after proving unsuccessful.

The Arlington–Corona Line was abandoned on August 11, 1931.[2] Service was re-routed in Riverside to terminate at Market and Seventh By November 2 that year, a move which was reverted in 1940.

By 1940, the line was the only Pacific Electric service to not operating in Los Angeles County, running isolated from the rest of the system.[2] The line was discontinued after January 9, 1943. Ending the service during wartime required special clearance from the Office or Defense Transportation; the single track line limited capacity and closing the line freed up cars to be used elsewhere on the system.[2]

Unbuilt connection to Stern

Henry E. Huntington, owner of the Pacific Electric, intended to connect the Corona Line to the Whittier Line via the La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Line at Stern and through the Santa Ana Canyon. After the Great Merger of 1911, surveys were carried out to establish two routes through the canyon — one on each side of the Santa Ana River.[1]

References

1. "Riverside Corona Line". Electric Rail Heritage Association. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
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. 10, 58, 59. Retrieved 16 January 2021.