Upland–San Bernardino Line

The Upland–San Bernardino Line was an interurban line operated by the Pacific Electric Railway between Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino, California. This line also had shorter service that terminated before the end of the line at Baldwin Park, Covina, and San Dimas. Though service along this line in its entirety was discontinued in November 1941, it stands as the fourth-longest rapid transit line in American history, after the Sacramento Northern Chico and Colusa services, and the Pacific Electric's own Riverside–Rialto Line.

Upland–San Bernardino
Lordsburg station (later La Verne), 1922
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Southern California
Termini	Pacific Electric Building San Bernardino, California minor terminals at Baldwin Park, Covina, and San Dimas
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
History
Opened	July 11, 1914 (full line)
Closed	March 28, 1947 (past Baldwin Park) October 15, 1950 (final)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V / 1200 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Redlands Line San Bernardino Union Pacific & Santa Fe Colton Bench Lytle Creek Santa Fe Pepper Acacia Riverside–Rialto Rialto Cactus Avenue Linden Avenue Locust Alder Fontana Muscat Sansevain Los Minos Etiwanda Milligan (Grapeland) Los Uvas East Alta Loma Alta Loma Carnelian Carillo Upland Upland–Ontario Euclid Avenue Mountain Avenue West Upland Santa Fe Claremont Santa Fe Baldy View North Pomona Pomona Pomona Junction L.A. County Fairgrounds Fulton Road Lords bug cutoff Pomona La Verne (Lordsburg) San Dimas Lone Hill (San Dimas Junction) terminus after 1940 Charter Oak Ruddock Masonic Home Hayler Barranca Street Covina terminus after 1941 Hollenbeck Avenue Azusa Avenue Lark Ellen Vincent Irwindale Orange Avenue Meadowview Vineland rush-hour service Baldwin Park terminus after 1947 La Rica Vista Del Valle Gravel Pit San Gabriel River San Gabriel River Maxson Cogswell Hayes Southern Pacific El Monte Rio Hondo Niobe Eaton Wash SR 19 Rosemead San Gabriel Wash Garvey (Amarillo) South San Gabriel Alhambra Wash Wilmar Alhambra Avenue (Gaston) Garfield Avenue (Ramona Park) Ynez Street Ramona Convent Campbell Avenue Granada Park Floral Park City Terrace (La Borde) Wallace Park 1200 V 600 V multiple lines Valley Junction State Street Echandia Brooklyn Avenue Union Pacific Los Angeles River Santa Fe  P  Southern Division 6th/Main Terminal  F

History

A San Bernardino Line interurban train, 1916

Pacific Electric trains reached Covina in 1907 and San Dimas by 1910. The Pomona–Claremont–Upland route was constructed by the Ontario & San Antonio Heights Railway and absorbed by Pacific Electric in 1912. Trains ran to Pomona starting on August 31, 1912. Finally on July 11, 1914 service to San Bernardino was commenced,[1][2] providing interchanges with the San Bernardino Valley Traction Company. A cutoff bypassing Pomona was completed on November 4, 1914.[2][3]

Most passenger service was truncated to Baldwin Park on November 1, 1941;[2] rush hour trains served Covina but this was ended in 1947. Unscheduled troop trains ran in World War II, though these trips were not open to civilians.[2] On October 15, 1950, the Baldwin Park Line service was abandoned.[2][3]

The western portion of the right of way was partially integrated into the San Bernardino Freeway. Metrolink San Bernardino Line utilizes the same section, which opened in 1992. Between the cities of Claremont and Rialto, the line was converted to a rail trail: the Pacific Electric Trail.

Route

Originating from the 6th and Main Street station in downtown Los Angeles, the San Bernardino Line exited to the east via an elevated structure over downtown streets to reach San Pedro Street at grade. The dual-tracks, running in the pavement of the city streets, proceeded north on San Pedro Street, east on Aliso Street (past its connection to Union Station) to cross the Los Angeles River and Mission Road on the Aliso Street Viaduct.

Directly east of Mission Road the tracks entered a private way which ran easterly and then northerly under the Brooklyn Avenue (Macy Street) Bridge. Paralleling Ramona Boulevard (since obliterated by construction of the I-10 Freeway), the line continued northerly, past the Macy Carhouse, to Enchandia Junction, where the South Pasadena Line branched north. From the junction, the tracks headed easterly, still paralleling Ramona Boulevard on the right, through the State Street Yard to Valley Junction, where the Pasadena Short Line and Monrovia–Glendora Lines also branched to the north. From Valley Junction (Soto Street & I-10 Freeway), the dual tracks on private way continued east along Ramona Boulevard, through city Terrace, Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel and Rosemead to Baldwin Avenue in El Monte.

From that point, the line proceeded east on private way to cross the Rio Hondo on a single track steel girder bridge. The line then returned to dual tracks and continued east, still on private way paralleling Ramona Boulevard, crossing Valley Boulevard and Peck Road to reach the east city limits of El Monte at the San Gabriel River. Again, the line reduced to single track to cross the river on a long wood-pile bridge before returning to dual tracks on the east bank.

From the San Gabriel River, the line continued east, on private way paralleling Ramona Boulevard, to Badillo Street in Baldwin Park. Continuing, the double tracks ran along Badillo Street as far as Grand Avenue in Covina.

At Grand Avenue, the line became single track and ran on private way along the north side of Badillo Street as far as Banna Avenue in Covina. Here, the line turned in a northeasterly direction and ran on private way (intermittently paved by Ruddock Street, Badillo Street and Stratford Lane as of 1981). At Stratford Lane and Lone Hill Avenue (San Dimas Junction) the main line turned and proceeded east toward Pomona while a branch line continued on private way northeasterly into San Dimas on single track. The main line continued on private way east from Lone Hill passing streets such as Cataract Avenue and Walnut Avenue and, turning gently southeast by Puddingstone Channel, proceeded parallel to Orange street as far as E Street in Pomona. At E Street, a Pomona local branch line branched south and continued on private way. This diversion from the nearly continuous straight track to the east and west was the result of ranchers and farmers in Alta Vista donating right of way and funding to build the track further north.[1]

The former Rialto Depot, 2008

The San Bernardino Line continued east, on single track on private way, paralleling the Santa Fe Railway north of Arrow Highway, and passing Towne Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard in Claremont. Then turning northeasterly the line proceeded to Benson Avenue in Upland where it turned east again to run between Arrow Highway and 9th street. At 13th Avenue, a northeasterly course took the line to Alta Lorna, along private way, as far as Grande street and Archibald Avenue. Proceeding east from Alta Lorna in open country north of Base-line Road, the line passed Etiwanda Avenue and then turned southeasterly at East Etiwanda Creek into Fontana. It turned east again at Citrus Avenue in Fontana and proceeded north of Arrow Route Boulevard, paralleling it through Rialto toward San Bernardino. The line entered San Bernardino in the pavement of Rialto Avenue and proceeded east to a point between "E" and "F" Streets. Here, the San Bernardino Line turned north to follow a private way to its terminus at the joint Pacific Electric and Southern Pacific station on 3rd Street.

List of major stations

Station	Major Connections	Date Opened	Date Closed	City
Upland–San Bernardino
San Bernardino	Arrowhead, Redlands, San Bernardino–Riverside, Southern Pacific	1914	1940	San Bernardino
Rialto	Riverside–Rialto	1914	1940	Rialto
Upland	Riverside–Rialto	1914	1940	Upland
Upland–Euclid Ave.	Riverside–Rialto, Upland–Ontario	1914	1940
Claremont	Pomona–Claremont, Riverside–Rialto, Upland–Ontario, Santa Fe Railroad	1914	1940	Claremont
San Dimas	Pomona, Riverside–Rialto	1914	1940	San Dimas
Covina	Pomona, Riverside–Rialto	1914	1947	Covina
El Monte	Pomona, Riverside–Rialto	1914	1950	El Monte
Covina Junction	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre	1902	1951	Los Angeles
Echandia Junction	Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Riverside–Rialto, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena Local	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, 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

Infrastructure

The line operated a unique railway electrification system among Pacific Electric routes: overhead line was primarily electrified at 1200 volts direct current with 600 volt sections within town and city limits where the line shared tracks with local streetcars.[3] Cars operated at both voltages.

References

 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 on Wikimedia Commons. Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes, California Department of Transportation, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

1. Blackstock, Joe (7 July 2014). "Pacific Electric rail system connected Inland Empire with coast". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved 12 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. 52, 53, 66–68. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
3. "San Bernardino Line". Electric Railway Historical Association. Retrieved 11 September 2020.