Staging Track
Jack Finn Collection
An impressive grouping of Pacific Electric interurbans stand pole-up and ready on the Northern Division in the shadow of the San Bernardino Mountains.
Jack Finn Collection
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This picture appears in “Lines of Pacific Electric” and what follows is the caption Mr. Swett provided: “Special race track trains laid over on inbound track and sidings north of Huntington Drive, Arcadia. This 1940 poto shows 800s and 600s on inbound track, with a train of 1000s pulling north to enter the siding. Note the SP Duarte branch at right.”
The mountains are the Sierra Madre or San Gabriel Mountains. Also, I would guess that the cars are south of the Huntington Dr. grade crossing; the SP Duarte Branch diverged about where the Rusnak Motors display lot is now. This section of the Duarte branch was abandoned around 1942 and the remnant going eastward was tied into the PE line north of Huntington. Before the coming of PE, the SP branch probably had passenger service; the last passenger move (according to the last PE Monrovia station agent) was a Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High football special carrying the team and supporters to a game in Ventura in 1938.
1938 was not the last passenger move on the Duarte Branch. Circa 1945, a California Cadet Corps special originated at Monrovia and traveled to Fort Ord for summer camp picking up cadets from other high schools along the way. I rode this train as a Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High School cadet.
Page 39 of “The Southern Pacific in Los Angeles” has a list of arrivals/departures for LA’s Arcade depot on 8 Nov 1900 showing two departures to Duarte, at 9:20a and 5:25p. The book doesn’t say when this service was eliminated, but it does mention the passenger locals between Shorb and Pasadena coming off in 1912.