1039 near Artesia
Harold Stewart Photo, Donald Duke Collection
Pacific Electric interurban no. 1039 rolls through farmland at Artesia on the way to Santa Ana.
Harold Stewart Photo
Donald Duke Collection
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A double track corridor running through a bucolic setting definitely inspires wonderful ideas for a model railroad pike.
In this photo, my favorite interurban car from the “Ten” class (#1039) is moving away from the photographer.
From the ancient appearance of this image of 1039, I’m guessing that this photo was taken before July 1927 when 1039, then part of a “Ten” consist, hit a hay truck on the Santa Ana Line.
I don’t think that this shot is in Artesia. The Santa Ana line ran in a Northwest to Southeast direction through Artesia. All of the railroad crossings were angled at about 45°. In the photo the crossing is at 90°.
It’s possible that this might be a reference to Artesia St. (now Raitt St.) or Artesia Barrio on the western edge of Santa Ana.
There appears (shadows) to be the remnant of a divergent line on the far left. This might be consistent with a possible house track running behind the Artesia Station. A 1950 photo of PE #1100 stopped at the (by then) passenger shelter on the north rail shows just such a track laying outside. Special 60, taken from Special 16, indicates Artesia was used for car storage of some form (maybe for dispatching a morning commute inbound?). The roads within Artesia itself may actually cross at right angles?
This photo would seem to place a station on the south side of the line: https://www.pacificelectric.org/pacific-electric/southern-district/1376-at-artesia/
So what was the oddball track on the north if not a house track?