Pacific Electric no. 461 heads north on the Oak Knoll Line with a roller sign reading MOUNT LOWE and a dash sign reading RUBIO CANYON in this January, 1935 image; during the last years of operation of the Mount Lowe Division.
Unknown photographer, Craig Rasmussen Collection
Pacific Electric streetcar no. 350 heads toward Pasadena along East Mariposa Street near North Raymond Avenue just north of Mountain View Cemetery. This is just east of North Fair Oaks and west of Marengo in Altadena. The roller sign reads NORTH LAKE AVENUE and was shot January 10, 1941 by C. E. Wright.
C. E. Wright Photo, Craig Rasmussen Collection
Looking up Santa Rosa Avenue (aka Christmas Tree Lane) in Altadena, Pacific Electric no. 1123 heads into Los Angeles via the Pasadena Short Line along East Mariposa Street in 1938. This is just 18 years after Christmas Tree Lane came into existence and three years after the Mount Lowe line of the PE had been closed down.
Craig Rasmussen Collection
Here’s the view of this location today:
Former Pacific Electric and Southern Pacific Railroad employee Harold Stewart captured this image of Pacific Electric no. 113 heading into Pasadena from Sierra Madre on October 1, 1940. The banner on the side advertises the Flower Show in Pasadena and the river-rock constructed home in the background still survives today at the northeast corner of Del Rey and Sierra Madre Boulevard, in the old East Pasadena neighborhood of Lamanda Park.
Harold Stewart Photo, Craig Rasmussen Collection
And today…
Pacific Electric no. 1359 makes a late day run heading south down Fair Oaks Avenue, just south of Green Street and the Green Hotel in Pasadena. The park and hotel are still there today, but most of the trees in this shot have been removed. Ernie Leo took this shot and notes it was taken at 6:39 pm, June 21, 1938. There must have been “June Gloom” even back then as the mountains cannot be seen in this north-facing shot.
Ernie Leo Photo, Craig Rasmussen Collection
This image comes to us through the courtesy of Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography, who uncovered it at a sale in an old photo album. It’s an undated image taken on the waiting benches along the terminus of the Alpine Division at Alpine Tavern.
For the original post from which this image came, please click here to visit Tattered and Lost – it’s a wonderful website!
Image Courtesy and Copyright Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography
L.T. Gotchy shot this image of a 1918 GMC Model 16, ¾-ton wooden flare-board express bodied truck back on March 16, 1941 atop Echo Mountain. The vehicle is facing north along the Alpine Division just opposite the inspection siding, with a load of steel rail scrapped from the right-of-way. This is close to the spot where the Sam Merrill Trail comes up from the Cobb Estate at the terminus of Lake Avenue in Altadena. Note, when the Pacific Electric Railway filed to abandon this railway the overhead wires were already down and the Alpine Division cars had already burned to the ground.
Special thanks to Larry Schramm from the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) for confirming the year, make and model of this truck and locating this modern image. Chard Walker Collection / PRS Collection
The intersection of Fair Oaks and Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, looking at the southwest corner and the Pacific Electric Railway ticket office and passenger waiting room in 1903. The PE car is heading south on Fair Oaks as a parade or procession of some sort heads east on Colorado.While there are a few horse drawn carriages in the image, there are no automobiles. Upstairs from the PE office is the law firm of A. R. Metcalfe. Today the first floor is the home of the Cheesecake Factory. 4.5″ by 6.5″ print, photographer unknown.
Michael Patris Collection
Here is the same location today:
The Pacific Electric whizzes past Arcadia Tower in this undated image by Jack Whitmeyer. With all the construction in the area lately, the Gold Line Extension will be going by this area once again, in many places on the old P. E. right of way. Of course, now there will be no tower and no freight lines to cross. (Editor’s Note: Gold Line Extension to Glendora complete; extension to Montclair now in development.)
Jack Whitmeyer Photo, Craig Rasmussen Collection, Jack Finn Collection
Pacific Electric conductor John B. Shuster poses in front of no. 342 in Altadena just before his retirement on March 31, 1938. He served the PE for 38 years in total.
Craig Rasmussen Collection