Western Railroad Discussion > Patton (Highland, California) former ATSF depot demolished

Highland Community News website reports that the former ATSF Patton depot has been demolished. 
This was a really neat brick depot near Highland, California, just north east of San Bernadino.  According to the article, it was built in 1898.  Probably would have cost a fortune to make it safe, being 120+ years old and made of brick in earthquake prone SoCal.
Sad news to start our new year.   Wishing everyone much better news for 2021.

Historic Patton Depot demolished | Community | highlandnews.net



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/21 08:02 by hotrail.

As I recall, this was near Patton State Hospital. At one time it was used for some sort of business.

State hospitals in California were generally built near rail lines. For example, Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk had a spur from the ATSF main just north of the facility.

I worked at MSH for 20 years and did a little research into its history. Apparently some of the grading of the spur was done with patient labor. 
 

If it has stood there for 120 years, seems like it was plenty safe.

> Probably would have cost a fortune to make it
> safe, being 120+ years old and made of brick in
> earthquake prone SoCal.

Patton was constructed of unreinforced masonry and being less than a mile from the San Andreas fault, it's days were numbered whether man or nature managed the demolition.
It was a beautiful station, even after the tracks were removed and it being used for other purposes.
2-10-2



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/21 08:28 by 2-10-2.

Patton's depot definitely fell into the "unlikely to be confused with anything else" catagory.  Santa Fe had relatively few red brick depots on the Coast Lines, and about the only other one remotely like it architecturally was the old La Grande station in downtown Los Angeles (replaced by LAUPT in 1939 and demolished in 1946).  Santa Fe closed the agency at Patton in 1938, sold the building in 1948, and pulled up the rails in 1980.  The photo below by TO member mundo was taken in January 1992 when the building was serving as a farmer's market.  Additions had been made to the north and east sides over the years, and this street-side angle from E. Highland Ave. was about the best one could do to capture the original structure. 

https://goo.gl/maps/wyuviUF8TP4jYW6E6

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Wasn't Patton joint with the PE?

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wasn't Patton joint with the PE?
>
> Out 

Nope.

Oh how sad. Given other architectural tragedies in Southern California, the land will probably be "re-developed" into a "much needed" parking lot, strip mall or a couple of suburban "ranchettes." I was going to go out there last year for another, more in dept, look-see but Covid held me back. It was a gem. One of the last pieces of 19th Century California "whimsy" architecture. This is the first "bad-News" of 2021 for me. I don't know if I am angry for having read this post or thankful for having it save me a long drive to oblivion.  



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/21 12:57 by RRBaron.

Here's 3 views from February, 1976, the one and only time I photographed the Patton depot.  It was being used as a print shop at the time.  Wish I'd gone back for more.
GK
 

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Great photos Navigator! 

Think its on land owned or leased by the San Manuel Indian Reservation and used for Casino parking.

Mr. Hall has not satisfied my curiosity! The PE had a line to Patton and I was under the impression that they shared the station
with the Santa Fe. Could someone give a real answer?

Out 

PE did have a branch off the Highland line at Patton Jct, going north to Patton, half a mile, which in a 1937 TT shows the PE crossing the Santa Fe, 15 mph through the Interlocker.

TT & maps show no interchange between the lines, nor any joint station operation.
Freight Interchange between PE and Santa Fe did take place one mile east in Highland at Central Ave.

Branch seem intended only for passenger use for the employees at the Hospital.

Early on, all trains to and from Highland operated via Patton.  Later after bus service established in 1917  only a few peak travel trips operated via the Branch.
The bus service saw a decline in travel to Highland, with Birney cars handling the light loads.  The auto traffic further took away the employee travel.

Last passenger service  on the Branch was June 1, 1924, track abandoned Oct 1942.

Ed

Ed, thanks very much for the clarification, much appreciated!

Out 

Old topo maps show the PE line ending at Central and East Highland Ave. a block east of the Patton depot.

One of the depots in the area had the SF on one side and the PE on the other, might have been Highland.
Evan, thanks for your input. I'm constantly amazed at the places the PE reached.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:

> One of the depots in the area had the SF on one
> side and the PE on the other, might have been
> Highland.

The PE line to Highland terminated behind the Santa Fe depot at Pacific & Palm Ave.  The video at the following link shows a 1939 Railroad Boosters excursion on the PE from LA to Highland, and the backside of the Highland depot is shown around 5:45.  The big sign on the back says "Santa Fe."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAhts2vEHLg

Evan thanks so much for that, even had shots of the Arrowhead Springs line, much appreciated.

Out