Nostalgia & History > ATSF Pasadena Industrial Lead

In the first image the Pasadena Sub. Local has just left the main at Chapman under the I210.The second image shows the same train with two loads for Davis Lumber at Lamanda Park.The Pasadena Industrial Lead was the old Second District Main before the 210 was built in the early seventies and relocated to middle of the freeway.This short segment was retained to serve customers that remained of which Davis Lumber was the last.I think the lead was abandoned in 1989.The pictures were taken in 1985.Bill Webb

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Quite a few changes have occurred since those pictures were made. The large chain link fenced area to the left of the lead unit was a not completed underpass finally opened up a few years ago. The Chapman industrial lead is now the chainlink fenced off portal. Walnut street parallel to the tracks on the right side was extended and connected up making an intersection where the lumber cars are. Just behind the photographer was a long plate through girder bridge. It exists today as a driveway to trailer parking for the Avon cosmetics plant behind and to the left of the photographer. Traces are becoming harder to find with various new construction projects overtaking the right of way, but where the second picture was taken, it is still clearly obvious with a ballast raised path there for a few blocks.

Wasn't Fedco next to first pic?Bill Webb

Nice shot of a combination highway crossing and station whistle sign in the second view. What pattern was the engineer supposed to blow at such a sign?

spider1319 Wrote:
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> Wasn't Fedco next to first pic?Bill Webb


yes fedco is to te right.. It is now a Target...

Great catch. I worked the local off the LA brakemans extra board during the short period it went on duty in LA at Hobart yard. The left me at the switch up on the main which I didn't like but returned with a double double from In N Out which made up for it.
JB

There most certainly have been a lot of changes since those photos were taken. In the first photo, it looks like the locomotive is running over a track that is diverging to the north side of the "main line" that the train is operating on. What's the story on that?

I worked a DESERT WIND years ago where we had a meet with another train at Chapman. On another trip we met our westbound counterpart at Olga. Those sidings weren't used for meets very often.

It was interesting building the new line in the middle of the 210 Freeway without interrupting rail traffic. When the new ROW along the freeway median wasn't quite ready, I remember watching # 4 depart Pasadena and use what was something like a temporary shoo-fly with a very steep grade that brought the train from the approximate location of the west portal of the "tunnel" near N. Marengo Ave. up to "street level" where it ran along a ROW that was located approximately where Corson Street is today.

The lumber loads are probably for Davis Lumber at Walnut and Allen. The lumber yard lasted until a few years ago, when Ganahl Lumber moved into vacant car-dealer property near where the first photo was taken. I remember the old (pre-210 freeway) route--it wandered through the back yards of Pasadena, with about 20 grade crossings, many of them protected by wig-wags. As I recall, the speed restriction was 25 mph (anyone have a Santa Fe LA timetable handy?), and on eastbound trains, the engineer couldn't "crank it up" until the train reached Halstead St., about where the Gold Line Sierra Madre Villa station is now.

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> The lumber loads are probably for Davis Lumber at
> Walnut and Allen. The lumber yard lasted until a
> few years ago, when Ganahl Lumber moved into
> vacant car-dealer property near where the first
> photo was taken. I remember the old (pre-210
> freeway) route--it wandered through the back yards
> of Pasadena, with about 20 grade crossings, many
> of them protected by wig-wags. As I recall, the
> speed restriction was 25 mph (anyone have a Santa
> Fe LA timetable handy?), and on eastbound trains,
> the engineer couldn't "crank it up" until the
> train reached Halstead St., about where the Gold
> Line Sierra Madre Villa station is now.

LA division Time Table No. 16 5-15-1968. Chapman MP 127.3; Lamanda Park MP 128.0; Pasadena MP 131.7 And South Pasadena MP 133.7.
MP 127.6-129.6 30 mph; MP 129.6-131.2 20 mph; MP 131.2-135.5 30 mph. From MP 135.5 (near Highland Park) to Mission Tower in Los Angeles the speed limit ranged from 15 to 25 mph

Cliff

Thanks for the research into the pre-210 freeway speeds. Today's Gold Line goes twice as fast (and even faster on some stretches). It's especially gratifying to ride back to East Pasadena after a visit to downtown LA and see the freeway traffic (even the carpool lane) creeping along like a 20-mule team from Death Valley.

In the top photo, the Chain-linked portal to the left of the train may have been the abandoned industrial lead into N.O.T.S (Navel Ordinance Training facility) between 2nd District ROW and Foothill Blvd. and between Rosemead and Sierra Madre Villa.

Nick Roberts
Possum Belly Caboose