Nostalgia & History > looking for more Azusa/Baldwin park back in the day

Hello again group, my brother and I once again got the nostalgia bug, and we are wondering if anyone has..."new" pics of SP/PE operations in the Baldwin park/Irwindale/Azusa area from 1970 down.

Reason being we are trying to quell an argument. He says PE handled the rock trains for one and that orange ave junction was always there.

Any help/insights would be appreciated

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/14 10:04 by rgcw5.

Orange Ave Jct was built in 1951 to connect the customers in the Monrovia-Azusa area with the San Bernardino Line so they could continue to have service after the Northern District between Los Angeles and Arcadia was abandoned in 1951.

I am pretty sure that Orange Ave Junction actually was there before 1951 as it was an industrial lead that served Crushton Yard and a Con Rock Facility near Arrow Highway (Con Rock had a critter at that location). The industrial lead was extended to serve as a connection to the PE Glendora Line after abandonment west of Arcadia

If anybody has lines of the Pacific Electric Northern District it is all in there.

Anybody have pictures taken on the Day & Night spur ?


Jay

lamta_jay Wrote:
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> I am pretty sure that Orange Ave Junction actually
> was there before 1951 as it was an industrial lead
> that served Crushton Yard and a Con Rock Facility
> near Arrow Highway (Con Rock had a critter at that
> location). The industrial lead was extended to
> serve as a connection to the PE Glendora Line
> after abandonment west of Arcadia

This is correct. I don't know the date, but the line to Crushton Yard and rock quarry was there several years before it was extended north. It is clearly in service and very busy (lots of cars parked everywhere) in 1948, the earliest aerial photos available.

According to " Interurbans Special" # 16 the New track between Orange Jct and Azusa was put into service Sept 15TH 1951

Which coincides with the end of service to Glendora. It would be interesting to see what
the ROW looked like in 1951 vs now. There had to be a lot of pit excavation between then
and now because the track tiptoes along the edge of the pits in several places.

Out

One of my PE memories is watching their steam pile driver at work on the bridge to connect the east end of the Day & Night Spur (former SP Duarte Branch) to the main line on the east side of Monrovia. This would have been in 1950 or 51.

In 1960 my first wife and I moved into a house in Duarte, which backed up the the PE right-of-way. Our neighbors on the east had a daughter who would wave to the crew on the PE job that switched Arcadia and Monrovia. One day the train stopped, and the crew got off and came over to see their little friend. I learned from the engineer (who was a former PE motorman) some years later that this was their last run west of the San Gabriel River, and they offered to give the girl a cab ride if her folks could bring her over to Azusa.

PE STARRED JOB THE "RIALTO HAULER" FEBRUARY 1973 - On Duty 12:01p at Baldwin Park. 

Picture 1.) PE Conductor Robert "Bob" Jasper lines the Irwindale Switch at Orange Avenue Junction for the Baldwin Park Branch.

Picture 2.) PE Brakeman Richard H. "Dick" Ballard rides the rear car, after building their train, up to Orange Avenue Junction. He will
                 line the Switch behind for the Irwindale Line per the rules. Both pictures February 1973, just days before the job was 
                 abolished. The San Dimas Local would be established on 02/12/1973 working out of Colton Yard. 

Picture 3.) PE Conductor/Brakeman Tony Brocato, Fireman Qaulified, Operates the Locomotive during switching in Baldwin Park.

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