Nostalgia & History > PE's San Bernadino Hauler--1964 variety

Writer-photographer Don Sims, in his two-part article about the railroads of Los Angeles published in the
July and August 1958 issues ofTrains Magazine, noted that in 1957 the Pacific Electric Railway Company
placed second in volume of carload traffic among the railroads serving L.A. Quite a feat considering the
competition; parent SP, Santa Fe and Union Pacific and the fact that PE, by 1958, had shrunk to 368 miles
of 'main' track, down from its high of "1000 Miles Standard Trolley Lines" in the mid 1920's. By 1963 PE's total
track mileage as shown in its employee timetable had dropped to 264, made up mostly of relatively short bits
and pieces of lines that had once seen the passage of "The Big Red Cars", a PE advertising slogan. 

But one piece of the PE, the longest piece, which was opened for service east of Upland in 1914, remained;
the Los Angeles to San Bernadino line--54.3 miles as measured from PE's State St. yard.

By May 1964 the line saw but one round trip daily over the complete distance, that by the San Bernadino Hauler
which made the trip 6 days a week with Sunday off. As you might have guessed the seniority went pretty high 
on this job. My brother, Bill, is the head brakeman having 'caught' the hauler today off the extra board and
he's giving me the 'look' as I roll-by his train.

Photo 1 shows the eastbound Hauler under the control of two of SP's dynamic brake equipped SW8's passing 
Alta Loma. The motorman, (PE enginemen were mostly 'motormen' although there were engineer jobs also; a
holdover from when PE actually operated steam), has his charges in run 8 trying to reach the authorized speed
limit of 40 MPH. Those dynamics will come in handy on the westward trip. 

Photo 2 shows the train today is only five cars and caboose 1049, a 1937 product of SP's Los Angeles General Shops.

Photo 3 is looking across the vineyards between Alta Loma and Etiwanda with Cucamonga Peak in the distance.
I wonder if any of this view except the mountain and the power lines have changed?

By 1965 the PE was corporately folded into the SP; it had been wholly owned since the great merger of 1911, and disappeared
forever from sight....but never from our memories.

Charlie

Edits: Thanks Rich (PasadenaSub) for the correct name of the peak in photo 3. I knew some local would set me straight.
          And Tim, for the 'crummy' correction.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/19 11:05 by cewherry.

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The power lines are still there and so are the mountains. But the grape vines are long gone.

Thanks for the great post and pictures of the area (about 10 years before my time there).

John

Absolute gems.
JB

Wow, great photos of the PE San Bernardino line.  However, I think that's Cucamonga Peak in your last photo - the furthest east big peak (8858') in the San Gabriel Range.  To the right, the range quickly slopes down to ground level around where the 15 freeway cuts through in Devore.  Mt. Baldy (aka San Antonio) would be to the left of the frame and is hard to see from this angle since it's recessed behind the other mountains.

Thanks for sharing these,

Rich

Great series!

PasadenaSub Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
"...." I think that's Cucamonga Peak in your
> last photo - the furthest east big peak (8858') in
> the San Gabriel Range...." 

Noted and changed; thanks Rich.

Charlie

Thanks for posting! A  lot before my time, we moved to Alta Loma in 1987. The first two photos are between Baseline and Amethyst where the depot was located. We lived a couple of blocks east of there and I would occaionally go out and shoot the local when I heard it blowing for the many crossings, some still protected by wigwags. The third photo still looked that way but was rapidly being replaced by new homes at the time. It is nearly all built up there now. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/19 09:13 by trackplanner.

Charlie,

Great images and terrific story to go with them! If I may offer a minor correction on the caboose number. I think it should be SP 1049. The 1949 would be a later series bay window built by ICC in the 70's. The steel cupola cabs built at the Los Angeles General Shops were in series 1000 up through 12?? making the caboose in your Alta Loma images number 1049. Thanks for sharing a bit of SP and PE history with us!

Tim Dickinson
La Verne, CA

Wow what a series of photos! Love Trainorders for stuff like this.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

alcoc636 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charlie,
>
> Great images and terrific story to go with them!
> If I may offer a minor correction on the caboose
> number. I think it should be SP 1049. The 1949
> would be a later series bay window built by ICC in
> the 70's. The steel cupola cabs built at the Los
> Angeles General Shops were in series 1000 up
> through 12?? making the caboose in your Alta Loma
> images number 1049. Thanks for sharing a bit of SP
> and PE history with us!
>
Of course, 1049. And I even looked it up before mis-typing it!. Thanks Tim.

Love the first photo!
The lead unit, #4606 would later be renumbered to 1111
and was last used on the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad(SD&AE)!

It was known as the 4 Aces and became my first cab ride, running
on the El Cajon Branch! It was later sold to the Metropolitan Tranist
Development Board of San Diego(MTDB), now know as the 
Metropolitan Transit System(MTS) as part of the 1979 sale of the
SD&AE to MTDB. MTDB contracted with Kyle Railways to operate
the freight service on the SD&AE.

MTDB later sold the 4 Aces and 5 other ex SP dynamic brake equipped
EMD SW8s to Kyle. When Kyle decided it no longer would operate the SD&AE,
the remaining 4 SW8s, 2 were scrapped locally by Kyle, were loaded on heavy,
depressed center flatcars and sent to other Kyle operations.

The 4 Aces was later scrapped in Colorado, a friend working for UP at the time,
stopped by a Kyle operation and saw the cab of the 4 Aces sitting on the ground!

Great photo and Great Memories!

Mike

The San Bernardino line did not remain intact for much longer, the construction of the Palmdale Cut-off severed the line between Rialto and San Bernardino in about 1966 or 1967. Later the track between El Monte and Baldwin Park was abandoned leaving the States Street line from LA to El Monte and the Baldwin Park Branch from Baldwin Park to a connection with the Palmdale Cut-off at Bench. The Baldwin Park Branch was worked by turns from one end or both.

Really nice series.  Ahh, 1964, the year we moved to the area (Long Beach/Orange).  Back when the LA basin was still a pretty great place to be.  After all April 1965 brought us Boss Radio 93KHJ in Boss Angeles!  Still remember the Baldwin S12s on the Tustin Branch and seeing 4600 at Huntington Beach.  So long ago now.

Lee Hower - Sacramento