Nostalgia & History > SP's State St. Line-Pt. 2

Continuing about SP's (Originally Pacific Electric) main track extending eastward from Los Angeles to
San Bernadino and specifically that part between Los Angeles and El Monte aka "The State Street Line".

I have attached a graph, included in the October 1987 employee timetable which shows that the surveyors
who mapped out the grade were not overly concerned about train handling issues locomotive engineers would
face in 1906 when construction on the line began. These graphs were not a part of my timetable on the night
my westward train stalled, (see Part 1), and looking now at this one tells me it happened somewhere east
of mile post 491; where things started to get really ugly.

I've seen more 'problematic' grade profiles but I'm sure most would agree smooth train handling could be a problem here.
But then again, that's why engineers get paid the 'big bucks', right? 

One day in 1971, when this track was known simply as the San Bernadino Branch, I was driving west on I-10 and saw
a headlight coming at me. I just happened to have my camera sitting beside me on the front seat, something I don't normally
do. Traffic was not what it is today so I slowed somewhat and 'grabbed' this shot of an eastward train passing under the
Marguerita pedestrian over-crossing. Referring to the grade chart this would be just east of Monterey Park and the local is 
charging up the grade to mile post 490, before topping off and dropping down into San Gabriel and Rosemead.
Today, Metrolink has a short controlled siding behind this train in the curve where a team track once sat and the yellow speed
reduction signs in the photo are warning motorists to slow down for.

Googling this area shows how the over-crossing support legs were moved inward to allow construction of the diamond lanes 
as well as the support 'saddle' that was added the bridge.
 
See:https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0716387,-118.1379059,3a,75y,242.25h,84.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6gLuyc6QJ6WNDGxx8LiqsA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The photo also shows how much of the railroad right of way was squeezed by all the 'improvements'. The walls today completely
hide the track structure and brought about the need for SP to change their headlight rules; as shown in the last photo, excerpted 
from the October 1977 LA Division employee timetable.

The Rule 17 change was to avoid blinding oncoming motorists who are, with the changes made, sometimes within 20 feet
of an oncoming locomotive headlight. The change to Rule 17-D was made so that in the event of an emergency application
of the air brakes SP's Red oscillating signal lights would not come on, again in order to assure domestic tranquility and
prevent mass hysteria among the motoring public. 

As we can see, lots of changes have occurred on this short piece of southern California railroad history. 

Charlie  


 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/20 15:39 by cewherry.

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What a great grab and look back at history. In the sixties, my brother contracted spinal menegintis and we made many trips up to LA General. He was there quite a while but I was very young and don't recall how long. The journey involved the San Bernardino  Freeway with this middle of the median running. I even recall a siding on a curve at about the halfway point?
JB

Such a wonderful photo and story of the ex State street line.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/20 18:21 by miralomarail.

Jeez, I hope I wasn't that disliked official at City of Industry you referred to in Part 1 Charlie!  I can probably guess who you are referring to however.  The State Street Line holds some interesting memories for me as well, as a former SP LA Division Dispatcher and officer.  I remember receiving a phone call early in the morning when I was Terminal Superintendent at City of Industry probably in 1981 or so informing me that a westbound had derailed at the junction switch of the State Street Line and the Alhambra Line in El Monte.  I was told the engines were on their sides!  Excessive speed of the westbound immediately came to mind.  I got dressed and headed to El Monte, which was only a 20 minute trip from my home in Pasadena.  Sure enough, there it was, the lead unit on its side just west of the junction CTC switch and a couple of trailing units derailed but still upright.  Good old Wayne Pierce was the Road Foreman of Engines who showed up shortly after I arrived.  The head end crew (don't remember names, comes with old age) had been transported to a local hospital so weren't available for interview.  Wayne and I climbed into the lead unit, which was rather difficult to see what we could find and to recover the Barco Speedometer tape which we successfully recovered.  We had a City of Industry crew (may have been brother Bill's 8PM Job) pull the train away from the locomotives and initiated a process to determine where the first wheels of the lead locomotive derailed.  It didn't take long to see that the power switch points were gapped and wheel marks showed on the ties just west of the switch points!  Very long story short, it appeared an out of adjustment power switch may have caused the derailment.  Later data showed the engineer was operating below the speed limit for taking the switch which if I recall correctly was 30 MPH.  You would probably recall better than me on that point.  SP Police got involved due to the possibility of someone tampering with the switch and signal system.  Quite a night and day at the State Street Line junction switch in El Monte!

Pete
Clio, California

Driving RTD buses on the El Monte Busway between El Monte and Los Angeles over a 16 year plus period between 1974 and 1991, I paced many a train along that stretch. Eastbound, I recall occasionally seeing helpers (probably a hijacked yard job) giving some trains a shove past the summit east of the 710 freeway, and it wasn't unusual to see westbounds brought down to their knees on the climb up to Atlantic Blvd. This track was mostly used by Amtak 1 & 2, but freights weren't uncommon by any means, especially during the construction of the trench in Alhambra where traffic reached a climax on the line. I know the residents along the I-10 were greatly relieved when the trench was completed due to all the loud racket generated by heavy underpowered westbounds battling that grade where the sounds echoed off the freeway sound walls. Has anyone that drove that route in those days ever noticed the correlation between the mileposts and the bus route numbers? Seems that RTD picked up on those signs to number their San Gabriel Valley Busway route numbers. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/20 19:19 by trackplanner.

I can remember when the Monterey Park station was still there, trees and all, a little oasis in the middle of the Ramona Expressway.

Out 

Zephyr Wrote:
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> Jeez, I hope I wasn't that disliked official at
> City of Industry you referred to in Part 1
> Charlie!  I can probably guess who you are
> referring to however.  Quite a night and day at the
> State Street Line junction switch in El Monte!
>
> Pete
> Clio, California

No guessing necessary Pete, it was the late great Gary Bonner, aka "Tin God," or "Little Caesar."
G

IIRC the line was developed by the PE more as an electric interurban than a commodity hauling railroad (which would have been done by the parallel SP).
Those grades stalled the first night's work train when we at Metrolink set out to change the wood ties to concrete ties using a P-811 style machine.
The train was made up at the State St. yard by general hospital.
Nobody, including me, had gotten around to checking the tonnage ratings for the units assigned and the weight of the train of concrete ties plus the machine.
If we had we'd have known it was doomed.
We called for our second work train at El Monte, which was to unload ballast after we had put in the ties.  They came across the line and pulled with their two Metrolink F-59s, not ideal helpers but just enough to get the job done.
I think, in retrospect, everyone involved had become lulled by the generous power on all the commuter trains we operated and rode on.
Noise complaints:
One dark night I was called upon to testify at the City Council meeting (Alhambra?) about the SP's noisy trains.
But science was on  our side. 
Our consulting engineers had set up sound recording stations in the front yards of residences that faced the freeway and had paper traces of the decibels rising and falling as trains came by.
But those traces showed countless other peaks that were higher than the trains: the trucks.  
Eventually the communities got sound walls which helped a bit with both truck and train annoyances; the SP kept running trains and did not have to pay for those walls.

I believe the engineer was Ronnie Park. Ronnie has just returned to seniority being a road foreman for years.

Posted from Android

Bingo on Bonner!  You got it right George!  

Pete

Actually, I believe the engineer that derailed on the State Street Line switch in El Monte was W. R. "Bill" Ragland. His injuries in that wreck ended his career prematurely. I had always heard that the derailment was caused by sabatoge, specially tie plates or some other track related items within the switch point area. Correct on that being a 30 MPH switch when diverging onto the State Street Line.

Tim Dickinson
La Verne, CA

Tim, thanks, I believe it was engineer Bill Ragland.  Yes, on the suspicion of sabotage as well, although they could never figure out why the signal cleared if the switch points didn't move all the way over.

Pete