Pasadena Subdivision

The Pasadena Subdivision is the remnant branch line of the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) Los Angeles Second District. The line currently branches off of the Metrolink San Bernardino line at Cambridge in Claremont. The line follows a generally east-west alignment, passing through the cities of Claremont, Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas, Glendora, Azusa before coming to a truncated end in Irwindale.

The line was originally built by the Los Angeles & San Gabriel Valley Railroad (LA&SGV) in 1885. LA&SGV was sold and consolidated on May 20, 1887 into the California Central Railway. In 1889 this was consolidated into Southern California Railway Company. On January 17, 1906, the Southern California Railway was sold to AT&SF.

The line hosted the Desert Wind until 1986, and continued to serve the San Gabriel Valley and host the Southwest Chief until 1994, when the 1994 Northridge earthquake weakened a bridge in Arcadia. In the late 1990s construction of the Gold Line started and opened on July 26, 2003.

In 2013 reconstruction along the former roadbed from Sierra Madre Villa to Azusa began with the Gold Line Foothill Extension, and was completed in late 2015. The line currently continues to the site of the former Azusa Station; service started on March 5, 2016.

See also

• Gold Line (Los Angeles Metro)
• Gold Line Foothill Extension
• Metrolink (Southern California)
• San Bernardino Line
• Desert Wind
• Southwest Chief

References

• railgiants.org, Santa Fe Station, Arcadia CA, circa 1887
• Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History, By Ann Scheid, Ann Scheid Lund, page 31-32.
• Abandon Rail Line, The Second District of the AT&SF
• monroviacc.com, Monrovia at 125: “Trees, Trains, Troubles, and Triumphs.” By Steve Baker
• Digital Library Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad Depot at Alison Street and Anderson Street, Los Angeles, 1884
• Photo, Stock in Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad
• History of Pomona Valley, California, with Biographical Sketches of The Leading Men and Women of the Valley Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present, HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY ,LOS ANGELES, CAL. 1920
• "The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad." by Hoyt, Franklyn., Pacific Historical Review 20 (August 1951): 227-239
• California History, VOLUME LXVII NO. 1-4 1988, CONTENTS, California Historical Society SAN FRANCISCO • LOS ANGELES • SAN MARINO, NUMBER 1— MARCH 1988
• LA Mag., CityDig: Monrovia's 1887 Real Estate Bubble 2/12/2014 by Glen Creason