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Fullerton Line

Route map:
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Fullerton
Overview
OwnerSouthern Pacific Railroad
LocaleLos Angeles, the Gateway Cities and Orange County
Termini
Stations40
Service
TypeInterurban
SystemPacific Electric
Operator(s)Pacific Electric
Rolling stockPE 220 Class (last used)
Ridership100,105 (1926)
History
Opened1917
ClosedJanuary 22, 1938 (passenger)
c. 1940s–1962 (freight)
Technical
Number of tracks1–4
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC
Route map

 B   F   G   O 
 
Pacific Electric Building
 H   J   R   S 
 B   F   G   O 
multiple
lines
 U 
Amoco
Vernon Avenue
 V 
Slauson Junction
multiple
lines
Dozier
Huntington Park
 J 
Miles
Fruitland
Bell
Greening
Baker
Walker
Laguna
Gage
Rio Hondo
McCampbell
Downey Road
Rivera
Burke
Guirado
Los Nietos
Valla
Hazzard
Walnut Avenue
Adams
Bethel
Colima
Scott
Leffingwell
Toler
Des Moines
Leuhm
La Habra
Loan Junction
Alta Mar
North Bastanchury
Bastanchury
South Bastanchury
Spadra Road
Harvard Avenue
Fullerton
Fullerton
Santa Fe
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Fullerton Line was an interurban route of the Pacific Electric Railway. It ran between Downtown Los Angeles and Fullerton, California. It opened in 1917 and hosted passenger service until 1938; the line was retained for freight for some time thereafter. After abandonment, the right of way between La Habra and Fullerton was mostly converted to a rail trail or built over.

History

[edit]

The line, among the electric railway's final expansions,[1] was not originally intended for passenger service unless a connection to Orange was completed. Despite this, the route was opened for service in 1917.[a][2][3] Pacific Electric spent $425,000 on the extension from La Habra to Fullerton ($10.1 million in 2023 adjusted for inflation).[4]

The route was not a significant source of passenger traffic, but did generate revenue by hauling citrus fruit from the area.[4] PE reported losses on the line of $1,610 for travel in the year 1934 (equivalent to $36,670 in 2023).[5] In September 1935, service was reduced to one daily shuttle trip running between Fullerton and Laon Junction, then the inbound trip reversing to Yorba Linda.[3] PE discontinued passenger service to Fullerton on January 22, 1938.[3][6][7] Landowners along the line petitioned for its total closure in 1939,[8] but freight traffic continued until the late 1940s or as late as about 1962.[4][9]

One of the more prominent landmarks on the line was a concrete arch bridge over Harbor Boulevard that was emblazoned with a message welcoming visitors to Fullerton.[9] The bridge was razed in 1964 to ease clearances for trucks.[10]

Part of the former right of way became a section of the Juanita Cooke Greenbelt & Trail.[2] The Southeast Gateway Line light rail project is expected to use a section of the line between Slauson and the former Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad right of way. The right of way through Fullerton had been sold off and largely developed by 2023.[9]

Route

[edit]

The Fullerton Line followed the Long Beach Line from Los Angeles south to Slauson Junction (south of Slauson Boulevard) where it branched off in an easterly direction to Whittier and Yorba Linda. From there, the double track line ran easterly, in private way between dual roadways of Randolph Street, through Huntington Park, Vernon, Bell, and Maywood to reach the Los Angeles River. Crossing the river, the double track in private way followed intermittent sections of Randolph Street through Bell Gardens and Commerce, and crossed the Rio Hondo south of Slauson Avenue.

The line continued easterly, south and parallel to, Slauson Avenue, across the Pico Rivera area and the San Gabriel River into Los Nietos, where the line crossed the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Third District main line (Los Nietos) at Norwalk Boulevard. The single track La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Line branched easterly in private way off the Whittier Line at Los Nietos, crossed Norwalk Boulevard and went through Whittier at the south edge of the city limits. After crossing Mills Avenue the track ran adjacent to and north of Lambert Road until crossing 1st Street. Here the line turned easterly through La Habra to Laon Junction (3rd Avenue at College Street), where the single track Fullerton Line branched to the south.

The track traversed the West Coyote Hills, crossing the Union Pacific line and an AT&SF spur before descending into Fullerton and crossing over Harbor Boulevard on a concrete arch bridge.[9][11] The right of way then turned south to cut through the Fullerton College campus on what was called "Boxcar Avenue".[9] After crossing Commonwealth Avenue, the tracks swung around a small car yard to briefly run west on Santa Fe Avenue before arriving at the Fullerton depot.[12]

List of major stations

[edit]
Station Major connections Date opened Date closed City
Pacific Electric Building Alhambra–San Gabriel, Annandale, Balboa, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Monrovia–Glendora, Mount Lowe, Pasadena Short Line, Pasadena via Oak Knoll, Pomona, Redlands, Redondo Beach via Gardena, Riverside–Rialto, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Sierra Madre, Soldiers' Home, South Pasadena Local, Upland–San Bernardino, Whittier
Los Angeles Railway B, H, J, R, 7, and 8
1905 1961 Los Angeles
Amoco[dubiousdiscuss] Balboa, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Santa Monica Air Line, Soldiers' Home, Whittier 1902 1961
Slauson Junction Balboa, Hawthorne–El Segundo, La Habra–Yorba Linda, Long Beach, Redondo Beach via Gardena, San Pedro via Dominguez, San Pedro via Gardena, Santa Ana, Whittier 1902 1961
Los Nietos La Habra–Yorba Linda, Whittier 1903 1941 Santa Fe Springs
La Habra La Habra–Yorba Linda 1911 1938 La Habra
Fullerton Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad 1917 1938 Fullerton

Notes

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  1. ^ Veysey gives two dates for the possible start of service: September 30 and December 7

References

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 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under the public domain as a work of the State of California. (license statement/permission). Text taken from 1981 Inventory of Pacific Electric Routes​, California Department of Transportation. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

  1. ^ Crump, Spencer (1977). Ride the big red cars: How trolleys helped build southern California. Trans-Anglo Books. p. 101. ISBN 0-87046-047-1. OCLC 3414090.
  2. ^ a b Yanity, Brian (May 16, 2019). "Fullerton, Rail Town: The Pacific Electric Railway". Fullerton Observer. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. pp. 28–29. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
  4. ^ a b c "Pacific Electric Depot, 1918 - Il Ghiotto Restaurant". City of Fullerton. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "Curtailment Of P. E. Service To Brea Requested". Santa Ana Register. May 24, 1935. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "La Habra-Yorba Linda-Fullerton Line". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  7. ^ "Pacific Electric Railway: "Comfort, Speed, Safety"". American-rails.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Fullerton May Lose Rail Line". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 1939. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ a b c d e "Fullerton Heritage Present: The Pacific Electric Railway Depot". Fullerton Observer. October 9, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Still intersecting FJC was "Boxcar Avenue," the Pacific Electric Railway's right-of-way through the campus". Fullerton College Library. 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Coyote Hills (Map). United States Geological Survey. 1935. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Anaheim (Map). United States Geological Survey. 1949. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
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