Misplaced Pages

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Riverside–Rialto Line" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Riverside–Rialto
The former Rialto Depot, seen in 2008. The ticket window is still intact, but unused.
Overview
Owner	Union Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire
Termini	Pacific Electric Building Downtown Riverside
Stations	71
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	1300 class (last used)
History
Opened	May 1, 1908 (1908-05-01)
Closed	November 18, 1940 (1940-11-18)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V / 1200 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Legend Arlington–Corona Riverside San Bernardino–Riverside Santa Ana River Southern Pacific Santa Fe East River Ranura Cement Plant Crestmore (Cedar Street) Curtisolo (Slover Street) Bloomington Southern Pacific Pooele Upland–San Bernardino Rialto Cactus Avenue Linden Avenue Locust Alder Fontana Muscat Sansevain Los Minos Etiwanda Milligan (Grapeland) Los Uvas East Alta Loma Alta Loma Carnelian Carillo Upland Euclid Avenue Mountain Avenue West Upland Claremont Claremont (ATSF) Santa Fe Baldy View North Pomona Pomona–Claremont Fulton Road Pomona La Verne (Lordsburg) San Dimas San Dimas Lone Hill (San Dimas Junction) Charter Oak Ruddock Masonic Home Hayler Barranca Street Covina Hollenbeck Avenue Azusa Avenue Lark Ellen Vincent Irwindale Orange Avenue Meadowview Vineland Baldwin Park La Rica Vista Del Valle Gravel Pit San Gabriel River San Gabriel River Maxson Cogswell Hayes Southern Pacific El Monte Rio Hondo Niobe Eaton Wash Rosemead San Gabriel Wash Garvey (Amarillo) South San Gabriel Alhambra Wash Wilmar Alhambra Avenue (Gaston) Garfield Avenue (Ramona Park) Ynez Street Ramona Convent Campbell Avenue Granada Park Floral Park City Terrace (La Borde)  B   E  Wallace Park 1200 V 600 V multiple lines Valley Junction South Pasadena Echandia Union Pacific Los Angeles River Santa Fe Southern Pacific Northern Division  P   P   B   F   O   9   D   U   3  6th/Main Terminal Edendale Local multiple lines This diagram: view talk edit

Riverside–Rialto was an interurban train service operated by the Pacific Electric Railway from 1914 to 1940, running from Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Riverside. This was the longest service in the Pacific Electric system, and the only line to have exclusive trackage owned by the Union Pacific instead of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The line reached its highest ridership the year it opened but never recovered at a time when the Inland Empire was far less populated and a commute of that distance was rare.

History

The line was initially constructed in 1907 by the Riverside Portland Cement Company to link their new plant to the national rail network at Riverside. Operating as The Crescent City Railway Company, service was contracted out to The Riverside & Arlington Railway Company who began regular operations on May 18, 1908. The line primarily served plant workers. Riverside & Arlington would go on to be absorbed into Pacific Electric as a result of the Great Merger. The line was opened to Bloomington on March 11, 1911, and finally to Rialto on March 25, 1914. Initially only local service was provided, and passengers from Los Angeles continuing to Riverside were encouraged to take the longer trip and change at San Bernardino.

On March 15, 1915, most local service was replaced with through trips to the Pacific Electric Building in Downtown Los Angeles. Cars were connected to San Bernardino Line trains. Between May 1921 and 1929, local cars made trips as far north as Foothill Boulevard in Rialto — the only scheduled trips to that point. All trips became through-routed to Los Angeles on November 2, 1931 as service to the cement plant was discontinued. This was short lived, as by 1935 all but one trip had been reverted to local with through routing ending entirely in 1938. Service was reduced to a single trip between Riverside and Rialto by June 9, 1940 and discontinued outright on November 18.

San Bernardino County acquired the right of way between Merrill Avenue and Colton Avenue in 1942 for a cost of $200 — this was used to widen the adjacent roadway.

List of major stations

References

1. "New Trolley Line". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. May 17, 1908. p. 11. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "R&A Riverside & Arlington". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
3. "Town Holds Reception". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. March 13, 1911. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Rialto Trolley Line". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1914. p. 24. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ 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. p. 60. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
6. "County Buys Unused Rail Right-of-way". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. July 7, 1942. p. 9. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Pacific Electric
Routes	Northern Division Alhambra–San Gabriel Annandale Arlington–Corona Arrowhead Colton Covina East Washington El Monte–Baldwin Park Highland Lamanda Park Monrovia–Glendora Mount Lowe North Lake Pasadena Short Line Pasadena via Oak Knoll Pasadena local lines Pomona Pomona–Claremont Pomona local lines Redlands Redlands local lines Riverside–Arlington Riverside–Rialto Riverside local lines San Bernardino–Riverside San Dimas San Dimas Local Shorb Sierra Madre Sierra Vista South Pasadena Local Upland–Ontario Upland–San Antonio Heights Upland–San Bernardino Western Division Brush Canyon Coldwater Canyon Echo Park Avenue Edendale Local Glendale–Burbank Hollywood Lankershim–Van Nuys Laurel Canyon Owensmouth Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey San Fernando Santa Monica Air Line Santa Monica local lines Sawtelle Soldiers' Home South Hollywood–Sherman Venice Boulevard Venice–Inglewood Venice–Playa del Rey Venice Short Line Venice via Hollywood Western & Franklin Ave. Westgate Southern Division American Avenue Balboa Bellflower Catalina Dock Fullerton Hawthorne–El Nido Hawthorne–El Segundo Huntington Beach–La Bolsa La Habra–Fullerton–Yorba Linda Long Beach Long Beach local lines Long Beach–San Pedro Redondo Beach via Gardena San Pedro local lines San Pedro via Dominguez San Pedro via Gardena Santa Ana Santa Ana–Huntington Beach Santa Ana–Orange Seal Beach–Huntington Beach–Newport Beach Terminal Island Torrance Watts Whittier
History	Strike of 1903 1919 streetcar strike General Motors streetcar conspiracy
Infrastructure	Stations Etiwanda Lynwood Pacific Electric Building Picover Subway Terminal Building Watts Yorba Linda Hill Street Tunnel Hollywood Subway Ivy Substation Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge Redlands Trolley Barn Substation No. 8 Sub-Station No. 14 West Santa Ana Branch
Predecessors	Los Angeles Inter-Urban Electric Railway Monrovia Rapid Transit Company Mount Lowe Railway Ontario and San Antonio Heights Railroad Company Pasadena and Pacific Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway Los Angeles and Independence Railroad Los Angeles Pacific Railroad
Connecting services	Glendale and Montrose Railway Los Angeles Railway
Successors	LA Metro MTA RTD LACTC OCTA Omnitrans Waterfront Red Car
Legacy	Culver Boulevard Median Bike Path Red Car Trolley (Disneyland Resort) Waterfront Red Car (San Pedro) Who Framed Roger Rabbit

This United States rail–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This article about transportation in California is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Pacific Electric routes
• History of Los Angeles County, California
• History of Riverside County, California
• History of Riverside, California
• Claremont, California
• Covina, California
• Crestmore Heights, California
• El Monte, California
• Fontana, California
• Pomona, California
• Pomona Valley
• Rialto, California
• San Dimas, California
• Upland, California
• Railway services introduced in 1908
• Railway services discontinued in 1940
• 1908 establishments in California
• 1940 disestablishments in California
• 1920s in California
• 1930s in California
• Closed railway lines in the United States
• United States rail transportation stubs
• California transportation stubs