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Community Corner

Remembering Glendora's First Passenger Rail System

The Pacific Electric's Monrovia-Glendora Line ran through Glendora to downtown Los Angeles.

What is old, is new again.

In a few years, Glendora will be served by the first interurban rail passenger service in nearly 65 years. The city, and much of LA, Orange and San Bernardino Counties, was once serviced by the world famous Pacific Electric Red Car passenger rail system. From 1901 to 1961, the Pacific Electric served Los Angeles and areas as far away as San Bernardino and Mt. Baldy, to areas as high up as Echo Mountain and Mt. Lowe (3,250 ft. above sea level) on 1,100 miles of electrified rail.

The Pacific Electric ran right through Glendora, on the aptly named Monrovia-Glendora Line. The rail line from Los Angeles to Monrovia was extended to Glendora traveling just north of Huntington Drive and across the San Gabriel River on the still present Puente Largo Bridge. The first Red Car reached Glendora in Dec. 1907.

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On average, 24 daily cars went in and out of Glendora in 1949 for a fare of 50 cents.

The Monrovia-Glendora Line ran just south along Bennett Avenue and continued past Glendora Avenue on to Wabash. There wasn't very much patronage on the line during its existence and Pacific Electric considered abandoning service, but ridership spiked during WWII. The line operated until 1951.

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The coming MTA Gold Line extension won't use any of the original Pacific Electric right-of-way, instead it will use the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight line still in operation.

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