Southern California Railway
The Southern California Railway was formed on November 7, 1889, by the consolidation of the California Southern Railroad Company, the California Central Railway Company, and the Redondo Beach Railway Company.[1][full citation needed][2][page needed]
A second consolidation and reforming of the Southern California Railway was done on June 27, 1892, merging the existing Southern California Railway Company with the Santa Fe and Santa Monica Railway and the San Bernardino & Eastern Railway.[citation needed]
On May 1, 1899, the Southern California Railway took control of the Elsinore, Pomona and Los Angeles Railway.[3]
All of the lines of the Southern California Railway Company were deeded to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company on January 17, 1906.[4][failed verification]
San Bernardino and Eastern Railway
[edit]The San Bernardino and Eastern Railway was chartered on August 11, 1890, to build a rail line from the city of San Bernardino via Highland to connect with the Southern California Railway Company at or near its terminus in San Bernardino County, connecting at Mentone, with rail tracks built to that point in 1887 under the charter of the San Bernardino Valley Railway Company.
Santa Fe and Santa Monica Railway
[edit]The Santa Fe and Santa Monica Railway Company was chartered to build from a point at or near Mesmer Station on the line of the Southern California Railway Company between Inglewood and Port Ballona (what is now Playa del Rey, Los Angeles), to Santa Monica. This franchise and its track were sold on March 21, 1902, to Los Angeles Pacific Railroad Company, including the rail line from Inglewood to near Mesmer Station built under charter of the Los Angeles and Santa Monica Railroad Company.[5][6]
Kite-Shaped Track
[edit]
In March 1892, the Southern California Railway began promoting excursions on what they named the "Kite-Shaped Track", a figure-eight route,[a] allowing for scenic day trips among several Southern California communities in the vicinity of Los Angeles and San Bernardino.[8] After acquiring the Southern California Railway, Santa Fe continued promoting "Kite Excursions" until about 1917.[7]
Elsinore, Pomona and Los Angeles Railway
[edit]
The Elsinore, Pomona And Los Angeles Railway Company was chartered on December 6, 1895, to build from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, in a northwesterly direction by way of Pomona to Azusa, in Los Angeles County, with a branch from Pomona to Lordsburg College. Construction was only completed from Elsinore Junction on the line of the Southern California Railway to Alberhill, a total of 7.8 miles. This rail line was deeded to the Southern California Railway Company on May 1, 1899.[9]
See also
[edit]
- List of California railroads
- History of rail transportation in California
- Cajon Pass
- Southern Transcon
- Union Station (Los Angeles)
- Pacific Electric's Red Cars, which connected with the rail lines
- Santa Fe 3751
- David B. Jones Special
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Annual Report on the Statistics of Railways in the United States (Report).
- ↑ "Volume 38, Number 52". Los Angeles Herald. June 2, 1892. Retrieved 2026-07-31 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ↑ Historical Review of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.
- ↑ abandonedrails.com Inglewood Branch, Mesmer
- ↑ "Annual meetings, and directors and officers". Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company: 7–12. 1902. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ↑ Annual meetings, and directors and officers, Volumes 7-12 By Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
- 1 2 Mark Landis. "The Tale of The Kite". City of San Bernardino, California. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "Along the Kite-Shaped Track". The Los Angeles Times. March 27, 1892. p. 3. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- ↑ Statistics of Railways in the United States. Interstate Commerce Commission. Ninth Annual Report on the Statistics Of Railways in the United States