Fullerton Line

Fullerton
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles, the Gateway Cities and Orange County
Termini	Downtown Los Angeles Fullerton, California
Stations	40
Service
Type	Interurban
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	PE 220 Class (last used)
Ridership	100,105 (1926)
History
Opened	1917
Closed	January 22, 1938 (passenger) late 1940s (freight)
Technical
Number of tracks	1–4
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map Sierra Vista  B   F   G   O    Pacific Electric Building Edendale    H   J   R   S   B   F   G   O  multiple lines  U  Amoco Air Line Vernon Avenue  V  Slauson Junction multiple lines Dozier Huntington Park  J  Miles Fruitland Bell Greening Baker Walker Los Angeles River Laguna Gage Rio Hondo Rio Hondo McCampbell Downey Road SR 19 Rivera Burke San Gabriel River Guirado Santa Fe RR Los Nietos Whittier Valla Hazzard Walnut Avenue Adams Bethel Colima Scott Leffingwell Toler Des Moines Leuhm La Habra Loan Junction to La Habra–Yorba Linda Alta Mar North Bastanchury Bastanchury South Bastanchury Spadra Road Harvard Avenue Fullerton Fullerton Santa Fe

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 saw freight service until the 1940s.

History

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

In 1935, PE reported losses on the line of $1,610 for travel in the previous year (equivalent to $36,670 in 2023). PE discontinued passenger service on the line on January 22, 1938. Landowners along the line petitioned for its closure in 1939, but freight traffic on the line continued until the late 1940s.

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. The bridge was razed in 1964 to ease clearances for trucks.

Part of the former line became a section of the Juanita Cooke Greenbelt & Trail. The West Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor 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.

Route

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.

List of major stations

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	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

References

 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.