The Redlands Line is a former

Pacific Electric The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...

interurban railway The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

line in the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...

. The route provided suburban service between

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and Redlands.

History

Constructed by the San Bernardino Valley Traction Company starting in 1902, the line began regular service on March 10, 1903. Cars initially operated into San Bernardino under

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

via the Redlands Street Railway until the two merged in June after opening. Cars initially terminated at Urbita Springs. The San Bernardino Valley Traction Company was absorbed into Pacific Electric under the Great Merger in 1911. By March 1913 the inbound terminus was changed from Urbita Springs to the San Bernardino station. By January 1916 through-routing with the

San Bernardino–Riverside Line The San Bernardino–Riverside is a former Pacific Electric (PE) interurban railway line in the Inland Empire. Unlike most of the company's services, trains did not travel to Downtown Los Angeles and instead provided a suburban service between S ...

had begun, forming the Redlands–Riverside Line. The line also supported heavy usage by freight trains transporting

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

. On November 1, 1920, through service was provided to Los Angeles for the first time, with Redlands cars appended to

Upland–San Bernardino Line The Upland–San Bernardino Line was an interurban line operated by the Pacific Electric Railway between Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino, California. This line also had shorter service that terminated before the end of the line at Baldw ...

trains. The 2 hour 50 minute journey was the longest single service ever offered by the Pacific Electric. Between April and June 1928 through-routing was discontinued with the

as part of a scheme developed by the California Railroad Commission; this was reverted after proving unsuccessful. Service ended after July 19, 1936, leaving Redlands as the largest city in the Pacific Electric system served exclusively by buses.

References

Bibliography

External links

Pacific Electric Ry. Co. Redlands 1911 Map
Pacific Electric routes Light rail in California Railway lines opened in 1903 1903 establishments in California Railway lines closed in 1936 1936 disestablishments in California Redlands, California Closed railway lines in the United States {{California-transport-stub