UP in SoCal - Industry and Pomona

[MP57313]

On Saturday I afternoon I checked out the two UP routes (former SP Sunset, and the Salt Lake Route) through Industry and Pomona. All traffic on the former SP was westbound, but the Salt Lake route had both east- and westbound trains.

The downtown Pomona area has the refurbished SP station, though it is not used for rail. The adjacent platforms are for Metrolink (weekdays only) and the Sunset. Pomona is an ok place to watch trains...the two lines run parallel and you can see for some distance in either direction. There are also grade crossings in the area.

West of Pomona the former SP route is more easily followed as it parallels Valley Blvd. for several miles.

[vsmith]

Best place in Pomona to watch is from the parking lot behind the Pomona Antique Mall along State St adjacent to Garey Blvd. Just keep your eyes open, Pomona can be a rough place, I lived in the area for a while.

[bluepuma]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP57313



The downtown Pomona area has the refurbished SP station, though it is not used for rail.

I used to roam that area, but thought the line along Mission Blvd was UP, the tracks between Garey, Towne and Holt and Mission, where the downtown was. My N scale layout skips that between Puente and Ontario, picking up for the UP run past the Vineyards toward Riverside. Would like to have had the Mission Drive In and orange juice factory at Ontario on the layout. Humm.... looked again, never realized SP and UP were side by side East to a bit past Euclid. Thought the west end of Pomona that SP crossed over I-10 after fairplex and joined the line along Arrow Highway. If there was a line between the two, must be gone now, Mapquest doesn't show it. Knew SP went to airport and broke off for Chino, crosses over I-60.

Lived in Puente. when Industry Incorporated, pop. 303. Happiness is a warm SP F7A/B or combo thereof. Did most of my railfanning then 1/4 mile away except at the crossings.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bluepuma

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP57313



The downtown Pomona area has the refurbished SP station, though it is not used for rail.

I used to roam that area, but thought the line along Mission Blvd was UP, the tracks between Garey, Towne and Holt and Mission, where the downtown was. My N scale layout skips that between Puente and Ontario, picking up for the UP run past the Vineyards toward Riverside. Would like to have had the Mission Drive In and orange juice factory at Ontario on the layout. Humm.... looked again, never realized SP and UP were side by side East to a bit past Euclid. Thought the west end of Pomona that SP crossed over I-10 after fairplex and joined the line along Arrow Highway. If there was a line between the two, must be gone now, Mapquest doesn't show it. Knew SP went to airport and broke off for Chino, crosses over I-60.

Lived in Puente. when Industry Incorporated, pop. 303. Happiness is a warm SP F7A/B or combo thereof. Did most of my railfanning then 1/4 mile away except at the crossings.

You musta never gone into Pomona when you were living in Puente, dont blame you though. The Arrow Highway line is the same line that goes down the median of the I-10 just east of downtown LA, it was a second SP line, its now a Metrolink line and goes north of the hills that seperate Covina from Puente Hills and connects with the old SF row north of the Fairplex and continues out to Claremont and onto San Bernardino.

FYI for anyone interested in trainspotting here in LA. Order a Thomas Brothers map for LA Orange and San Bernarino counties, they are the road map bibles out here. You can follow the tracks all the way from LA harbor to Cajon, Palmdale, Riverside and Oceanside. There are other Thomas Bros maps for San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, all show the rail lines and are great for finding watch spots. Theres a California Thomas Guide that covers the whole state and also shows RR lines. All are worth Gold when it comes to finding roads that are close to tracks.[8D]

[spbed]

I take a easier method I just write the Chamber of Commerce of the city I will be going to & they will send you street maps which is really terrific in your hunt for those good spots to train watch. I also use Mapquest or Yahoo which shows you the rail lines as well as the streets.

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

QUOTE: Originally posted by bluepuma

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP57313



The downtown Pomona area has the refurbished SP station, though it is not used for rail.

I used to roam that area, but thought the line along Mission Blvd was UP, the tracks between Garey, Towne and Holt and Mission, where the downtown was. My N scale layout skips that between Puente and Ontario, picking up for the UP run past the Vineyards toward Riverside. Would like to have had the Mission Drive In and orange juice factory at Ontario on the layout. Humm.... looked again, never realized SP and UP were side by side East to a bit past Euclid. Thought the west end of Pomona that SP crossed over I-10 after fairplex and joined the line along Arrow Highway. If there was a line between the two, must be gone now, Mapquest doesn't show it. Knew SP went to airport and broke off for Chino, crosses over I-60.

Lived in Puente. when Industry Incorporated, pop. 303. Happiness is a warm SP F7A/B or combo thereof. Did most of my railfanning then 1/4 mile away except at the crossings.

You musta never gone into Pomona when you were living in Puente, dont blame you though. The Arrow Highway line is the same line that goes down the median of the I-10 just east of downtown LA, it was a second SP line, its now a Metrolink line and goes north of the hills that seperate Covina from Puente Hills and connects with the old SF row north of the Fairplex and continues out to Claremont and onto San Bernardino.

FYI for anyone interested in trainspotting here in LA. Order a Thomas Brothers map for LA Orange and San Bernarino counties, they are the road map bibles out here. You can follow the tracks all the way from LA harbor to Cajon, Palmdale, Riverside and Oceanside. There are other Thomas Bros maps for San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, all show the rail lines and are great for finding watch spots. Theres a California Thomas Guide that covers the whole state and also shows RR lines. All are worth Gold when it comes to finding roads that are close to tracks.[8D]

[bluepuma]

Actually, on the old map, what looked like a black rail line is the LA County line going past both ATSF, SP then SP and UP. Never paid much attention to the railroads running on that line, in '66, 67, '69, 70 when I'd go visit my Girlfriend (later wife) who graduated from Gary High in '67 and worked at GTE right there. The rail lines had underpasses, never waited for trains there.

As a kid, we either went to Sears in Pomona or Sears in East LA, I-10 stopped at Rosemead Blvd. before El Monte. As adult, lived by the I-10 offramp to Ontario Airport, before moving to Monrovia, near the ATSF line, crossing the SP line and ATSF line many times while the Foothill freeway was being built. More than once, just for a change drove Valley Blvd from I-605 to Pomona, or Arrow Highway or Foothill. Until 5 years ago, I did most of my railfanning on the UP line between Firestone and the Harbor, usually at Imperial Highway in Southgate or near Artesia and Alameda in Compton.

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bluepuma



Until 5 years ago, I did most of my railfanning on the UP line between Firestone and the Harbor, usually at Imperial Highway in Southgate or near Artesia and Alameda in Compton.

[:O]" Your a braver man than I, Gunga Din...."

My grandparents lived in off Florence Blvd right next to the SP mainline, where the Blueline now runs, but when I visited I had to do my railfanning from the front porch, otherwise I risked getting the snot beat out of me by the local gangmembers....[xx(]

[espeefoamer]

I,too, have wached trains at the Pomona station.I was there when both the SP and UP went through town. The Borg now owns both lines[:(!]. There is plenty of action through there. Just be careful and watch yourself. This is rough territory.

[Anonymous]

You musta never gone into Pomona when you were living in Puente, dont blame you though. The Arrow Highway line is the same line that goes down the median of the I-10 just east of downtown LA, it was a second SP line, its now a Metrolink line and goes north of the hills that seperate Covina from Puente Hills and connects with the old SF row north of the Fairplex and continues out to Claremont and onto San Bernardino.

The Secondary SP main you refer to was the original Baldwin Park branch of the old Pacific Electric. That is the line that now is used by Metrolink down the middle of the I-10 althouhg it looked quite abit different back in those days. When I hired out I got to work the line about 3 or 4 times.

[ericsp]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

FYI for anyone interested in trainspotting here in LA. Order a Thomas Brothers map for LA Orange and San Bernarino counties, they are the road map bibles out here. You can follow the tracks all the way from LA harbor to Cajon, Palmdale, Riverside and Oceanside. There are other Thomas Bros maps for San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, all show the rail lines and are great for finding watch spots. Theres a California Thomas Guide that covers the whole state and also shows RR lines. All are worth Gold when it comes to finding roads that are close to tracks.[8D]

Have you bought a Thomas Brothers map since they were bought out by Rand McNally? Now inside of the Highways and Details sections, they have Highways, Metro, and Details sections. Only the Details section show railroads, not that they Highways section was reliable. Also, on the county maps, only what would be called the Details section on the state map show railroads.

Also, they must use an inferior computer program or printing process for the maps of the counties in the Central Valley. The tracks look like something out of an early version of Sim City (no curves).

[ericsp]

A few years ago, I pulled out my Thomas Brothers map and Southern Pacific Timetable to sort out the SP lines down there.

The West Line starts at Burbank Junction (where it connects with the Coast Line and the Saugus Line). It runs through Taylor Yard (or what is left of it) and the Los Angeles Transportation Center (LATC in timetable, I think this is what used to be Shops Yard), then runs along side of Valley Boulevard for a little while (running in a NE direction). Then it runs along side of Mission Road in Alhambra (NE). It curves to the SE at San Gabriel and continues that way for a while. Valley Boulevard comes along side of it at the City of Industry. It appears that Valley Boulevard, then Holt Avenue parallels the West Line (sometimes a few city blocks away) out of the county.

The State Street Line beings at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT in the timetable). It then connects with the West, Amoco, and Vernon lines at Mission Tower. It appears that it runs between LATC and the LA River, then curves to the east and crossed Mission Road. It parallels Interstate 10 until just east of Interstate 710, it goes into the median there. It stays in the median until Baldwin Avenue in El Monte. From there it continues east (I-10 curves off to the south). It crosses Rio Hondo ("river"), then it runs along its east bank for about 0.5 mile, then it terminates at the West Line (between Santa Anita Avenue and Tyler Avenue in El Monte).

The Baldwin Hills Branch begins with a connection with the West Line at Bassett (in the vacinity of the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Baldwin Park Boulevard in the City of Industry). It runs northeast until it comes to where Baldwin Park, Irwindale, and West Covina all come together (Page 598, grid D4 if you have a Thomas Brothers map, mine is 1997). From here it runs east (the connection with the Azusa Branch is just east of the aformentioned location), then it does a little curving and jogging at the east end of Covina, San Dimas, and La Verne. At Witte Avenue in La Verne (by the Los Angeles County Fairplex) it starts paralleling the old ATSF Pasadena Subdivision. Soon after it enters Claremont, it runs on trackage rights on the ATSF until just before it leaves Claremont, then it exits the county.

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith
Best place in Pomona to watch is from the parking lot behind the Pomona Antique Mall along State St adjacent to Garey Blvd. Just keep your eyes open, Pomona can be a rough place, I lived in the area for a while.

No argument there. Pomona has looked "rough" for as long as I can remember. The area you mention seems ok because it is surrounded by parking lots (and not restaurants, bars or apartment complexes) so the locals don't hang out there. East of downtown you can follow the tracks on one of the local streets, but you definitely need to watch out there.

As for the Thomas guides, they are great, and very detailed. I still have a mid-80s version of the California state atlas that I use because some of the county maps still had rail lines on them at the time.