732 Nears Monrovia Station
Alan Weeks Photo, Alan Weeks Collection
Pacific Electric car no. 732 heads eastbound to Monrovia Station, located at Olive and 5th Avenues, in this image dated September 6, 1951.
Alan Weeks Photo
Alan Weeks Collection
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This is 5th Ave., the Monrovia station is still about a mile away. I lived in the house just out of the picture to the right. Thanks for posting–other than photos my mother took of 1299 going through here on an excursion at about this time, this is the first photo of a PE car at this location I’ve ever seen.
Bob is correct. Monrovia station was located on the southeast corner of Olive at Myrtle Aves. The photo of #732 appears to be on private right-of-way. The tracks went on paved street (Olive Ave) at Mayflower Ave.
Note the flashing-light grade crossing signal to the right. This one (and another unit behind the car) were installed fairly late in the history of the line, around 1949. Previously there had been just “crossbucks”. The signal installation may have been prompted by the collision between the eastbound morning box motor and a 1929 or 30 Studebaker sedan that nearly gave the Davis family a “Studie” for breakfast. The driver was hauled off in an ambulance and a waiting passenger on the inbound side was slightly injured (probably in the process of dodging the automobile. This flashback was prompted by a new item from the Gold Line Foothill Extension office showing the “quad gate” crossing protection for the light rail project.
It’s not obvious in the photo, but the tracks were way overdue for rebuilding. The joints were low, the rails were worn out, and some of the ties were more like kindling wood. Even a ten year old boy (me) could see the poor condition of the railway. I didn’t know that construction of the US 101 freeway next to LA Union Station would soon seal the fate of the PE Northern District.