|
Mount Lowe The railway in the clouds By Charles Seims
Mount Lowe The railway in the clouds By Charles Seims
Hard Cover with dust jacket
Copyright 1976
234 pages
WITH MORE THAN 425 ILLUSTRATIONS - MAPS -
DOCUMENTARY REPRODUCTIONS - EQUIPMENT
ROSTERS - CAR PLANS - BIBLIOGRAPHY - INDEX
Southern California's Mount Lowe Railway, for nearly 40 years, lived up to its title "The Most Scenic Mountain Railway in the World." Its short trackage from Altadena to Alpine Tavern, rising over 3,130 feet in only 5.84 miles, constituted an engineering marvel in the midst of scenic grandeur, to which the story of its construction and operation lent color and interest.
In 1888, Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, inventor and financier, famous for bringing about the use of observation balloons by the Union Army in the Civil War, came to Southern California to retire. Lured by the mild climate, he settled in Pasadena at the foot of the rugged San Gabriels. The majestic mountains proved more challenging than restful, and it was not long before Lowe was moving rapidly toward another goal.
The idea of building an alpine railway into the San Gabriels was not a new one; but its translation into reality rested finally upon the coupling of Lowe's imagination and drive with the brilliant engineering ability of David J. Macpherson. It was Macpherson who finally surveyed a practicable route and so strongly convinced Lowe of its feasibility that the latter formed the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railway for the purpose of constructing a line to the top of Mount Wilson. When their attempts to acquire a right-of-way to the summit of Mount Wilson were thwarted, Lowe and Macpherson, undeterred chose to build to the crest of Echo Mountain.
Mount Lowe - The Railway in the Clouds chronicles the result of their efforts, the Mount Lowe Railway, from the time of its original construction through the years in which it functioned as an integral part of the Pacific Electric system. This is a moving story of a man's relentless struggle to keep expanding his mountain empire in the face of increasing debt and devastating destruction by the elements, and of his ultimate separation from the enterprise - which went on without him.
To read it is to realize the problems involved in building the narrow-gauge electric line from Altadena into Rubio Canyon, in designing and constructing "The Great Cable Incline" on a 62-percent grade, the life and times of "Echo Mountain House" and the "Chalet" on Echo Mountain, and in surveying and building the extension to Crystal Springs, the site of Alpine Tavern. One travels in wonderment on a spectacular tour of the Alpine Division, as the track follows the natural contours of the mountainside over 18 trestles and around 127 curves to its destination at the Tavern.
Henry E. Huntington and the Pacific Electric presided over this remarkable enterprise for more than half its lifetime, and in those days, too, its billing as "The Greatest Mountain Trolley Trip in the World" was justified. In 1936, however, when the Alpine Tavern burned to the ground, the Mount Lowe story came to an end.
In this volume, the author, skillfully blending text and film, has overlaid the past upon the present, recreating the people, the Observatory, the great searchlight, fire and flood, and other events that once enlivened a now silent landscape. Mount Lowe-The Railway in the Clouds is a book not only for railroad buffs and lovers of mountain trails, but for all who cherish a knowledge of - or would like to learn more about - the historical transition of Southern California.
CHARLES SEIMS
To Charles Seims, a graduate of the University of Southern California whose widespread interests in the social and transportation history of Southern California, the Mount Lowe Railway roadbed is a familiar path. Since he was 13, he has hiked its length times without number. A native of Chicago, Seims grew up in Altadena, in the shadows of Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe, and has been an avid collector of Mount Lowe literature and lore. His accumulation of photographs, publications, and related collectibles numbers over 5,000 items - many of which are one of a kind - and represents 20 years of effort. Seim's research for Mount Lowe - The Railway in the Clouds took several years to complete and include a perusal of every edition of every Pasadena newspaper published between 1883 and 1900.
JACKET PAINTING
The colorful and realistic jacket painting by railroad artist Harlan Hiney depicts a narrow-gauge Alpine Division trolley making its way around Circular Bridge circa 1912. Spread out below is Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. By this time the hotel complex on Echo Mountain had long been destroyed by fire.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 - Pioneers of the San Gabriels 7
Chapter 2 - The Land Boom and Afterwards 17
Chapter 3 - Professor Lowe Takes Hold 25
Chapter 4 - Opening Day 51
Chapter 5 - White City 69
Chapter 6 - Building the Alpine Division 89
Chapter 7 - Hard Times 105
Chapter 8 - Disasters - Coming of the Pacific Electric121
Chapter 9 - The Burning of Alpine Tavern179
Appendix221
Bibliography 223
Index232
All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
Shipping charges
Postage rates quoted are for shipments to the US only. Ebay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and then ebay ships them to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs / import fees. For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email. Shipping to Canada and other countries varies by weight.
Payment options
Payment must be received within 10 days. Paypal is accepted.
Terms and conditions
All sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described. Contact us first. No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.
Thanks for looking at our items.
| 
