Lowe Alpine Classic Mountain Cap

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At the Rubio division terminus was built a broad platform to span the Canyon which included the Rubio Pavilion, a 12-room hotel, with dining facilities and other amenities. The pavilion also consisted of power generating facilities with the use of gas engines and Pelton waterwheels. Water was made available from reservoirs built in the canyon's streams, though water was not always plentiful year round. As part of the entertainment experience, Lowe had a series of stairways and bridges built over the streams and waterfalls that emanated from the canyon. The 11 waterfalls were individually named and today exist as local landmarks. In 1909, an unseasonable electrical storm and flash flood destroyed the Rubio Pavilion and buried one of the caretakers’ children in the mud. [40] The injured parents spent years in the hospital recuperating from the devastation that left them trapped in the rubble of the Pavilion. Three of the children, who knew how to move the incline cars, escaped to the top of the incline. [N 5] Remains of the Echo Mountain House in 2007 Photo shows all three cars in one shot, but actually this had to be staged since all three cars couldn't all run at the same time. The Alpine line was equipped with turnouts, but there was no advantage to running multiple cars. The mountain itself offered a grand display of nature and hiking trails, plus a mule ride, the "Mount Lowe Eight," that transported guests around a trail. This trail made a large figure eight traverse of Mt. Lowe and Mount Echo, starting and ending at the Alpine Tavert without ever traversing the same terrain twice. [35]

In December, 1937, the Railroad Booster's Club, enthusiasts of the PE Railroad, requested a final paid excursion on the line for photos and memorabilia. [43] A few months later, in March, 1938 a three-day deluge of rain destroyed what was left of the railway and stranded the caretakers on Echo for 17 days. Following this disaster, the railway was officially abandoned. [44] Dismantling edit The cable was a 1 + 5⁄ 8-inch (41 mm) steel cable spliced in two spots, one below each of the incline passenger cars and looped in a continuous strand around the grip wheel at the top of the incline and a tension wheel at the bottom. The cable was replaced every two or three years. [17] No Joke, the best hat in the world for cold and alpine environments! The Lowe Alpine Classic Mountain Cap has stood the test of time and for good reason. For one it has a fully waterproof, windproof and breathable outer shell. then it is lined with a warm and soft Aleutian fleece. On top of that it features ear protectors that can be folded away and a mouldable brim that can clip up. There is nothing better for your noggin with the wind is howling and the spindrift is pelting against you. The Great Incline cable mechanism was engineered by Andrew Smith Hallidie of San Francisco cable car fame. It climbed 2,200 feet (670 m) with approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 m) of cable spliced into a complete loop which raised and lowered the cars of the Incline. At the Echo summit an incline powerhouse was erected to house the winding motor and gear works which powered the 9-foot-diameter (2.7 m) grip wheel. The wheel consisted of 72 clamping "finger" mechanisms which bit down on the cable creating a smooth, non-slip actuation of the winding cable. [16]Prof. Lowe's success was greatly drawn from his nationally renowned process of generating large amounts of hydrogen gas (see water gas). [ citation needed] He had built a gas plant in Pasadena and had piped the gas some eight miles (13 km) to the top of Echo where there was a storage container seen in several earlier photographs. [22] The technology, mainly used for heating and lighting, was soon replaced by electricity. The incline grade changed three times from a steep 62% grade at the base to a gentler 48% grade at the top, but the cars were designed to comfortably adjust to the differences in grade. The incline was also equipped with a safety cable which ran through an emergency braking mechanism under each car and provided an emergency stopping of the cars within 15 feet (4.6 m) should a failure of the main cable occur.

Echo Mountain edit The Echo Mountain House was a 70-room Victorian hotel opened in November 1894 at the summit of the Echo Mountain promontory. The Red Car line ran into Altadena until 1941. At the onset of World War II, the dismantling of the Mount Lowe Railway was contracted to a scrapper who stripped the railway of all salvageable materials. [45] In 1959 the Forestry service began dynamiting the remains of buildings as "hazardous nuisances." In 1962 the Incline Powerhouse was dynamited, but the gear mechanism was placed as a monument to the enterprise. [46] Historical landmark edit Lowe had two favorite days of the year, Independence Day and Christmas, during which he would mark special events of his lifetime. The railway terminal, called Mountain Junction, was located at the corner of Lake Avenue and Calaveras Street in the unincorporated community of Altadena. The line was divided into three divisions: the Mountain Division, the Great Incline, and the Alpine Division. The mode of locomotion was electric traction railway, and a cable driven incline funicular. Electrical power for the railway consisted of several power generating stations equipped with either gas engines or Pelton wheels, depending on the availability of mountain water. [3] Mountain Division edit The Alpine Division edit Circular Bridge was designed to easily guide an electric traction trolley car through a simple 12 feet (3.7 m) in elevation.

a b Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. pp. 39, 40. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577. In 1900, the Echo Mountain House burned down. [37] It was grossly under-insured and was never rebuilt. Later, the astronomer Dr. Swift went blind and was forced to leave his post at the observatory. A second astronomer, Prof. Edgar Lucien Larkin (1847–1925), was hired to oversee the observatory. [37] Though he was not as prominent as Prof. Swift, he did stay with the Mount Lowe Observatory until his sudden death in 1925. Disenchanted, Peyton sold the railway to Henry E. Huntington, after which it became part of the Pacific Electric Railway (PE), of the famed Los Angeles Red Car system. [38] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) This spot marked the end of the line, nearly 7 miles (11 km) from its starting point at Mountain Junction. Visitors edit Echo Mountain Promontory ( c. 1896) after a snowfall, and White City resort of the Mount Lowe Railway as seen from a higher spot on the ridge and overlooking Altadena, California. Buildings viewed from left to right: The Echo Chalet, Echo Mountain House, Incline Powerhouse, Dormitories and Car Barn. Behind the car barn is an inflatable reservoir for the storage of hydrogen gas produced in Pasadena and piped to Echo.

Blasting into the Rubio Canyon began in September 1892, [13] three months before the establishment of the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve (now Angeles National Forest). A terminal was built at the corner of Calaveras Street and Lake Avenue in Altadena adjacent to the L. A. Terminal Railway station, and a narrow gauge line was laid up the 8% grade to a point near Las Flores Street where it turned eastward traversing the Poppyfields district and headed into Rubio Canyon.

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