September 28, 2017
Mount Lowe Railway
The Mount Lowe railway was more of a railroad system consisting of three connecting parts: the Mountain division(which wasn’t in the mountains, it just got you there), the Incline division(which was on an incline) and the Alpine division(which was in the mountains). The Mountain division terminated at Rubio pavilion, aptly named since it was in Rubio canyon. There the visitor could transfer to the Incline division, a three-railed funicular(similar to Angels Flight) that went 1900 feet up the east side of Echo Mountain. At the summit of Echo Mountain, one could transfer to the Alpine division that wound it’s way though Las Flores, Millard and Grand canyons to it’s terminus at the foot of Mt. Lowe. At the terminus of each of the divisions were accommodations and entertainment for the visitor.
The Mt. Lowe Railway was a partnership of Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe and David J. Macpherson which began construction on the Mountain and Incline divisions in 1892 and they were completed in 1893. The Alpine division was constructed in 1894. On Echo Mountain was 2 hotels(the Echo Mountain House and the Echo Chalet), entertainment facilities, maintenance facilities, and an Observatory. At the terminus of the Alpine division was “Ye Alpine Tavern” which included a Silver Fox farm and mule rides to Inspiration Point.
Read MoreThe Mount Lowe railway was more of a railroad system consisting of three connecting parts: the Mountain division(which wasn’t in the mountains, it just got you there), the Incline division(which was on an incline) and the Alpine division(which was in the mountains). The Mountain division terminated at Rubio pavilion, aptly named since it was in Rubio canyon. There the visitor could transfer to the Incline division, a three-railed funicular(similar to Angels Flight) that went 1900 feet up the east side of Echo Mountain. At the summit of Echo Mountain, one could transfer to the Alpine division that wound it’s way though Las Flores, Millard and Grand canyons to it’s terminus at the foot of Mt. Lowe. At the terminus of each of the divisions were accommodations and entertainment for the visitor.
The Mt. Lowe Railway was a partnership of Prof. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe and David J. Macpherson which began construction on the Mountain and Incline divisions in 1892 and they were completed in 1893. The Alpine division was constructed in 1894. On Echo Mountain was 2 hotels(the Echo Mountain House and the Echo Chalet), entertainment facilities, maintenance facilities, and an Observatory. At the terminus of the Alpine division was “Ye Alpine Tavern” which included a Silver Fox farm and mule rides to Inspiration Point.
Los Angeles from Inspiration Point.
Inspiration Point is a short distance from “Ye Alpine Tavern” and is the only portion of the original facilities that has been rebuilt. I has a ramada and a lower lever with sighting tubes(you can see the one that points to Los Angeles at the right of the photo). We arrived there about 3pm so the sun’s position wasn’t the best to photograph towards the west, but you can see Catalina Island which is about 50 miles away.
