Redlands Loop - Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe
These retired passenger cars were on a disconnected siding at Palm Ave., in Highland, in June 1984.
They were long gone by January 2004; the building at right is now a church.
This was the Patton station, later a real estate office and most recently a farmer's market; the track passed behind the building. This was the location of one of the last customers on the abandoned part of the line -- Patton State Hospital.
Photo from January 2004.
This loop was originally constructed in the late 1800s. Heading clockwise, the single track line left the Santa Fe main at Highland Jct. in San Bernardino. It then passed through Arrowhead (PE crossing), Del Rosa, West Highland, Patton, Highland, East Highland, Aplin, Mentone, Craf[ton], Redlands, and Nevada, and rejoined the Santa Fe mainline just east of the San Bernardino depot. Only the Redlands to San Bernardino via Nevada segment is still active in early 2004. Redlands station still stands but is not used by BNSF.
The line originaly served the orange growers and other farmers in the area, along with a few industries. While rail traffic was steady through the 1950s, the orange groves were replaced with residences over time, and the need for trains decreased.
The Highland Jct. to Del Rosa segment was abandoned in the 1950s, with a further cut back to Patton in the 1970s. After a long pile trestle over the Santa Ana River (between Mentone and Patton) was damaged by floodwaters, the line was cut from Patton back to Mentone. Until the 1980s, Mentone had a separate industrial spur northeast of town, but the industries later closed and only small sections of track remain.
As of January 2004 the track ends near Wabash Ave. on the Redlands city limit, but there are no customers on the last two miles of track. .
The right of way through Del Rosa is used for Ca. Route 30. Parts of the right of way are still open in West Highland and Patton, as the neighborhoods were built while track was still in place. In East Highland the right of way has been obliterated by recent housing developments.
There have not been any trains here for well over twenty years, but this AT&SF Railway "Trespassing Forbidden" sign still stands.
This is on Pumalo St. facing northwest in the Highland/Patton area.
Photo from January 2004.
