Pasadena was the first stop for Santa Fe trains departing Los Angeles - Trains such as The Super Chief, The El Capitan and The Chief. And, when traveling by rail from Los Angeles to the east was the preferred mode of transportation, Pasadena was the station of choice for many Hollywood actors in order to avoid the crowds in downtown L.A. The Pasadena station remained an Amtrak stop until 1994, at which point the Southwest Chief was rerouted through Fullerton to the south and the Santa Fe First District was downgraded and eventually sold to the Los Angeles MTA, which built their Gold Line light rail line on this right-of-way. The station, as with so many other railroad stations that closed, is now a restaurant.
Depicts Amtrak's "Desert Wind" service, which operated from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, via Las Vegas. Its discontinuance in 1997 left the lower Intermountain region, including Las Vegas, without any passenger rail service since.
Oh the stories these special buildings could tell. Originally the brains of the rails they monitored, working to insure effecient rail service for our nation! A tribute!
