Irwindale station is an at-grade light rail station on the A Line of the

Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States. It consists of seven lines, including five light rail lines (the A Line (Los Angeles Metro), A, C Line (Los Angeles Metro), C, E Li ...

system. It is located at the intersection of Irwindale Avenue and Avenida Padilla in

Irwindale, California Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...

, after which the station is named. This station opened on March 5, 2016, as part of Phase 2A of the Gold Line Foothill Extension Project.

History

The original train track through Irwindale were built by the

Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was a railroad founded on Sept. 5, 1883, by James F. Crank with the goal of bringing a rail line to Pasadena from downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was sold and cons ...

. The A Line uses the old right of way of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad who built the first train tracks through Irwindale in 1887. The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was founded in 1883, by

James F. Crank Crank House, also known as Fair Oaks Ranch, is an 1882 Victorian style residence in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 for its association with the early settlement ...

with the goal of bringing a rail line to

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

from downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad was sold on May 20, 1887 into the

California Central Railway The California Central Railway was incorporated on April 23, 1887, with headquarters in San Bernardino, California. George O. Manchester was the President of the corporation. At its peak it operated of rail line with 14 steam locomotives, 14 ...

. In 1889 the rail line was consolidated into

Southern California Railway Southern California Railway was formed on November 7, 1889. it was formed by consolidation of California Southern Railroad Company, the California Central Railway Company, and the Redondo Beach Railway Company. A second consolidation and reformi ...

Company. On January 17, 1906, the Southern California Railway was sold to the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

and called the

Pasadena Subdivision The Pasadena Subdivision is the remnant branch line of the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) Los Angeles Second District. The line currently branches off of Metrolink’s San Bernardino Line at CP Cambridge in Claremont. The li ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

-Santa Fe ran the

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagstaff ...

and

Desert Wind The ''Desert Wind'' was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran from 1979 to 1997. It operated from Chicago to Los Angeles as a section of the ''California Zephyr'', serving Los Angeles via Salt Lake City; Ogden, Utah; and Las Vegas. ...

over this line through Irwindale, but relocated the Desert Wind to the Fullerton Line in 1986. The Santa Fe line served the San Gabriel Valley until 1994, when the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately ...

weakened the bridge in Arcadia and the track was closed until the Gold line was built. The rail line crosses the San Gabriel River on a long girder bridge, then passes through the

Santa Fe Dam Santa Fe Dam is a flood-control dam on the San Gabriel River located in Irwindale in Los Angeles County, California, United States. For most of the year, the -high dam and its reservoir lie empty, but can hold more than of water during major ...

Recreation Area (how it received its name). The rail line intersected the north end of the former SP Azusa Industrial Track at Irwindale (MP 118.2). Irwindale had a 6,165 foot

rail siding A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

that passed the

Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

's Irwindale brewery. From there the tracks continued and crossed beneath Irwindale Avenue.

Service

Station layout

Hours and frequency

Connections

, the following connections are available: *

Foothill Transit Foothill Transit is a public transit agency that is government funded by 22 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley region of eastern Los Angeles Cou ...

References

{{Los Angeles Metro Rail and Busway stations navbox A Line (Los Angeles Metro) stations Irwindale, California Railway stations in the United States opened in 2016 2016 establishments in California