My great grandfather helped build this railroad. He was a immigrant from Norway and there are family photos of the tracks and railroad. Quite a feat, sadly not there today!
I am always amazed to look at pictures of these workers. In the heat of SoCal, they wore suits and ties as they performed their back-breaking tasks. No helmets either.
If this thing survived the 1937 storm, I'm sure it would be phenomenally successful today. LA residents are always looking for things to do, and a mountaintop railway would be a very popular day trip.
The geology of the transverse range is as precarious now as it was then. A subduction story turned sideways by plate tectonics leaving a twisted mass of crushed sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with occasional igneous intrusions slowly crumbling and faulting. Anything built on this strata is temporary at best. As cool as it would be, maintaining it requires periodic rebuilding and today's business models are all about buying not building and then milking assets until no more. Gone are the days of building things because it would be cool. In Lowe's defense, the fact that it was completed is testament to greatness. The billionaires of today are predatory by nature. Creative? not so much.
I had a great aunt that lived in the Pasadena area. When she would come back to Wisconsin, she always brought my mother a gift. My mother cherished these gifts as a little girl. When my mother passed away, I found a glass paper weight, about 21/2 by 4 inches and 3/4" thick. It is a picture of the base of an inclined railway! All these years we have wondered where this was from. While watching your video, I saw one of the photos of the base of Mount Lowe and I knew I had seen it before. I had to go find this glass paper weight and I was shocked to see that the photo matches exactly what you presented in this video. Now it all makes sense. Thanks for helping solve a mystery!
In the 50s my dad frequently took us on hikes in Millard Canyon where he knew a number of the cabin owners. Then in the mid-60s I worked for the U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest, Recreation Department and we regularly visited a camping area that I believe was at the location of the tavern. I remember there was a large safe down in the canyon with the rest of the rubble. And then mid-70s thru mid-80s my children and I hiked to all those mountain peaks on a regular basis. I still treasure a ledger book in which I logged all our hikes. Great memories!
You did an excellent job telling the history of the Mt Lowe Railroad. I had not thought about how difficult it was to get from Pasadena or Los Angeles to Altadena. I had always heard that he lost control due to a financial panic in 1897 which saw revenue fall. Henry Huntington's Pacific Electric acquired the Mt Lowe RR. Huntington had deep pockets and made improvements to the infrastructure. The whole enterprise really was not profitable and was basically subsidized by the Pacific Electric. I think they only had one really profitable year in the 1920's After the Alpine Tavern burned in 1936, operation of the railroad ceased except for a rail fan trip done by the Railroad Boosters in December 1937. The whole LA region was devastated by the rainfall and flood in March 1938. It was this that was the final nail in the coffin. Most of what I just wrote has been told to me by other Mt Lowe buffs who I have worked with for the last 30 years up on Echo Mtn, Alpine Tavern, and Inspiration Point ( which always needs repairs to the roof due to high winds that come from the Santa Anas )
Fun fact: Lowes grand daughter by his seventh son was Florence Lowe, better known as Pancho Barnes. If you know anything about pioneering female aviators, that name should ring a bell. Her story is worthy of a segment of It's History in and of itself.
I have been to the ruins of The Happy Bottom Riding Club at Edwards Air Force Base, owned and managed by Pancho Barnes. Not much left but we can understand how remote it was.
I mountain biked all over this area. Rode up the railroad right away and down the single track to the ruins. There is still signs of the electrical wires where the pic of the street car is shown.
Is the pedestrian suspension bridge still intact? I startled a mountain lion on the down hill. Thank god for cat reflexes. Hitting it would have been ugly.
Professor Lowe was a remarkable man, first time I have heard his story aside from small snippets of his work on refrigeration and he certainly seems someone overlooked in Europe/UK which is a shame. Thanks for the upload, very interesting topic.
"Vertical Railways" survive in other places, provided they still provide good service. For example the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh still provides the fastest service between Downtown Pittsburgh and the top of the Mt Washington section of Pittsburgh. The Johnstown Incline does the same in Johnstown PA (Through the Johnstown incline is still more of a tourist draw then the Monongahela Inline, as is the Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh). Other inclines in the US and elsewhere survive when they provide good service for locals, but none as a long or isolated as the Lowe railway was.
I believe Angels flight in downtown los angeles is still operational. It is not as cool as the mount lowe railway, but the engineering has stood the test of time.
@@johnpearson492 I can not use the Duquesne Incline. I use a Mobility Scooter and can get on the Duquesne Incline at the top station, but since I can not use steps I can not exit the bottom station. Now Johnstown has a vehicular Incline, one designed to haul horse drawn wagons up its steep hillside. It is still in use so I can get on it with my scooter. You can also drive your car on it and the Incline can haul your car up that hill. It is big enough to take on vans and Suburbans if you ever want to go up on it.
It would have been amazing to visit ! Incredible the work it took to build it in that terrain, including transporting all the material for the hotel and tavern etc! Lost history and very interesting! Thanks Ryan!
Thanks for the video. I've hiked up to the ruins and back to the old tavern campgrounds several times and its a tough hike but you're rewarded with spectacular views that reaches to the Pacific on a clear day. It's truly a shame it didn't survive since something like this today would be a huge tourist draw as well as give people a new appreciation of just how awe-inspiring nature can be. I'm glad Professor Lowe's memory has not been forgotten...
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the 9 giant waterfalls in Rubio canyon that had stairs built into the cliffs to get to each waterfall. I heard from a historian that was giving a tour about the railway say those waterfalls rivaled Yosemite. I used to hike up Rubio canyon all the time about 20 years ago. I would love to go back and explore again. Thank you for posting this amazing documentary and sparking some great memories for me.
@@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705 Have you been there? The creek flows over all those falls before it gets to the water company. I used to hike all the way up that canyon all the time, its my favorite hike. It looks dry until you get to the first falls, I usually skip the second fall because it doesn't lead anywhere. to get to the 3rd fall you go up a really steep incline to the right of the first falls and leads to an amazing view of the 3rd fall and the city. if you keep going there are ropes in place to climb down to get back into the canyon. from here you can go to the top of the 3rd fall or go the other way and reach the 4th fall and so on.its awesome up there.
My grandparents rode the rail cars to a hotel at the top back in the day. When I was young I and a friend went exploring up the rail-line. It was a difficult climb up the slope and we eventually had to use the standard trail. Back down along the Rubio canyon rail bed we dug up metal objects and spikes. Walking along the canyon a section of the side of the decomposing granite railbed broke off and my friend did a 360° head over heels tumble down the cliff. He landed in the middle of a boulder field. Luckily there was a pile of sand right where he landed which probably saved his life. He was only shaken up. Oh, there were warning signs not to hike the canyon.
Reminds me of Cass Scenic railroad here in West Virginia, originally a logging rail it climbs to the top of Bald Knob. Today it's an 11 mile scenic steam engine train ride
I love it. These railway trains are called Funiculars. There's one in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. I ride it every time I go. I go often since I live in the region. It's fun to say, "Let's go on the funicular!"
Pittsburgh still has two, Johnstown PA still has one. Iowa City has one as does Chattanooga TN. Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Chattanooga all claim to be the steepest Incline in the US. The Mongohelia Incline is the steepest overall but it takes passengers only. Johnstown's Incline is 1% less steep but it is the steepest, "Vehicular Incline" i.e. you can take automobiles on it (it was designed to take on large horse drawn heavy wagons). Chattanooga has the steepest final section. Overall it is less steep then the above Inclines, but then does a radical increase in steepest as it nears the top of the Incline. I have been on all three, they are all different and also the same and it is always fun to see how three things (inclines) can claim the same thing (Steepest) by emphasizing different aspect of the same word (in this case "Steepest").
Our mountainous trails are disappearing too, I went on my long run this morning and the trail I usually take up the mountain near me was completely eroded due to a rock slide in the area.
Just wanted to say Ryan love your channel. History has always been so interesting and fascinating to me I have always had a huge love for history. Love every video you do always learning something new and cool. Its always exciting to watch your channel. I hope this comment reaches you.
Just FYI, it's ANGELES not ANGELS National Forest. Grew up hiking there. Quite interesting that Lowe's three reconnaissance balloons were named Intrepid, Excelsior, and Enterprise!
Awesome to learn more about the history of my neighborhood. I trail run the Lower Sam Merril Trail from the Cobb Estate to the ruins on Echo Mt quite frequently. Small correction: Cape of Good Hope is definitely not a parking lot. The paved road leading to it is the Mt Lowe Road, a forest service road closed to motorized vehicles, though maybe rangers park there. Great for hiking and biking.
What a great story. I'm comparing it with the construction of the funicular rail built to go to the top of Mount Washington, Los Angeles, which was opened for ridership in 1909. Its popularity remained for about 9 years until celebrities started to pour into a new area known as "Hollywood". At that point, the attraction to Mount Washington's Hotel fell upon unpopular times, and its eventual closure, and of course the funicular railway went with it 😢 I'm pretty sure the Mount Lowe Railway was a source of influence for those who sought to create this Mount Washington Resort. The base station of the railway still exists as a house on Avenue 43. The hotel was purchased shortly after its demise and now remains under the same ownership today, the center for Self Realization Fellowship, was founded in 1920.
Thanks for a great video! I lived in Pasadena in the 80's and 90's. I loved it there. I hiked into the mountains and saw some of the remains that are shown in this video. I had no idea how old they were, why they existed, and what a big deal the railroad was in its day. Smitty's Grill on Lake Street has many historical photos, including many of the photos shown in this video. Thanks again.
The funicular railway was only part of the system. The rest of it was a more conventional rail way. At some point it was run by Henry Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway. PE cars carried passengers to the beginning of the Mount Lowe Railway. My mother and her parents, brothers and sister rode the Mt. Lowe cars to Lowe's resort. It would have been a fabulous experience. Mt. Lowe retains the name Lowe gave it, and Echo Mountain is also there. As to a trail to Mt. Wilson: there is a hiking trail starting in Sierra Madre going to the Mt. Wilson. More likely the reference is to the Mount Wilson Toll Road which starts at Eaton Canyon in Altadena. The road is about 9 miles long and continues as a hiking trail and fire road. Access is limited to day time with locked gate at the entrance. It can be used by hikers, bicyclists and horse riders. About 3 miles up is Henninger Flats which has U. S. Forest Station. It was also used to take parts and the lenses of the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes that are the heart of the Mount Wilson Observatory. I would also note the Forest is Angeles National Forest, not Angels.
This video is like a twin to a vertical railway we had on the east cost. The place was Mount Beacon NY. At one time there was a vertical railway, a hotel, casino, restaurant, and a ski lodge and ski slope. The railway was shut down in 1972, due to bankruptcy. Then of course some anal cavities had to burn down the buildings on top of the mountain. What a loss! It is sad that this is no longer there.
There were what we called locally, inclines, built in various parts of the country. Cincinnati, Ohio had 5 inclines operating in the same time frame from 1872 till 1948. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania had 3 but now only 1 survives from 1864 till now. Older forms of transportation are quite fascinating and could be a good tourist draw in walking cities......
@stevie-ray2020 Though it was built strictly for leisure travel in the San Gabriel mountains. Not in city centers or for actual needed transportation. As was the case with Angel's Flight in DTLA. I think they have similar railways in Europe built to get to a resort, which was the case with this railway.
Ryan, this was awesome! I'm wondering if you have ever considered doing a piece on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Jim Thorpe PA? It's a remarkable piece of history that's worth doing a deep dive into.
You did it again, I thought I knew everything about Mount Loew, But turns out I didn't know enough about LOEW himself. What a time to be ingenious and daring !
my favorite hiking path is in Rubio Canyon, but instead of going up the "railway trail" i ascend into the canyon some more, where there are some awesome waterfalls: Moss Grotto, Thalehaha and Leontine Falls.... with some great rock formations also.
Another great video loaded with tons of interesting information. And talking of roads along the west coast, the highway E6, passing near me in W Sweden collapsed tonite. A hillside next to the hwy slid down displacing the road and buildings. Unfortunately, the area is off limit, else it had been interesting to go and visit.
It's the Angeles national forest, not angels. It's called echo mountain, not mount echo. There is no parking at the Cape of Good Hope, as the road is closed to the public. The parking area is further down the mountain. Good story, but some facts are incorrect. I live in Altadena and have hiked these trails many, many times.
Thanks for the history! Well done. My partner and I love Angeles Forest and make videos about our hikes. (Under "Chortkoff and Riggio" if you are curious.) We did not know all this about Mr. Lowe though! We just LOVE local CA history! Our videos are more fun than historical though. I think I will recommend your videos to our viewers! I wish the trains were still there! It is crazy to me that all those decades ago we built this impossible marvel! I assume that with increased weather events and fires we gave up doing something so... Ahead of our time. Even now this would not be easy to pull off!
Excellent video and coverage. A couple minor corrections: 14:48 The historic storm was not 1937, but rather March 1938. 16:35 Not "High Bridge", but rather the site of the incredible Circular Bridge.
You have created a wonderful presentation here. Very Nice !!! You also might take a look at The Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway in Marin County, California. It was built originally to be electric and had similar designs in regards to the electrical engineering. It was only supposed to be steam powered while being built but never completed the electrical construction portion of the project.
Note that the first Manned balloon flight attempt was rightfully named: "the Enterprise ". Isn't this a wierd coincidence ?? I'm guessing that our first intergalactic Starship, will also be rightfully named: "the Enterprise ", too. Am I correct..?
The electric trains themselves are starting to come back. There was a time I could walk to the corner of my block in Studio City, catch a train, and take it all the way to the top! There is no public transportation to anywhere in Angeles Forest anymore! Wah!
Ive lived here all my life and the history here is so rich. I would love it if you made a video about its neighboring Brown mountain, named after Owen Brown, one of the sons of John Brown who led the raid on harpers ferry with his sons!!
I've hiked the trail to the hotel ruins many times, and it is one of my favorite hikes in the area. The echophones, and a few of the railway gears still remain to this day. Thanks for covering this wonderful piece of SoCal history!
I have seen these type of vertical trains in europe and south america… seem to recall they are called Funiculars. Also remember LA’s Angels Flight which is similar.
It is funny the way you mentioned Henry Ford fondly in the Mount Lowe Railway story. He was actually a villain in the Mount Lowe Railways demise. He was in the area plotting the demise of the red car trolley system that fed into it. I bet you didn't know that.
The city I’m from, Hamilton, Ontario, used to have one as well, actually a couple of them i think. They were all demolished in the early 20th century. The city is divided by the Niagara Escarpment. The lines have been turned into staircases now
Mr. Lowe's work with balloons for military applications also credits him with having created what we know as The U.S. Air Force. Funny thing is, if Florence Lowe-Barnes ("Pancho") hadn't been running around with her Hollywood friends & making aviation history herself, chances are she may have inherited the railway and the hotel, and rebuilt it.
And Lowe was Grandfather to the famous aviatrix…..Pancho Barnes that owned and operated the famous Bottom Riding Club near Edwards AFB (Muroc at that time). Pancho Barnes was also a famous pilot in the Hollywood stunt pilots. I believe she organized those stunt pilots too into a union. T. Lowe was her Grandpa. Lowe’s balloons were used in the Civil War for early recon. Abraham Lincoln was a big supporter of Lowe.
Even geniuses underestimate weather. But there is also quite a bit of resistance from the monied folks. I've been doing computer and physical infrastructure for some time. My largest struggle has always been to convince the monied folks of the necessity to build to the minimum 100 year event standard. When I've succeeded, what is built lasts either still to this day, or until advancements deprecate its function and i get "the phone call" asking for now forgotten details about a things operation. :-)
Ryan, Point of correction. You referred to the Mt. Lowe Railway cars as "trains" but they were electric trolley cars. They had trolley poles on them and collected the power from overhead trolley wires. The only thing that was cable was the incline. ua-cam.com/video/HkqsKji6t3M/v-deo.html
Well, north of Vancouver BC, Squamish has a Sea to Sky cable car service now. Why don't they build one of those adjacent to one of the largest cities in the world?
My great grandfather helped build this railroad. He was a immigrant from Norway and there are family photos of the tracks and railroad. Quite a feat, sadly not there today!
cool, get the pics to the channel? would be great to see
Could I see some of the pics?
I am always amazed to look at pictures of these workers. In the heat of SoCal, they wore suits and ties as they performed their back-breaking tasks. No helmets either.
yes i remember him well.
Yeah sure
If this thing survived the 1937 storm, I'm sure it would be phenomenally successful today. LA residents are always looking for things to do, and a mountaintop railway would be a very popular day trip.
The geology of the transverse range is as precarious now as it was then. A subduction story turned sideways by plate tectonics leaving a twisted mass of crushed sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with occasional igneous intrusions slowly crumbling and faulting. Anything built on this strata is temporary at best.
As cool as it would be, maintaining it requires periodic rebuilding and today's business models are all about buying not building and then milking assets until no more. Gone are the days of building things because it would be cool. In Lowe's defense, the fact that it was completed is testament to greatness. The billionaires of today are predatory by nature. Creative? not so much.
I had a great aunt that lived in the Pasadena area. When she would come back to Wisconsin, she always brought my mother a gift. My mother cherished these gifts as a little girl. When my mother passed away, I found a glass paper weight, about 21/2 by 4 inches and 3/4" thick. It is a picture of the base of an inclined railway! All these years we have wondered where this was from. While watching your video, I saw one of the photos of the base of Mount Lowe and I knew I had seen it before. I had to go find this glass paper weight and I was shocked to see that the photo matches exactly what you presented in this video. Now it all makes sense. Thanks for helping solve a mystery!
In the 50s my dad frequently took us on hikes in Millard Canyon where he knew a number of the cabin owners. Then in the mid-60s I worked for the U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest, Recreation Department and we regularly visited a camping area that I believe was at the location of the tavern. I remember there was a large safe down in the canyon with the rest of the rubble. And then mid-70s thru mid-80s my children and I hiked to all those mountain peaks on a regular basis. I still treasure a ledger book in which I logged all our hikes. Great memories!
You did an excellent job telling the history of the Mt Lowe Railroad. I had not thought about how difficult it was to get from Pasadena or Los Angeles to Altadena. I had always heard that he lost control due to a financial panic in 1897 which saw revenue fall. Henry Huntington's Pacific Electric acquired the Mt Lowe RR. Huntington had deep pockets and made improvements to the infrastructure. The whole enterprise really was not profitable and was basically subsidized by the Pacific Electric. I think they only had one really profitable year in the 1920's After the Alpine Tavern burned in 1936, operation of the railroad ceased except for a rail fan trip done by the Railroad Boosters in December 1937. The whole LA region was devastated by the rainfall and flood in March 1938. It was this that was the final nail in the coffin. Most of what I just wrote has been told to me by other Mt Lowe buffs who I have worked with for the last 30 years up on Echo Mtn, Alpine Tavern, and Inspiration Point ( which always needs repairs to the roof due to high winds that come from the Santa Anas )
Fun fact: Lowes grand daughter by his seventh son was Florence Lowe, better known as Pancho Barnes. If you know anything about pioneering female aviators, that name should ring a bell. Her story is worthy of a segment of It's History in and of itself.
Yes, and she was the inspiration for the character Lupe Gibbs in HBOs recent Perry Mason series.
OMG, just read a book about her life. Wonderful!!
I have been to the ruins of The Happy Bottom Riding Club at Edwards Air Force Base, owned and managed by Pancho Barnes. Not much left but we can understand how remote it was.
@@weeniedogwrangler7096 She was a character from what I've seen in videos. I didn't know she was related to the Lowes.
I mountain biked all over this area. Rode up the railroad right away and down the single track to the ruins. There is still signs of the electrical wires where the pic of the street car is shown.
Did you do it right away? I'm sorry. I'm a douche.
Is the pedestrian suspension bridge still intact? I startled a mountain lion on the down hill. Thank god for cat reflexes. Hitting it would have been ugly.
I think that'll be awesome for historical place, such as the buildings Thank You , Paul Konopaske.
Professor Lowe was a remarkable man, first time I have heard his story aside from small snippets of his work on refrigeration and he certainly seems someone overlooked in Europe/UK which is a shame. Thanks for the upload, very interesting topic.
I used to hike up there in the 1980s. There were many building ruins and even some rails and ties at that time.
"Vertical Railways" survive in other places, provided they still provide good service. For example the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh still provides the fastest service between Downtown Pittsburgh and the top of the Mt Washington section of Pittsburgh. The Johnstown Incline does the same in Johnstown PA (Through the Johnstown incline is still more of a tourist draw then the Monongahela Inline, as is the Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh).
Other inclines in the US and elsewhere survive when they provide good service for locals, but none as a long or isolated as the Lowe railway was.
I believe Angels flight in downtown los angeles is still operational. It is not as cool as the mount lowe railway, but the engineering has stood the test of time.
I've ridden the Dusquesne incline, it's quite the interesting form of transport.
@@johnpearson492 I can not use the Duquesne Incline. I use a Mobility Scooter and can get on the Duquesne Incline at the top station, but since I can not use steps I can not exit the bottom station.
Now Johnstown has a vehicular Incline, one designed to haul horse drawn wagons up its steep hillside. It is still in use so I can get on it with my scooter. You can also drive your car on it and the Incline can haul your car up that hill. It is big enough to take on vans and Suburbans if you ever want to go up on it.
That sounds interesting!
It would have been amazing to visit ! Incredible the work it took to build it in that terrain, including transporting all the material for the hotel and tavern etc! Lost history and very interesting! Thanks Ryan!
You can still see parts of the railway and parts of the hotel.
Excellent video.
I have lived in Northern CA all my life and this is the first i have ever heard of The Mt Lowe Railroad.
Thank You 🙂
I grew up in mill valley, ca. How about the mt. Tamalpais railway and the gravity cars.
what a shame this was not restored or even preserved. Amazing
Thanks for the video. I've hiked up to the ruins and back to the old tavern campgrounds several times and its a tough hike but you're rewarded with spectacular views that reaches to the Pacific on a clear day. It's truly a shame it didn't survive since something like this today would be a huge tourist draw as well as give people a new appreciation of just how awe-inspiring nature can be. I'm glad Professor Lowe's memory has not been forgotten...
The coolest hike I've ever done! So much history
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the 9 giant waterfalls in Rubio canyon that had stairs built into the cliffs to get to each waterfall. I heard from a historian that was giving a tour about the railway say those waterfalls rivaled Yosemite. I used to hike up Rubio canyon all the time about 20 years ago. I would love to go back and explore again. Thank you for posting this amazing documentary and sparking some great memories for me.
Waterfalls in Rubio Canyon? The water companies steal all the water nowadays and not a drop ( days after the rain) makes it to the creeks.
@@toomanyjstoomanyrs1705 Have you been there? The creek flows over all those falls before it gets to the water company. I used to hike all the way up that canyon all the time, its my favorite hike. It looks dry until you get to the first falls, I usually skip the second fall because it doesn't lead anywhere. to get to the 3rd fall you go up a really steep incline to the right of the first falls and leads to an amazing view of the 3rd fall and the city. if you keep going there are ropes in place to climb down to get back into the canyon. from here you can go to the top of the 3rd fall or go the other way and reach the 4th fall and so on.its awesome up there.
My grandparents rode the rail cars to a hotel at the top back in the day. When I was young I and a friend went exploring up the rail-line. It was a difficult climb up the slope and we eventually had to use the standard trail.
Back down along the Rubio canyon rail bed we dug up metal objects and spikes. Walking along the canyon a section of the side of the decomposing granite railbed broke off and my friend did a 360° head over heels tumble down the cliff. He landed in the middle of a boulder field. Luckily there was a pile of sand right where he landed which probably saved his life. He was only shaken up.
Oh, there were warning signs not to hike the canyon.
We have the Lowe observatory here in Flagstaff, AZ. That's where Pluto was discovered!
In every city pretty much railways used to be the major way to get around but on mountains is every interesting great history lesson.❤
Such a facinateing peice of history ! Thankyou for the tour !!! 😉😎
Reminds me of Cass Scenic railroad here in West Virginia, originally a logging rail it climbs to the top of Bald Knob. Today it's an 11 mile scenic steam engine train ride
ALL OF HIS VIDEOS ARE WELL DONE AND INFORMATIVE !
Thank you. I've lived Calif. my entire 64 years and never heard of this before. I'm still learning something new every day.
The movie, called "A trip up Mount Lowe with the Ford cameraman." is posted on the Periscope Film channel.
I love it. These railway trains are called Funiculars. There's one in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. I ride it every time I go. I go often since I live in the region. It's fun to say, "Let's go on the funicular!"
Pittsburgh still has two, Johnstown PA still has one. Iowa City has one as does Chattanooga TN.
Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Chattanooga all claim to be the steepest Incline in the US.
The Mongohelia Incline is the steepest overall but it takes passengers only. Johnstown's Incline is 1% less steep but it is the steepest, "Vehicular Incline" i.e. you can take automobiles on it (it was designed to take on large horse drawn heavy wagons).
Chattanooga has the steepest final section. Overall it is less steep then the above Inclines, but then does a radical increase in steepest as it nears the top of the Incline.
I have been on all three, they are all different and also the same and it is always fun to see how three things (inclines) can claim the same thing (Steepest) by emphasizing different aspect of the same word (in this case "Steepest").
Hiking up to echo mountain and inspiration point is my favorite trail of all time. Sunset and night hikes are the best in summer time.
Our mountainous trails are disappearing too, I went on my long run this morning and the trail I usually take up the mountain near me was completely eroded due to a rock slide in the area.
Let's not forget the iconic Angels Flight tram in Los Angeles! 👍👍👍
Just wanted to say Ryan love your channel. History has always been so interesting and fascinating to me I have always had a huge love for history. Love every video you do always learning something new and cool. Its always exciting to watch your channel. I hope this comment reaches you.
Interesting that this technological feat started in Pasadena, location of Caltech today.
Just FYI, it's ANGELES not ANGELS National Forest.
Grew up hiking there.
Quite interesting that Lowe's three reconnaissance balloons were named Intrepid, Excelsior, and Enterprise!
Just FYI Angeles and Angels are the same word lol. One is Spanish the other is English.
So interesting, thank you so much. There is so much history in California, both North and South!!
Here in Wellington, we still use the cable car!
Thanks professor!
Thank you! I am a pilot and have flown that area wondering what was there once!
Awesome to learn more about the history of my neighborhood. I trail run the Lower Sam Merril Trail from the Cobb Estate to the ruins on Echo Mt quite frequently. Small correction: Cape of Good Hope is definitely not a parking lot. The paved road leading to it is the Mt Lowe Road, a forest service road closed to motorized vehicles, though maybe rangers park there. Great for hiking and biking.
In the Swiss Alpe, I rode a train up a mountain but had a gear not a cable.
Great video! I just did the hike to the Echo Mt. house few months ago. I'm still sore but am looking forward to doing hit again.
GREAT VIDEO REALLY ENJOYED ALL OF THE GREAT PICTURES !!!!
What a great story. I'm comparing it with the construction of the funicular rail built to go to the top of Mount Washington, Los Angeles, which was opened for ridership in 1909. Its popularity remained for about 9 years until celebrities started to pour into a new area known as "Hollywood". At that point, the attraction to Mount Washington's Hotel fell upon unpopular times, and its eventual closure, and of course the funicular railway went with it 😢
I'm pretty sure the Mount Lowe Railway was a source of influence for those who sought to create this Mount Washington Resort. The base station of the railway still exists as a house on Avenue 43. The hotel was purchased shortly after its demise and now remains under the same ownership today, the center for Self Realization Fellowship, was founded in 1920.
Never heard of this. Thank-you✨
Interesting, as always! If it weren’t for people like Lowe, we wouldn’t know what slackers most of us are! 👍
Thanks for a great video! I lived in Pasadena in the 80's and 90's. I loved it there. I hiked into the mountains and saw some of the remains that are shown in this video. I had no idea how old they were, why they existed, and what a big deal the railroad was in its day. Smitty's Grill on Lake Street has many historical photos, including many of the photos shown in this video. Thanks again.
When I lived in Los Angeles I joined a group that hiked the lost stairs of LA. There was literally a subway up in the Hollywood hills😮
This is such a good channel. Glad I stumbled upon it!
Well researched 📖and presented🔭 - Good info✅
The funicular railway was only part of the system. The rest of it was a more conventional rail way. At some point it was run by Henry Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway. PE cars carried passengers to the beginning of the Mount Lowe Railway. My mother and her parents, brothers and sister rode the Mt. Lowe cars to Lowe's resort. It would have been a fabulous experience. Mt. Lowe retains the name Lowe gave it, and Echo Mountain is also there. As to a trail to Mt. Wilson: there is a hiking trail starting in Sierra Madre going to the Mt. Wilson. More likely the reference is to the Mount Wilson Toll Road which starts at Eaton Canyon in Altadena. The road is about 9 miles long and continues as a hiking trail and fire road. Access is limited to day time with locked gate at the entrance. It can be used by hikers, bicyclists and horse riders. About 3 miles up is Henninger Flats which has U. S. Forest Station. It was also used to take parts and the lenses of the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes that are the heart of the Mount Wilson Observatory. I would also note the Forest is Angeles National Forest, not Angels.
Angeles means Angel in Spanish.
This video is like a twin to a vertical railway we had on the east cost. The place was Mount Beacon NY. At one time there was a vertical railway, a hotel, casino, restaurant, and a ski lodge and ski slope. The railway was shut down in 1972, due to bankruptcy. Then of course some anal cavities had to burn down the buildings on top of the mountain. What a loss! It is sad that this is no longer there.
There were what we called locally, inclines, built in various parts of the country. Cincinnati, Ohio had 5 inclines operating in the same time frame from 1872 till 1948. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania had 3 but now only 1 survives from 1864 till now. Older forms of transportation are quite fascinating and could be a good tourist draw in walking cities......
Elsewhere in the world they're called vernacular-railways, but this guy wasn't the first to build one!
@stevie-ray2020 Though it was built strictly for leisure travel in the San Gabriel mountains. Not in city centers or for actual needed transportation. As was the case with Angel's Flight in DTLA. I think they have similar railways in Europe built to get to a resort, which was the case with this railway.
We just hiked up there this weekend. Crazy seeing it in a video.
Ryan, this was awesome! I'm wondering if you have ever considered doing a piece on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in Jim Thorpe PA? It's a remarkable piece of history that's worth doing a deep dive into.
You did it again, I thought I knew everything about Mount Loew, But turns out I didn't know enough about LOEW himself. What a time to be ingenious and daring !
Great video, love this channel.
Let's rebuild and reopen Mt Lowe Railway!
It can be done with moden funicular technologies to upgrade and automate the system to cut labor costs down.
@@electricar9 Think of how popular and beloved the San Francisco cable cars are today. Mount Lowe would have been a treasured gem.
my favorite hiking path is in Rubio Canyon, but instead of going up the "railway trail" i ascend into the canyon some more, where there are some awesome waterfalls: Moss Grotto, Thalehaha and Leontine Falls.... with some great rock formations also.
Another great story, thank you, Ryan. So many geniuses falter due to mono-vision and incomplete thinking (e.g. logistics failures).
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support, I am sorry that I did not see this sooner.
Another great video loaded with tons of interesting information.
And talking of roads along the west coast, the highway E6, passing near me in W Sweden collapsed tonite. A hillside next to the hwy slid down displacing the road and buildings.
Unfortunately, the area is off limit, else it had been interesting to go and visit.
The hike up to the old site is pretty awesome and I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance!!
Great channel!
It's the Angeles national forest, not angels. It's called echo mountain, not mount echo. There is no parking at the Cape of Good Hope, as the road is closed to the public. The parking area is further down the mountain.
Good story, but some facts are incorrect. I live in Altadena and have hiked these trails many, many times.
Thanks for the history! Well done. My partner and I love Angeles Forest and make videos about our hikes. (Under "Chortkoff and Riggio" if you are curious.) We did not know all this about Mr. Lowe though! We just LOVE local CA history! Our videos are more fun than historical though. I think I will recommend your videos to our viewers! I wish the trains were still there! It is crazy to me that all those decades ago we built this impossible marvel! I assume that with increased weather events and fires we gave up doing something so... Ahead of our time. Even now this would not be easy to pull off!
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. ❤
"...these are the voyages of the trans-Atlantic Balloon ship, Enterprise ....
My mom lived on Mount Lowe until she was eleven as her father was a conductor on the railway.
This is so cool! Glad I watched this one, great info. Thanks.
My pleasure!
Excellent video and coverage. A couple minor corrections:
14:48 The historic storm was not 1937, but rather March 1938.
16:35 Not "High Bridge", but rather the site of the incredible Circular Bridge.
It's "Angeles Forest" not "Angel's Forest"
Cool shirt. Thanks for the content.
In high-school I used to go with the hiking club and overnight at the ruins of the hotel.
You have created a wonderful presentation here. Very Nice !!! You also might take a look at The Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway in Marin County, California. It was built originally to be electric and had similar designs in regards to the electrical engineering. It was only supposed to be steam powered while being built but never completed the electrical construction portion of the project.
Thanks for the tips!
Note that the first Manned balloon flight attempt was rightfully named: "the Enterprise ". Isn't this a wierd coincidence ??
I'm guessing that our first intergalactic Starship, will also be rightfully named:
"the Enterprise ", too. Am I correct..?
Thank you!...another intriguing piece of US History...dgp/uk
Great story we have another site you should use Mount Beacon Incline Railway, in beacon, NY it to burned down in 1978 after 76 years in operation
I wonder if Mr Lowe was inspired by the Mt Washington Cog Railway in his native New Hampshire. The Cog has been in continuous operation since 1868.
The electric trains themselves are starting to come back. There was a time I could walk to the corner of my block in Studio City, catch a train, and take it all the way to the top! There is no public transportation to anywhere in Angeles Forest anymore! Wah!
His grandfather with a Polish name and the sign on your t-shirt- it's not a coincidence, yes?
Ive lived here all my life and the history here is so rich. I would love it if you made a video about its neighboring Brown mountain, named after Owen Brown, one of the sons of John Brown who led the raid on harpers ferry with his sons!!
I've hiked the trail to the hotel ruins many times, and it is one of my favorite hikes in the area. The echophones, and a few of the railway gears still remain to this day. Thanks for covering this wonderful piece of SoCal history!
I have seen these type of vertical trains in europe and south america… seem to recall they are called Funiculars. Also remember LA’s Angels Flight which is similar.
Great video.
It is funny the way you mentioned Henry Ford fondly in the Mount Lowe Railway story. He was actually a villain in the Mount Lowe Railways demise. He was in the area plotting the demise of the red car trolley system that fed into it. I bet you didn't know that.
Thank You, history not like in a class room… 💘🌞
The city I’m from, Hamilton, Ontario, used to have one as well, actually a couple of them i think. They were all demolished in the early 20th century. The city is divided by the Niagara Escarpment. The lines have been turned into staircases now
This was probably the inspiration for the thunder mountain railroad ride at Disneyland
Damn. The GM car conspiracy rly fcked us. Public transportation was great from 1900s - 1950s.
Mr. Lowe's work with balloons for military applications also credits him with having created what we know as The U.S. Air Force.
Funny thing is, if Florence Lowe-Barnes ("Pancho") hadn't been running around with her Hollywood friends & making aviation history herself, chances are she may have inherited the railway and the hotel, and rebuilt it.
Nice history thanks. Great shirt.
Jest Nostrovia a
Mt Tam, Marin County, Huge gravity railway... after they chopped down all the thousand year old giants....
And Lowe was Grandfather to the famous aviatrix…..Pancho Barnes that owned and operated the famous Bottom Riding Club near Edwards AFB (Muroc at that time). Pancho Barnes was also a famous pilot in the Hollywood stunt pilots. I believe she organized those stunt pilots too into a union. T. Lowe was her Grandpa. Lowe’s balloons were used in the Civil War for early recon. Abraham Lincoln was a big supporter of Lowe.
Reminds me of the Mt. Beacon Incline railway in New York.
I've been hiking the Sam Merrell trail since i discovered it in 1993.
How about doing a video on the inclines of Cincinnati, Ohio. There were 5 when in full use. Raised streetcars and wagons besides pedestrians
Even geniuses underestimate weather. But there is also quite a bit of resistance from the monied folks. I've been doing computer and physical infrastructure for some time. My largest struggle has always been to convince the monied folks of the necessity to build to the minimum 100 year event standard.
When I've succeeded, what is built lasts either still to this day, or until advancements deprecate its function and i get "the phone call" asking for now forgotten details about a things operation. :-)
"AngeLESS" national forest, not "Angels..."
@1:18 Is that Timothy Olyphant in Deadwood?
Cobb Estate Mt. Lowe aka Haunted forest great local trail
Ryan, Point of correction. You referred to the Mt. Lowe Railway cars as "trains" but they were electric trolley cars. They had trolley poles on them and collected the power from overhead trolley wires. The only thing that was cable was the incline.
ua-cam.com/video/HkqsKji6t3M/v-deo.html
Cools stuff!
I wish I could have seen it in its heyday.
Well, north of Vancouver BC, Squamish has a Sea to Sky cable car service now. Why don't they build one of those adjacent to one of the largest cities in the world?