Mount Lowe Railway - Historical Landmark

Historical Landmark

In 1992 a committee of the Pacific Railroad Society, successors to the Railroad Boosters, began a project of "revealment" which, under the supervision of Mike McIntyre, Angeles National Forest archaeologist, sought to uncover the ruins of Echo Mountain. On January 6, 1993, the Mount Lowe Railway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Forestry Service dedicated a block of land for the monument that would encompass all the artifacts from the railroad. On July 4, 1993, a centennial celebration was held on Mount Echo, and a separate celebration was held on Macpherson Parkway in the Poppyfields district. Today care of the artifacts and other restorative projects are being carried out by the Scenic Mount Lowe Railway Historical Committee under the leadership of Brian Marcroft and John Harrigan. The committee has become a group of uniformed forestry volunteers who continue to work closely with the forestry headquarters in Arcadia, California.

• One 750 pound motorized drive wheel and two 500 pound dummy trucks with a snow plow mounted on rails over the service pit. Recovered in 1993 from the downhill side of Echo Mountain.

• A Spare flanged wheel and axle assembly kept at the Echo Mountain maintenance barn for repair of the cars moving from Echo to the Mount Lowe Tavern.

• Cable drive bull wheel salvaged from the Incline Powerhouse prior to demolition in 1962. The assembly stands as a monument to the Mount Lowe Railway.

• Cable drive with companion intermediate gear assembly and two 6-foot guide wheels which stood at the top of the Great Incline. The intermediate gear was one of two retrieved from the hillside via helicopter in 1993.

In 2005 Mrs. Stacey Camp began an archaeological dig on a section of Mount Echo where there once stood a barrack for workers. The dig is part of Mrs. Camp's Doctoral thesis and has come about by a grant from Stanford University and is also being coordinated with the Forestry Service.