Mt Lowe, California - the railway into the clouds

"5 miles of track, 20 bridges, 121 curves"

One of the books in our library which has absorbed us is Mount Lowe: The Railway in the Clouds by Charles Seims (1976) about the only scenic mountain, electric traction (overhead electric trolley) railway ever built in the USA, the ruins of which have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993.

Located in Los Angles County and roughly due north of the city, Mount Lowe is a 1,708 metre (5,603 ft) mountain on the southern fold of the San Gabriel Mountains. Originally named Oak Mountain, it was renamed after Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who is credited for being the first white man to set foot on and plant the American flag at its peak, and who built the Mount Lowe Railway to its foot in 1896.

The most impressive part of the railway was the third division or Alpine Division opened in 1896 which consisted of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of narrow gauge track with 127 curves and 18 bridges and trestles. On this line there were three cars available for shuttling between the station of Echo Mountain and the end-of-line, though only one car ever operated at a time due to electrical limitations, and there was no two-way traffic. The division spanned the broad face of Las Flores Canyon, rounded a promontory called the Cape of Good Hope, travelled deep into Millard Canyon, reappeared at the front face of the mountain, and eventually disappeared into Grand Canyon where it terminated at the foot of Mount Lowe. This location was called Crystal Springs at an elevation of 4,995 ft (1,522 metres) for a stream of water that poured from the hillside. A 12-room Swiss-style chalet called Ye Alpine Tavern was built here.

After a major rainstorm "washed most everything off the mountain sides" in 1938, the railway was abandoned.