Model Railroader – October 2019

50 http://www.ModelRailroader.com

The L.A. city government, the rail-

roads, and other factions had been wran-

gling over a union station, which would

consolidate several railroads in a single

location, since 1915. Although voters had

approved a union station in 1926, the

battle to build it led to the U.S. Supreme

Court. The issue wouldn’t be resolved

until 1939, when the Los Angeles Union

Passenger Terminal was built.

In the meantime, the UP needed a

solution, which turned out to be building

its East Los Angeles Station in 1929.

Gateway to Los Angeles

Located 6 miles east of Central Sta-

tion (7 miles from the future site of the

LAUPT), the East Los Angeles Station’s

primary function was to serve as a hub

for motor coach connections. For many

UP passengers, the station was their gate-

way to the greater Los Angeles area, as it

was close to major streets leading north

to Glendale, south to Long Beach, and

southeast to Anaheim.

For the UP the station didn’t need to

be large, but it did have to be elegant.

The UP commissioned renowned archi-

tect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who

designed many well-known buildings,

as shown in the list on page 52.

Underwood designed the East L.A.

Station in the mission-revival style.

Opened in May 1929, the station fea-

tured wrought-iron window grills,

Moorish screens above the waiting room

doors, and an irregularly laid tile roof.

For most of its service life, the station’s

stucco walls had a thick ivy covering.

The station exemplified the same lux-

ury and style as one would find in the

grandest railroad stations of the era, but

on a smaller scale. This included an

In this late 1950s photo, UP no. 952, an Electro-Motive Division E9A, leads the eastbound City of Las Vegas past the station
billboard advertising the train. The other side of the billboard is visible in the photo on page 49. Donald Sims photo

In the late 1970s, when this photo was taken, UP used the station as an employee credit union. The extended baggage room is
visible on the right side of the photo. Bruce Briggs photo

To LAUPT and

East Yard

To Riverside

Depot

San

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