Just looking at this gives me vertigo. 
You may remember Mt. Lowe from a previous post on Echo Mountain that showed a horse-drawn tram on a rather steep incline. You can read all about the Mt. Lowe Railway here. This card shows the upper part of the railway, above the Mt. Lowe Incline on the way to the Alpine Tavern.
The railway was plagued with problems, and there's little trace of it anymore, but it must have been a fun trip for people who lived close enough to Pasadena to take the ride. Here's a card showing the Great Incline and the funicular that transported passengers up Echo Mountain.
Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one was written on September 1, 1930 and mentions crossing 18 bridges besides this circular bridge.
Gosh that looks a white-knuckle journey! The carriage on the first pc looks kind of full, I hope they balanced the weight correctly!
ReplyDeleteThat corner the trolley is taking would have been frightening. I know that the car just sits on the track and could bounce of it when hitting a rock or something. Roller coasters have wheels above and below the rail to prevent the cars from flying off the track. Interesting piece of history.
ReplyDeleteI think I would rather put a stick in my eye than go on that downward tram! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteDizzy, dizzy, dizzy - keels over... THUMP. Braver than me - I haven't even been on the Harry Potter steam train :-) Jo ;-)
ReplyDeleteBeing a Southern California native, I've always had an affinity for anything Mount Lowe! Looking at these cards, I still find it amazing that this railway existed just a few miles north of Los Angeles and just above Pasadena. The ruins of Mount Lowe Railway remain and the railway is on the National Register of Historical Places. For anyone interested, the Mount Lowe Preservation Society has a nice website: http://www.mountlowe.org/
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I was thinking about heights the other day. I decided I'm not afraid of heights but that I get this strange, panicky, queasy feeling when I'm somewhere near the edge of something high. I have that feeling looking at the first postcard. Offered the opportunity to take the ride or not, I'm not sure what I would have done. It's a fabulous old card. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThe first shot makes me think of the 'Brewcycle' here in Portland, an open air, 15-person pedal powered tram of sorts that you can rent to ride around to the local brewpubs (a non-drinking operator drives, fortunately). I'm guessing that folks fall off it on occasion after making several stops, so it is a good thing that it isn't the vehicle shown on that curve up in the sky...
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking there should be a big pond of water right at the end of the ride. Obviously I've been to too many amusement parks.
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