An important component of Sierra Madre's early growth as a city has been completely erased today. The Pacific Electric railway, which once connected vast swaths of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, was extended to Sierra Madre on January 1, 1906, and ceased operations on October 6, 1950. A wooden station that stood in Kersting Court was demolished in 1951.

The genesis of the railway began in 1898, when Henry E. Huntington, nephew of railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington, purchased the Los Angeles Railway, a large street rail network, and made plans to expand it. At the time he bought it, the rail system ran within downtown L.A., north to Pasadena, and west to Santa Monica.

In 1901, he incorporated Pacific Electric, and in 1902, the first new line, which ran to Long Beach, was completed. By 1903, an extension had been completed to Monrovia.

This left Sierra Madre out of the loop, and prominent business and civic leaders, including George Blumer and “J.J.” Hart saw the need to obtain a route connecting Sierra Madre to the rest of the rail network, particularly if it was to be incorporated as a city. 

Huntington, however, saw no financial benefit from extending his railway to an out-of-the way burg like Sierra Madre, and asked for more than $20,000 to be raised before he would agree to it.

This prompted the formation of the “Electric Road Promotion Committee – Sierra Madre Extension," which set about raising the necessary funds, considering it a worthy investment. By March, 1905, enough money had been raised, and Huntington agreed to extend the line, completing it later that year.

The new line expanded an existing route that ran from downtown L.A. to San Marino, and it is worth noting that Huntington used the new line to build himself a private track that ran directly to his San Marino estate, where his three private cars transported construction materials for his new home, as well as rare books and his expensive art collection.

Upon its completion, the Pacific Electric Sierra Madre line ran up the current route of Sierra Madre Boulevard (which was then called Central Avenue) and ended at a Kersting Court station. The line opened on New Year's Day, 1906.

Though he had been reluctant to extend his railway at first, the hoards of people that soon flocked to local Sierra Madre attractions soon convinced Huntington to build an additional spur that ended at the Mount Wilson Coffee Parlor at 129 N. Mountain Trail. This became known as the Wilson Trail Terminal.

After the railroad extension was completed, the Electric Road Promotion Committee became the Sierra Madre Development Association, which helped draw tourism to the area. Among other things, they published a “Dictionary of Sierra Madre,” which served as a “guide, philosopher and friend for tourists, travelers and investors.” They also helped incorporate the city in 1907.

For years, the Red Cars connected Sierra Madre to Pasadena and the rest of Southern California. At its peak, the Pacific Electric railway ran from Los Angeles as far away at Redlands and Corona. But the popularity of the automobile and poor upkeep of its cars led to its decline beginning in the 1930s.

By 1950, a new system of buses had been proposed to supplant the iconic Red Cars, and in October of that year, services in Pasadena and Sierra Madre ceased. On October 6, 1950, the Pasadena Star-News noted that there would be a parade that afternoon "celebrating substitution of motor coaches for trolley cars." Ironically, on the same day, a parallel article addressed "the city's increasing traffic problem"--soon to become a broader complication for Los Angeles; one that not even the new buses could solve.

The early 1950s marked the end of the Pacific Electric network, apart from a few short lines repurposed as city street cars, which remained in operation until around 1955. Many of the steel cars were later sold to the General Urquiza Railway in Beunos Aires, Argentina, where they were used until the 1980s.

The station in Kersting Court was destroyed in 1951, and the tracks leading to Sierra Madre removed. Though its existence had been relatively brief, the Pacific Electric had aided Sierra Madre's growth as a city, making it much more accessible to Angelenos who might never have set foot there otherwise, and giving those who lived in town a sense of connection with the broader world.