SoCal Landmarks

SoCal Landmarks

A Photography Project

Redlands Central Railway Car Barn, Redlands, San Bernardino County

Redlands Central Railway Car Barn

Pennsylvania oil tycoon Henry Fisher moved to Redlands in 1898. He backed Harry H. Sinclair who promoted construction of a hydroelectric plant on Mill Creek above Redlands. He and his son, John, founded the Redlands Central Railway in 1907 to replace the mule and horse drawn streetcars with electric powered cars. A “car barn” was built for storage and maintenance of the company’s rolling stock. Henry Huntington extended the Pacific Electric Railway into the Inland Empire and bought the barn in 1908. It was used intermittently, leased to various businesses and sold in 1987. The City of Redlands purchased the barn to save it from demolition, but sold it in 1994. It is one of only two trolley barns remaining in Southern California. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Redlands, San Bernardino County
Photographer: John Bare