Early Pasadenans always had a dream of a scenic mountain railroad to the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains.
It was one David J. Macpherson, a civil engineer graduate of Cornell University, who had the general plans for just such a railroad.
He was introduced to Prof. Lowe with the idea of joining Macpherson's plans and Lowe's money together in one venture.

In 1891, Lowe and Macpherson incorporated the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railroad (later the Mount Lowe Railway).
Unable to obtain all the rights of way to Mt. Wilson, the two men redirected their railway toward Oak Mountain via the Echo promontory.
The difference between this and any other scenic mountain railway of its kind was that it was an all-electric traction trolley (streetcar), the only one of its kind to ever exist.
Oak Mountain was later renamed Mount Lowe, and to make it official, Andrew McNally, the co-founder of the map printing company Rand McNally who had moved to Altadena, had the name Mt. Lowe printed on all his maps.

Lowe opened the first section of the railway on July 4, 1893, from the corner of Lake and Calaveras in Altadena to the Rubio Pavilion in the Rubio Canyon, then transferring to a steep 2,800-foot (850 m)long funicular to Echo Mountain.
At the top there was a 40-room chalet.
In 1894, he added an 80-room hotel, the Echo Mountain House, and the observatory.
By 1896, the upper division was finished into Grand Canyon at Ye Alpine Tavern.
Altogether there were some seven miles (11.265 km) of track.
Lowe lost the venture to receivership in 1899, which left him impoverished.
The MLR became part of Henry Huntington's recently formed Pacific Electric Railway (also known as "Red Car") in 1902.

The only part of the railway property that remained Lowe's was the observatory on Echo Mountain.
It boasted a 16-inch (406.4 mm) reflective telescope from which many astronomical finds were made.
It was blown down in a gale in 1928.
The railway fell in stages to the Echo Mountain House fire, a kitchen fire on February 4, 1900; a wind-aided brush fire on Echo Mountain in 1905, which wiped out everything except the observatory and the astronomer's cabin; a Rubio Canyon flash flood in 1909 that destroyed the Pavilion; and an electrical fire that razed the Tavern in 1936.
The line was abandoned after the Los Angeles deluge of March 1938.
Early Pasadenans always had a dream of a scenic mountain railroad to the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains. It was one David J. Macpherson, a civil engineer graduate of Cornell University, who had the general plans for just such a railroad. He was introduced to Prof. Lowe with the idea of joining Macpherson's plans and Lowe's money together in one venture.
In 1891, Lowe and Macpherson incorporated the Pasadena & Mount Wilson Railroad (later the Mount Lowe Railway). Unable to obtain all the rights of way to Mt. Wilson, the two men redirected their railway toward Oak Mountain via the Echo promontory. The difference between this and any other scenic mountain railway of its kind was that it was an all-electric traction trolley (streetcar), the only one of its kind to ever exist. Oak Mountain was later renamed Mount Lowe, and to make it official, Andrew McNally, the co-founder of the map printing company Rand McNally who had moved to Altadena, had the name Mt. Lowe printed on all his maps.
Lowe opened the first section of the railway on July 4, 1893, from the corner of Lake and Calaveras in Altadena to the Rubio Pavilion in the Rubio Canyon, then transferring to a steep 2,800-foot (850 m)long funicular to Echo Mountain. At the top there was a 40-room chalet. In 1894, he added an 80-room hotel, the Echo Mountain House, and the observatory. By 1896, the upper division was finished into Grand Canyon at Ye Alpine Tavern. Altogether there were some seven miles (11.265 km) of track. Lowe lost the venture to receivership in 1899, which left him impoverished. The MLR became part of Henry Huntington's recently formed Pacific Electric Railway (also known as "Red Car") in 1902.
The only part of the railway property that remained Lowe's was the observatory on Echo Mountain. It boasted a 16-inch (406.4 mm) reflective telescope from which many astronomical finds were made. It was blown down in a gale in 1928. The railway fell in stages to the Echo Mountain House fire, a kitchen fire on February 4, 1900; a wind-aided brush fire on Echo Mountain in 1905, which wiped out everything except the observatory and the astronomer's cabin; a Rubio Canyon flash flood in 1909 that destroyed the Pavilion; and an electrical fire that razed the Tavern in 1936. The line was abandoned after the Los Angeles deluge of March 1938.
Thaddeus S. C. Lowe