This loop was originally constructed in the late 1800s, and served the orange growers and other farmers in the area, along with a few industries. While rail traffic was steady through the 1950s, the orange groves were replaced with residences over time, and the need for trains decreased. The segment between Highland Junction and Del Rosa was abandoned in the 1950s, with a further cut back to Patton in the 1970s. After a long pile trestle over the Santa Ana River (between Mentone and Patton) was damaged by floodwaters, the line was cut from Patton back to Mentone. Until the 1980s, Mentone had a separate industrial spur northeast of town, but the industries later closed and only small sections of track remain.
Only the Redlands to San Bernardino via Nevada segment is still active in early 2004. Redlands station still stands but is not used by BNSF. As of January 2004 the track ends near Wabash Avenue on the Redlands city limit, but there are no customers on the last two miles of track. The right-of-way through Del Rosa is used for CA Route 30, and other parts of it are still open in West Highland and Patton, as the neighborhoods were built while track was still in place. In East Highland the ROW has been obliterated by recent housing developments.
Heading clockwise, the single track line left the Santa Fe main at Highland Jct. in San Bernardino. It then passed through Arrowhead (PE crossing), Del Rosa, West Highland, Patton, Highland, East Highland, Aplin, Mentone, Craf[ton], Redlands, and Nevada, and rejoined the Santa Fe mainline just east of the San Bernardino depot.