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Re: Before it was a Bus route-It was a great time to still be a railroader....
Author: BOB2
Date: 04-25-2019 - 12:21
As of 2019 the West Santa Ana Branch/UP-Gateway Cities LRT is the number one performing LRT project in terms of riders per dollar spent, that is actually is the current expenditure plan. It would carry up to 90,000 daily trips, when completed by 2028. I believe this is also on the early action plan for completion by the 2028 Olympic Games.
The conversion of the problematic Orangeline Busway, former Chatsworth Branch, is also in the expenditure plan, and at $3 billion, to add another 15,000 daily riders to this ineptly operated busway/s current 25,000 daily riders. making it one of the least cost effective investments in the expenditure plan, in terms of dollars per rider. All of this because Zex opposed rail in the Valley.... Oh well.....
That's where these stand today. We've now spent a fortune to recreate about half of the original PE and LARY routes we pulled out.
Back then and up to the early 90's it was still a way different world, and these last vestiges of "fun" railroading still existed. It was still a lot of fun to go switch some cars and move some freight.
All of these "branch" line jobs from the Santa Monica Branch, to the Anaheim lines, to Huntington Beach, to Los Alamitos, down to Torrance, or out to El Segundo, to the OC jobs out of Lost Nuts, out to Valla, or up to Whittier, all of these branch locals, went to some interesting places, with interesting things. Signing on in the Old concrete conical SP phone booth in Culver City and getting the engine off the Helms bakery spur and roaming the LA westside on a long "all branches" night, with great folks like Termite, were some of the best jobs.
We have liquor and beer to Santa Monica, giant kennebeck spuds in reefers to Venice to make LA's French fry's, flower to make Wonder Bread in the downtown Beverly Hills "industrial" area, flower to make the pasta in Culver City, Wesson oil by the tanker car, ketchup by the boxcar from Fullerton.... tires, lumber, toilet paper, dog food... you name it, it still came in boxcars, and on flats and in reefers, and was delivered by rail, direct to the destination.
These were all great jobs.... This is a classic, good find Hutch...
The conversion of the problematic Orangeline Busway, former Chatsworth Branch, is also in the expenditure plan, and at $3 billion, to add another 15,000 daily riders to this ineptly operated busway/s current 25,000 daily riders. making it one of the least cost effective investments in the expenditure plan, in terms of dollars per rider. All of this because Zex opposed rail in the Valley.... Oh well.....
That's where these stand today. We've now spent a fortune to recreate about half of the original PE and LARY routes we pulled out.
Back then and up to the early 90's it was still a way different world, and these last vestiges of "fun" railroading still existed. It was still a lot of fun to go switch some cars and move some freight.
All of these "branch" line jobs from the Santa Monica Branch, to the Anaheim lines, to Huntington Beach, to Los Alamitos, down to Torrance, or out to El Segundo, to the OC jobs out of Lost Nuts, out to Valla, or up to Whittier, all of these branch locals, went to some interesting places, with interesting things. Signing on in the Old concrete conical SP phone booth in Culver City and getting the engine off the Helms bakery spur and roaming the LA westside on a long "all branches" night, with great folks like Termite, were some of the best jobs.
We have liquor and beer to Santa Monica, giant kennebeck spuds in reefers to Venice to make LA's French fry's, flower to make Wonder Bread in the downtown Beverly Hills "industrial" area, flower to make the pasta in Culver City, Wesson oil by the tanker car, ketchup by the boxcar from Fullerton.... tires, lumber, toilet paper, dog food... you name it, it still came in boxcars, and on flats and in reefers, and was delivered by rail, direct to the destination.
These were all great jobs.... This is a classic, good find Hutch...
