View from the Wilson Avenue Bridge between the Allen Avenue Station and the Lake Avenue Station on the Gold Line.

Metrolink did not buy the lines, the LA County Transportation Commission (today's LACMTA) bought the lines in LA County, and the various other County Commissions bought the ROW's and easements from Santa Fe and Southern Pacific (San Diego 4th District, 2nd District, Expo Line, Valley Line to Lancaster, easement on the Coast lLine, easements and rights on the Third District, Perris, Redlands).

Anschutz even offered the State the entire Coast Line for only $400 million.
And "Steel Niel" Petersen, then LACMTA Executive Director even put together a plan to improve the Coast Line to allow a 6 to 8 hour scheduled running tine, with CTC, sidings, using "tilt trains", and with a lot of 90 mph. and a 125mph. segment of DT in the Salinas Vally to cut running times, and I got to go along on a number of ride alongs with elected official on equipemet demonstrations on the Coast in the early 90's. Unfortunately, Pete Wilson turned it down.

Metrollink service was looked at for the 2nd District, but we were only offered four train a day peak and middat services, and folks wanted LRT which promised and was modeled on 6 minute peak and 12 minute off peak frequencies (a service level which MTA has (unfortunately) never operated the line at.

In the alternatives analysis and decision making process fr the 2nd District, it was decided to trade the 2000 trips a day (for the whole 2nd District commute proposaal(LA-San Berdo), for a line (just LA to SMV in Pasadena) that would carry nearly 30,000 on just that segment (before any extensions).

MTA's incompetence (poor scheduling, poor security, and poor sanitation according to MTA;s just released passegner satisfaction survey-they aren't...) has cost of half of that potential ridership (and the disconnect from ELA...), which reached 60,000 at one point (with ELA and Glendora), and even held up well at first until Covid.

I remember being chewed out once day at the Original Whistle Stop, when caught by my old pal Carl Ragoza, over the decicsion, which I had a hand in, to use the Second District for LRT to Sierra Madre Villa, and not chossing ML.

On the other side of this argument, I was told by Paul Taylor then Deputy Head of the LACTC, that it didn't matter if we chose the 2nd District LRT option (because it could eventually extended eastward in the already gridlocked 210 corridor), because I'd never see the line extended east in my lifetime.

Later when Paul Taylor was Deputy Executive Officer at OCTA, I'd have meetings with him, where I would kid Paul about "never in my lifetime".

Today, Carl "blow da whistle" Ragoza is buried in the Mountain View Cemetary within earshot of Myrtle Avenue where we'd watch the Super Chief on Friday nights with the Monrovia Model Railroad Club, where Carl gets to hear the train whistles of passing electric trains. And the 4th Gold Lineline extension, from Glendora to Pomona is a year ahead of schedule.

Now, if we could just get MTA to provide proper service levels on the light rail (or their other poorly operated services???), first world quality law enforcement and on-board security, and clean well maintained trains, maybe a lot more folks might want to actually use transit again, if it were run right?