Beloved Railway to Return in Los Angeles

New York Times ^ | MARCH 3, 2017 | Mike McPhate

[nickcarraway]

Good morning.

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The train’s operation was halted in 1969 to make way for new development, then again in 2001 after a fatal accident. In 2013, it stopped a third time when a car derailed.

Now, Angels Flight, a two-car funicular on a steep slope in downtown Los Angeles, will give it another go. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced this week that a deal was reached with a private group to make safety upgrades and resume service by Labor Day.

Angels Flight was built in 1901 as a link between the stately Bunker Hill neighborhood and the downtown shopping district. The “magic chariot,” as a film narrator once called it, had a penny fare and traveled a mere 100 yards.

Through two World Wars, the Great Depression and the dawn of the space age, it ferried more than 100 million passengers.

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But starting in the late 1960s, the railway remained mostly idle, buffeted by encroaching development, disregard and safety issues. In a low point in 2001, one of the cars broke loose and collided with the other, killing a man.

Richard Schave, a tour operator who campaigned for the latest revival, said a burst of unexpected publicity helped propel the project.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Fatal accidents and derailments. What’s not to love?

[Dilbert San Diego]

Reminds me of the Duquense incline in Pittsburgh.

[StevieB]

I rode it a number of times in the 2000’s decade. Got to it via the Red Line from Union Station to the Pershing Square exit. California Plaza and its fountains were at the top.

It was a fun — but quick — ride!

[D Rider]

I remember that as a kid and riding it with my Dad.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ditto with my Grandma, in the ‘50s. Unique and delightful.

[dragnet2]

Now the place is filled with homeless, illegals, and smells of urine and feces.

This is yet another example of decades of what loser leadership did to CA.

[hanamizu]

I thought it was the pits back in the 50s. Did Bunker Hill gentrify only to fall again on hard times?

[dragnet2]

The 50s? LA was a shinning city on a hill back then. Ya better reboot.

[hanamizu]

I didn’t mean L.A. but rather the Bunker Hill part of L.A. As a kid I used to ride the P.E. (Redcar) from L.B. to downtown L.A. (alone, of course) and downtown was pretty sketchy back then. I thought Bunker Hill was pretty much torn down at the time as an form of urban renewal.

[dragnet2]

LA, downtown, bunker hill...It’s a all the same. Infrastructure in steep decline, the leftist imported every American hating foreign national they could possibly find into the region not to mention millions of illegal aliens, most with the equivalent of 3rd grade educations etc.

I don’t know the current status of this cho cho and don’t care. I have avoided that place as much as humanely possible the past few years. I consider those running that city for the past few decades to be the enemies of America because of what these people have done over the years. CA was the crown jewel of this great country and they looted and subverted it. Hence my boiling contempt for these rotten lying SOBs.

[hanamizu]

Judging from your screen name, you might be from SoCal? Watched a lot of Dragnet as a kid. Even though it had its rough parts, L.A./SoCal was a magical place in the 40s/50s. As I said, when I was a kid, I took the P.E. from Long Beach to L.A. main terminal. Went though Watts. It looked rough but I was perfectly safe. Times change and it seems not always for the better. Don’t blame you for being bitter about the changes.