{"id":431262,"date":"2010-03-15T11:20:13","date_gmt":"2010-03-15T15:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c630a53ef01310fa1dcc8970c"},"modified":"2010-03-15T15:53:07","modified_gmt":"2010-03-15T19:53:07","slug":"angels-flight-the-shortest-railroad-in-the-world-reopens-in-downtown-l-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/431262","title":{"rendered":"Angels Flight, the ‘shortest railroad in the world,’ reopens in downtown L.A."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Me_kzbzjpnc\"<\/img><\/a>
<\/br> <\/span>\u00a0After nine years in mothballs, the so-called "shortest railroad in the world" was again ferrying passengers up and down Bunker Hill as the Angels Flight funicular reopened Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Hearty Angels Flight lovers were on hand at 6:45 a.m. as the approximately 300-foot-long railway — which was closed in 2001 after a deadly accident — again cranked up.<\/p>\n

"It’s great, as much fun as when I was a kid," said
\nWilliam Daniel, 67, among a group of passengers who hopped on the
\norange funicular at 6:43 a.m.<\/p>\n

"I think it’s going a little faster now," he added. "It’s wonderful they didn’t
\nchange the trolley much. It’s virtually the same, except for the
\nelectric door. And more warning signs."<\/p>\n

The California Public Utilities Commission last week approved the safety
\ncertificate for Angels Flight.<\/p>\n

In a
\nletter to Angels Flight Railway Co., the PUC said that it had "no major
\nsafety concerns" regarding the rail line. The company had faced numerous delays in reopening the funicular.<\/p>\n

\"Me-angels-flight16\"<\/img><\/a> The rail line was designed to connect
\ndowntown L.A. with the residential community on Bunker Hill. But when the
\ncity demolished that neighborhood as part of a 1960s redevelopment
\npush, Angels Flight was left moribund. The funicular was revived in
\n1996 after years of effort by preservationists.<\/p>\n

"I think Los Angeles is a wonderful place with important
\nhistory and the only part of Bunker Hill that remains is Angels
\nFlight," said John Welborne, president of the Angels Flight Railway
\nFoundation, said Monday morning. <\/p>\n

\nIn 2001, a car broke loose and slid backward\u00a0 before
\nsmashing into another rail car at the bottom of the steep hill, killing an
\n83-year-old man and injuring seven other people. Federal investigators
\nconcluded<\/a> that faulty mechanical and brake systems, combined with weak
\noversight, were to blame.<\/p>\n

The ride Monday morning was not the smoothest, and the rail cars shook a
\nlittle bit, but Angels Flight was restored to ride like it did in
\n1969, Welborne said.<\/p>\n

The funicular features new equipment, but the
\ntechnology is much the same, save for some added safety features. The
\nkind of head on collision that happened nine years ago is no longer
\npossible, he said. <\/p>\n

— Hector Becerra at Bunker Hill<\/p>\n

Photo: The Angels Flight funicular resumes operation Monday morning after being closed for nine years. Credit: Robert Gauthier \/ Los Angeles Times<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/img><\/a><\/p>\n

Photos:<\/strong> Angels Flight Railway reopens<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\nMore breaking news in L.A. Now:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run on Malibu’s
\nPCH<\/a> <\/p>\n

Charlie Sheen to appear in Colorado courtroom
\non charge of assaulting wife<\/a> <\/p>\n

GOP gubernatorial candidates to face off in
\nOrange County debate<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0After nine years in mothballs, the so-called "shortest railroad in the world" was again ferrying passengers up and down Bunker Hill as the Angels Flight funicular reopened Monday morning. Hearty Angels Flight lovers were on hand at 6:45 a.m. as the approximately 300-foot-long railway — which was closed in 2001 after a deadly accident — […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4131,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}