Mainline Action and Historic Trains & Transit in the Los Angeles Area
Day three in the Los Angeles region started off at Commerce Metrolink Station. Situated in the industrial southeast of the city, just a few minutes from downtown, the aptly named neighborhood is home to endless warehouses, several intermodal facilities, and the BNSF Los Angeles Locomotive Terminal. With the BNSF San Bernardino Sub cutting right through the middle of it all, it’s considered one of the major hotspots for railfanning in the area. On arrival, there were a handful of other railfans gathered on the platform. Within moments, a westbound Metrolink train flew past (Commerce Station is only served by stopping trains on weekdays), shortly followed by a BNSF intermodal. Before too long, the reason for the gathering became clear, as Amtrak’s westbound Southwest Chief came into sight with not one, but two “Heritage” P42s leading the consist; the Phase IV unit, followed by the Phase II unit. This was the second unexpected treat in less than 12 hours! After a few more catches including Surfliner, Metrolink, and BNSF movements, it was time to continue onwards.
After a brief driving tour of downtown Los Angeles (I’d only ever been through by train before), it was back east to Riverside County, this time to the Southern California Railway Museum. Formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, the SCRM hosts a massive collection of railroad and transit vehicles, mostly from Southern California. Their site includes multiple car barns, each housing a different collection, from Los Angeles Railway streetcars, to Pacific Electric interurbans, mainline rolling stock, and even the narrow gauge rolling stock from Ward Kimball’s Grizzly Flats Railroad - the first full-size garden railroad in the country, owned by a colleague and personal friend of Walt Disney. Circling the main exhibit area is a loop of dual standard gauge and Los Angeles Railway narrow gauge streetcar track, which plays host to various operational cars from the collection, while a solely standard gauge line, formerly part of the inland ATSF route to San Diego via Temecula and Fallbrook, stretches about a mile and a half into the nearby town of Perris. On this day, a Los Angeles Railway PCC was providing service on the trolley loop, while the standard gauge line was being shared by a Southern Pacific U25B hauling an eclectic rake of former AMT Montreal, Southern Pacific, and Lackawanna commuter cars, and a Pacific Electric “Blimp” Car.
While checking out two of the museum’s more recent acquisitions; a pair of San Diego MTS Siemens U2 LRVs, I got talking with their curator who was tending to them at the time and was invited to explore some of the areas of the site not open to the public, including the largest railcar barn, which houses the locomotives typically used on the standard gauge excursions, as well as many more pieces not currently on display, or awaiting restoration. This included their beautifully maintained Union Pacific E8A and Santa Fe Warbonnet-painted F45, while heading deeper into the barn revealed a treasure-trove of rarely seen equipment including several Pacific Electric “Hollywood” Cars, still wearing the same paint they retired in, a Key System articulated car from the Bay Area, and even a saddle-tank steam locomotive. More photos from this barn will be posted on the Facebook Page in the coming days. Outside, another recent acquisition; an LA Metro P865 LRV, was undergoing a pantograph replacement, while several more rolling stock items sat beyond, including two vintage ALCO diesels and two General Electric center-cab switchers. Also cast out on various storage tracks were a number of NJ Transit Comet I cars. Most of these are used for the Polar Express excursions held over the Christmas period, but they’re usually stored for the rest of the year.
While being granted “all-access” was a massive bonus, the next item on the agenda was the real treat. I had booked in advance to operate the Pacific Electric Blimp Car as part of the museum’s “run one” program for the last hour before the museum closed. After stopping in briefly to check out the Pacific Electric barn, it was time to head to the station. Following a short guide to the controls, I fulfilled a lifelong dream as I was able to take control of a heavy-rail interurban vehicle, from the famous Pacific Electric no less! This wasn’t my first time operating a rail vehicle - I had run a SEPTA PCC car at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum - but this was a very different animal. I completed about 8 runs up and down the 1.5 mile mainline, and enjoyed every minute of it, from positioning the poles to change direction, to feeling for the speed (there’s no speedometer on these cars!), and of course, blowing for the access road crossing on the museum grounds. As we headed out on the last trip up the line, the museum employee I’d met earlier radioed to the instructor, inviting me to join them for a test run over the line on the LA Metro P865 with its newly installed pantograph. I of course agreed, and once we reached the yard, had the surreal experience of stepping off of the Red Car and directly onto a more modern piece of LA Transit history. We followed the museum’s 45 Ton switcher out, which was acting as protect power in case the pantograph failed, and led the fairly bizarre procession of power back towards the museum, rounding out a truly memorable afternoon.
As the sun began to set, I headed north for the final stop of the day at the San Bernardino Amtrak/Metrolink station. Several outbound Metrolink trains met the last few rays of light, before the eastbound Southwest Chief made it’s dusk arrival. Although not operating, also of note were new Stadler FLIRT DMUs for the Metrolink extension to Redlands, which were parked in their storage yard within sight of the station. The freight lines were quiet, aside from one intermodal train which encountered EOT issues as it was leaving the adjacent terminal, but the frequency of the passenger schedule made up for it.
The next morning was an early start as I headed back to Las Vegas, where this trip began, and with one final stop at Daggett Junction to enjoy a Starbucks Breakfast Sandwich, the trip came to a close.