Los Angeles Metro metro (2)

 First, A Correction

fbb really needs to learn to read! His piece yesterday implied that both tram (a k a Streetcar) networks were narrow gauge. That war incorrect! The yellow cars ran on 3 foot 6 inch gauge track whereas ...

... the red inter-urban network used standard gauge ...

... viz four feet eight and a half inches. Mixed gauge track was used in places where the "cars" shared a route, mainly in Downtown L A. The illustration below is from the present-day California Transport Museum.

Trams / Streetcars / Light Rail

The joyous return in 1990 was the "re-opening" of a former "red" cars tram route 2 ...

...which became the BLUE line and,  later, line A.

Here is today's Long Beach terminus, looking very tram-like.

In 1993, the red metro line opened and this was totally underground and subsequently renumbered as line B. We have met a station on this route when exploring public transport at Universal Studios.

Unlike the significant use of the roudel for London's underground, the obvious "branding" is not very obvious. So 3 son, when interrogated about transport adjacent to the location of his business dealings, replied "what underground?"

We also met the line's northern terminus when exploring bus 224 from the Universal bus station.

Herewith a simple plan of the line together with its offspring, line D.

Universal is the penultimate station northbound on the line.

Also at North Hollywood, note line G (ORANGE),

It's a bus, innit; as seen here at the North Hollywood turning circle, accessed by subway from the station.

The route is now fully electric ...

... with pantograph charging.

In places, it looks and feels like a railway!

Unlike some tram systems (e.g. in Manchester UK) Los Angeles gives us full timetables for trams and buses and tram-buses.

There is a short video of North Hollywood station, lacking commentary and with red captions hat are sometimes quite tricky to read. But our determined readers will manage.

Tomorrow, fbb will conclude this brief investigation of L A public transport; looking at a Light Rail line with a big hole in the middle; exploring buses in a red livery (vice orange); buses on a blue livery and "normal" orange buses which might have been red - or blue.

There is also a bus at the Universal bus station that is not run by L A Metro; but that delight may wait until a weekend variety blog.

Too much excitement.

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A Broken Bodge!

Readers may remember fbb's new section on the Peterville layout reinstating the loco shed and sidings for the spare motive power.

As well as the track, fbb added a hillock with trees and he ballasted the track in a typical mucky grey that always accompanied engines in the good old steam days; see below without trees ...

... and later with trees and fencee.

It looked OK but it didn't work.

A couple of the sidings lacked power and fbb's over casually bodged ballasting meant that, even when the power was working, locos moved hesitantly if all. The old man had spread too much mucky ballast lifting the wheels off the rails.

Hyper twerp!

So, yesterday, it was all ripped up, the offending ballast pinged off (it had set solid) and rails and rail joiners cleaned. As of 1600 yesterday, MOST of it was working.

But it now looks a mess as all the track had to be cut from its base and the joints checked and cleaned.

Hey ho!

No hillside, trees and fence were harmed durng this process ...

... as it lifts off in one lump.

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 Next L A Metro bus/train blog : Fri 14 Feb