it’s a miracle! angels flight sees the light
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After years of inactivity, “The Shortest Railway in the World” may soon get back on track. Last night both bookend gates of Angels Flight were fully illuminated by their old-fashioned bulbs, suggesting that plans to reopen the dormant funicular are closer than ever.
After a fatal accident in 2001, the historic railroad was decommissioned, and plans to restore operations have missed countless deadlines since 2002 amid lawsuits, mechanical issues and lack of funding.
John Welborne, president of the nonprofit Angels Flight Railway Foundation, told the Downtown News earlier this month that, “Additional work on wiring and related matters is taking place now. When this last work that is now underway is finished and the tests and inspections have been completed and we are ready to reopen - which should be soon.”
That latest claim seems to fit with the new signs of life spotted yesterday evening. Even with this encouraging news, past disappointments make it seem like nothing short of an act of God will get Angels Flight climbing Bunker Hill again.
But for the sake of those pedestrians who have to schlep up all 153 of those steps each day from Hill Street, we hope Welborne keeps his word this time.
Thanks to reader Dr. Boris for the tip!
-metro in possession of angels flight
18 comments
Great news!
PS - It’s John - not Jon Welborne.
Newer residents of the Historic Core are probably unaware of how just useful this funicular is/was. Getting up Bunker Hill is tough for the pedestrian. From the south, there is the escalator from 5th between Flower and Grand. There is another escalator at 4th & Olive. But, getting to it is an effort. But, coming from the Historic Core, your options are all strenuous.
I also know that vendors in Grand Central Market lost significant business from Bunker Hill customers and their dollars. Most people who work on Bunker Hill are unwilling to make the hike back up. It is simply not practical.
When I lived right next door above the market, I easily used it 4-5 times a week. I also remember seeing tourists shuttle back and forth on the funicular. Most seemed to have no idea the market was there. They so often seemed delighted to find it. No more.
I’m sure the local dog owners would love to incorporate Bunker Hill into their daily dog walk routes. Bunker Hill and Grand Avenue are very good for this purpose. California Plaza, MOCA, the Colborne School, Disney Hall, the Music Center and the Cathedral are all welcoming places for the pedestrian. Alas, with no easy way to get up there, the connection between Bunker Hill and the Historic Core is severed.
Shame on Mr. Welborne. His leadership here has been ineffective and, I dare say after listening to him on occasion, petulant.
When I saw the funicular at Angels Flight it reminded me of my youth when I lived in Pittsburgh. I was sad to see such a unique mode of transportation not being utilized. The restoration of this hillside train would certainly provide a significant advantage to the Grand Central Market, but it would also add the magic of “yesteryear”. Very exciting news for the little boy inside me. =)
Hey, THERE’S our “Downtown Connector”!
To the west, they could extend Angels Flight up over Bunker Hill, then back down underground to the 7th/Metro station. To the east, it could continue down under Hill Street and meet up with the Gold Line in Little Tokyo!
Just kidding, of course. But then again…
No, really. Just kidding.
I’m like you - I’d really, really *like* to believe, but keep thinking of all the times we got our hopes up and were disappointed. Still — a miracle would be nice!
I hope it’s not “petulant” of me to ask Mr. Kennedy to join the others who have donated funds to the restoration of our town’s historic little Railway. It is because of the donations of hundreds of individuals and organizations that we have raised almost all the money needed to pay for the extraordinary amount of work that has been going on at Angels Flight, especially in the past 12 months.
Mr. Kennedy and your other readers are encouraged to mail their contributions to:
Angels Flight Railway Foundation
Post Office Box 712345
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Now, as to THE NEWS:
As just noted, the 2007 fund-raising for the Angels Flight Railway restoration — the Campaign for Angels Flight — has been highly successful because of our supporters’ generosity. Of the unexpected $3.3 million that the directors and supporters of the Angels Flight Railway Foundation suddenly had to raise after the tragic 2001 accident (a dollar figure that could not even be properly quantified until 2003), all but the last 4.8% (about $158,000 to go) has been raised, and there are expected donors lined up for most of that remaining amount. By the way, finishing the restoration and reopening the Railway are NOT dependent upon closing out the Campaign because we have a favorable line of credit that allows us to complete the work. However, it would be nice to reopen without having to use the credit line.
Contributions are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged. Donor benefits are available, and your readers may e-mail the Foundation, in care of me, John H. Welborne, President, at angels-flight@sbcglobal.net, with additional questions or offers to help in this community undertaking. Please be understanding if we are a bit slow in responding because we are very busy in completing the restoration. Some facts about the nearly complete restoration that may interest you and your readers:
Angels Flight is being restored with a traditional (like its original) funicular cable system. The new Drive has been manufactured and installed.
Last year, the private Angels Flight Railway’s engineers concluded that “fixing something that is not broken” — and that had as good a safety record as did the pre-1969 Angels Flight drive system — was not the best approach. That is why the private Railway’s designers indeed have used a tried and proven funicular design for the current restoration. Unfortunately, the rebuilders of 1994-1996 used a new concept, and that’s what broke, tragically.
The completed new Drive, like the pre-1969 Angels Flight operating equipment, has a second, safety cable attached to each car. Also, in this case (unlike both the original and the 1995-1996 rebuilt versions), each of the two cars now has a rail brake. Use of such a brake should not be necessary, however, because the new Drive also has working emergency brakes on each of the two bullwheels. (Yes, the Drive installed at the end of 2007 has bullwheels and a cable with one end of the same cable connected to each car - just like traditional funiculars always have had. In fact, if you look in the windows of the historic Station House on the upper level of California Plaza, the completed new Drive — that now sits in the Machine Room below the Station House — looks very much the same as the pre-1969 Drive, just a lot bigger.)
Furthermore, in the unlikely case that the main motor fails, the new Drive has a completely separate and independent evacuation motor. Such evacuation motors are not unusual in traditional funiculars. (There was no such evacuation motor in the circa 1995-1996 rebuilt Angels Flight, however.)
Although the new Drive’s manufacturer had expected to have the machinery completed and installed here in Los Angeles in late August, that installation did not take place until late November. Additional work on wiring and related matters is taking place now, as reported to our local Downtown weekly newspaper. As I have said to that story’s writer and to others, our Foundation’s directors share the frustration of our neighbors and visitors who wish to see the Railway back in operation. However, we said we would not reopen the Railway until it is completely safe to do so.
As you and your readers may (or may not) know, the litigation concerning the tragic 2001 accident was not finally ended until September 22, 2006 (just a bit over fifteen months ago). As announced at our press conference in January of 2007, adequate funds to proceed had been secured at that time, and designers and the manufacturer were under contract then. Those vendors have been busy doing their jobs for the past twelve months - just not as quickly as they originally predicted.
We should not forget, though, that the reason there has been so much progress since September of 2006 is because generous donors have made this progress possible. Hundreds of generous people who care, through their individual, foundation, endowment, and corporate donations, are the people who are getting Angels Flight back on track. My fellow directors and I and all those working on the design, manufacture, and installation appreciate these enthusiasts’ generous support!
Although funicular technology from the nineteenth century is simple, rebuilding an historic funicular in the middle of an urban area in the twenty-first century is quite complicated. Please trust me on that. When this last work that is now underway is finished and the tests and inspections (by our own experts and by staff from the California Public Utilities Commission) have been completed and we are ready to reopen — which should be soon — our board of directors and I probably will be even more grateful than our most patient and long-suffering riders who have been walking up and down those 153 +/- steps.
John H. Welborne
President, Angels Flight Railway angels-flight@sbcglobal.net
May be alone here, but does it really take a block long railway to connect Bunker Hill to the street below it? I understand the novelty of having the ‘funicular’ in operation, but to suggest that life without it is a “struggle” or people have been “long-suffering” by walking up a one block hill is ridiculous. I’d much rather see 3.3million dollars go towards improving the ugly and misused section land the railway sits adjacent to - rather than the railway itself.
Yes, sven, it really does take a block long railway to connect Bunker Hill to Hill Street. Most people will not attempt it. It is truly a barrier. We are fortunate to have Angels Flight to make the trip. (God willing, it re-opens in our lifetimes.)
I’d urge you, sven, to make the hike. Bring some packages. For good measure, bring your retired parents with you. Please report back. Presumably, you are young and hale. Alas, the passage of time has taken its toll on the rest of us. Ah, to be young again.
We might add that this $3.3 million “novelty” hauled more than just tired, office-bound workers returning up the hill from lunch. As Chris (#3) alluded to, this little funicular brought in tourists by the thousands, including families with their wide-eyed kids in tow. Tourists like to shop and tourists get hungry.
The $3.3 million is a bargain.
It’s all coming together now. This is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.
I’ve been following the saga of downtown’s turnaround almost since I moved to L.A. County (1989) and have lived here since 2005.
The reopening of Angel’s Flight (I did ride it a couple times between 1996 and 2000, but I wasn’t living Downtown then) will really make downtown more user-friendly.
Combine this was everything else that’s coming together right now: Ralph’s, 7-11, some 24-hour restaurants. Nokia Theater. New rehabbed lofts. The Brockman and the Roosevelt finally opening this year (they better). New buildings. Increased transit options. The Gold Line extension. More housing, more jobs. More robust, healthy companies moving back to downtown from other locales like the Westside. The Bringing Back Broadway initiative.
The Downtown of 2010 will be practically unrecognizable from the much more shabby Downtown of 2000. Thanks to everyone who bought into the vision.
That one wee hill is such a bulwark to those who can afford to live on Bunker Hill, is ludicrous. For those that are bothered, try one of the DASH trams. There are many sets of steps throughout the New York Metro that are far deeper and easily as steep. (A great example is the 59th Street station on the east side line: the 4,5,6.)
I have made that walk many times and with quite a bit of books, paper and whatnot. Folk need to do a little less driving and a fair amount more walking. It really is not that difficult, even for a middle-aged man who has done far more than his share of partying and touring as a punk rocker for nearly 20 years (and which I somewhat stopped over ten years ago). What is frustrating is that the walkway is closed at night, and that the area adjacent to the long-dead railway, is naught but a toilet for pigeons.
I was there the day that Leon Praport got killed, eating at the Market right behind the then-newish coffee place that blocked my view for but a few seconds after the crash. (And yes, I have photos.) I enjoyed the novelty of Angels Flight, but I still wish to know why the agency responsible allowed it to happen as well as why safety measures that SHOULD have been installed, were not.
And Mr. Mercer, I have to argue that 7-11 is no part of anything exciting. Over-priced, over-processed food that has a high tax profit does nothing but drain resources and contribute to the health epidemic. (For instance: the fountain soft drinks one purchases there at more than $1 each, have no more than 7 of the cola syrup in them, and that great profit from selling such garbage goes out-of-state.) If you have lived in downtown since 2005, surely you know of all the places where what the 7-11 sells in facsimile form, may be found and for a bit less. I lived in downtown until I returned to New York in early 2002 (I was there from 1996-2002) and got along well enough without Ralph’s, 7-11 and even a motor vehicle. (Yeah, the bus strike was a pain, but my Spring Street-based publishing business did not go under.) Downtown needs to not resemble the Valley or the West side to be successful, and it has done many years without Angels Flight (again) without going under.
Overpriced, overprocessed food is what made America great! Praise the Cheez Whiz! Praise the chemically bolstered fizzy beverage!
You got something against Slurpees? Didn’t you didn’t grow up in the suburbs or something?
All tongue-in-cheek comments aside, I am not a voracious consumer of 7-11, but I have been known to buy a Slurpee once in a while. The important thing is that it’s there and it’s open 24/7 for people to fall back on if need arises. That much I cannot say for the Spring Street Market, where I often purchase my juice, milk and Diet Coke. And the fact that it’s there might cause people who think they can’t live without such (no pun intended) conveniences to consider Downtown as an option for living. And don’t tell me you don’t want those type of people moving here and they should stay on the Westside. I’ll take anyone for the Downtown cause.
And if I suddenly refused to shop at stores that were not run by evil capitalists, well then I wouldn’t be able to buy anything anywhere except at Organic Farmer’s Markets. And how could I get my B-movie DVDs?
Ahem, that WERE run by evil capitalists…
finally I’ll be able again to buy my 2 taco’s at Roast to Go at the Grand Central Market (that has very little seating for eating) and take it up to the Fountain Court without having to hoof it and get sweaty in my 3 piece suit!
Mr. Mercer,
AT 6th & Spring there usta be quite some book and video resources: Koma Books (formerly Amok Books), Feral House, Transparency, and that strange club not three blocks down the way where all manner of media was available. I alone had a massive library of Something Weird videos available if only folk were interested, but no one cared. That was up until 2000.
As for places to eat 24 hours, there is the Pantry (owned by the beloved ex-mayor Dick Riordan), the taco place on 9th and Broadway (no cheese, just authentic mexican meat and salt tacos) and that sandwich spot on Main Street halfway between 6th and 7th, what usta to have its wings open to all manner of drug dealing. What the 7-11 sells is no better than all that.
Yeah, Scott, I usta have the occasional Slurpee in the mid-1970s, when I came stateside. We called the 7-11s “pack’a’sacks.” I imagine that for all I have endured, I can still have a happy walk up Bunker Hill, side by side with you my friend, and settle down inside the petite field of green and start reading without heaving. (I walked from Boyle along E. 4th all the way to the REDCAT to see “Bastards of The Party”, (http://www.thebusbench.com/2008/01/i-think-youre-b.html)
and then back along the same way, and did the same the night prior, only to be told the one-nigh screening of that series’ films were sold out between nearly two litres of decent single malt scotch.)
If nearly 30 years of Diet Coke and Slurpees can contribute to such nightly hikes, then surely we should have some long walks, talks and salons.
Ultimately, NO. I do not want “those people” moving in and sterilising the downtown. I usta live in LES on E. 9th, and I was practically shell-shocked when I went back a few weeks ago. Alphabet City is all A-holes. I long ago abandoned Atlanta, GA, while watching Little Five Points get bleached during the renovation of the Atlanta Underground. And the punk bastion of Fullerton, CA, Harbor Blvd near Chapman, was done over in the early 1990s, when all my olde friends from Social D, Adolescents, Mentors, Negative Gender, et al, all went crazy or were killed as a direct result of what Brain/Offspring and Gwen/No Doubt imported.
I just cannot understand why so much effort is wasted whitewashing what could be fun, to make things seemingly safe, and the mundane is cheered on.
To those who suggest that Angel’s Flight is not needed because it’s “not that hard” to to get up one little hill - congratulations on your good health and stamina! Not all of us are fortunate enough to have it, and there simply is no *convenient* alternative, for the lesser-abled, to get up the Hill. Plenty of *inconvenient* ones, but they’re very roundabout and/or depend on “the kindness of strangers” (or security guards ;-) ).
Having contributed a fair amount to a book titled “Ancient L.A.” the cover of which offers a photo of the last Victorian house being hauled off to make way for the abominable 1980s architecture that presently stains Bunker Hill. I am a fairly decent authority to state that were it not for the private motor vehicle industry that was allowed to destroy the public transit, this particular debate would be nil.
And yes, I have not owned a motor vehicle for many, many years now.
If I still lived in L.A., I might jump right into this little tiff you folks seem to be having. As it is, I will be returning there (after a 30 year absence) as a mere tourist in July, and as fan of all eclectic public transit, I truly hope Angels Flight is up and running by then.
Yes, I agree — 3.3 million could be spent on things more critical. But then, why have art museums, or theaters, or any of those hundreds of things that go beyond our basic needs?
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