Passenger Trains > LA Metro Gold Line--new shops and yard in Monrovia

Last Saturday (May 23) was the official dedication of the Gold Line Operations Campus in Monrovia.  A large number of dignitaries and interested citizens watch the ceremony and then got a look at the new shop buildings.  One of the the new 1000-class Metro light rail cars was on display, along with two of the Breda LRVs borrowed from current Gold Line operations.  I couldn't help thinking about the makeshift open-air repair facilities that served to keep the last remaining Pacific Electric cars running after Torrance Shops closed in 1954.

1) The light rail cars of the future will be arriving at the Monrovia yard in a month or so--here's the first of the lot (1001 and 1002 were last seen on the Green and Blue lines for testing).  The new cars are being assembled at the Kinki-Sharyo facility in Palmdale.

2)  Back in the PE days, car cleaners with long-handled brushes and buckets of harsh cleansers did their best to keep the Red Cars looking good, but the Oakite did bad things to the car bodies.  Today's carwash will use environmentally approved compounds that will not compromise car longevity.

3)  For some cool sounds to entertain the crowd, we had the Monrovia High Jazz Band blowin' up a storm (but they didn't do "Take the A Train")

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1)  Almost five years ago, Frank Mottek, the KNX news radio business reporter, officiated at the Foothill Extension Groundbreaking ceremony in Arcadia.  Last Saturday, he was on hand to introduce dignitaries for the Operations Campus dedication.

2)  The official presentation of the ceremonial key to the campus.  GLFE CEO Habib Balian hands over the key to the railway (at least the non-revenue part) to Phil Washington, the new Metro chief.

3)  A streetcar mechanic's dream come true.  I expect that transit officials and staff members from all over the world will be visiting my old home town of Monrovia to see this facility.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/15 18:27 by DNRY122.

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It will never be that clean again!

1)  I'm not sure how many people were expected to show up, especially on a holiday weekend, but the shop area was well filled.  I met several members of Pacific Railroad Society and Electric Railway Historical Assn., as were workers who had helped build the project.  Whenever I talk with the builders, I find that they have a lot of pride in what they've done here in the Campus and along the 11 mile route.  Two of the 700-series Breda LRVs were on display here.

2) Those of us who remember the days of old-time radio may recall the Jack Benny program.  Once or twice a year, Jack would have to go back to New York on business, and in those days, that meant going to LA Union Station.  At some point in the scene, the station announcer (probably played by Mel Blanc) would intone, "Train leaving on Track Five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cuuuuuuucamonga."  Anaheim has a brand-new passenger station and Cucamonga has had passenger service by Metrolink for about 20 years now, but Azusa has been off the passenger service map for decades.  I may have been the last passenger to detrain there back in 1970, when I would ride Santa Fe No. 23 from San Bernardino to Azusa, then walk along the abandoned PE right of way to my home in Duarte, and I could do this only because I worked for Santa Fe at the time.  By this time next year, frequent electric-powered passenger service will be part of everyday life in Azusa.

3)  The paint shop probably will not be too busy for the first few years, but it will be there for accident repairs and refurbishment when the time comes.

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It is fun for me to see how far apart the columns under the rails on the inspection pits are.
I'm used to seeing locomotive shops with columns much closer together.
May need sign "No Locomotives"....;-)

No sign needed--standard railroad locomotives and cars won't clear the platforms at Monrovia and Duarte.  Back when the Gold Line opened, someone asked if it could be used to take private passenger cars to Pasadena for the Rose Parade.  At the time, there was a connecting track between the Metrolink line on the west side of the LA River and the Metro yard below Elysian Park. I said that everything would be OK until they got to the Lincoln Heights-Cypress station, where there would be a terrible crash as the private car collided with the passenger platform.

Is there a sense that the people of the area are looking forward to the line opening?

Yes, indeed.  Nearly everyone I've talked with is eager to see the trains running.  The most common question is "can't they get them running any sooner?"  The public outreach staff has done an excellent job of keeping the citizens of the lineside communities informed of upcoming events such as construction projects and street closures; I even see comments from transit observers over on the west side who are following the Expo work between Culver City and Santa Monica, who see the Gold Line Foothill Extension as the "gold standard" of community information.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/15 01:10 by DNRY122.

cricketer8for9 Wrote:
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> Is there a sense that the people of the area are
> looking forward to the line opening?

If you've ever seen "rush hour" on I-210 you would know they want it to open now.

That's good to hear.

PHall Wrote:
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> cricketer8for9 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Is there a sense that the people of the area
> are
> > looking forward to the line opening?
>
> If you've ever seen "rush hour" on I-210 you would
> know they want it to open now.

Oh yeah.  We've gotten stuck in that 'rush hour' on trips from Utah to Simi Valley.  This will be a nice alternative for folks in the area.

Nathan