Passenger Trains > Metro light rail test car on former PE Santa Monica Air

Traction action on the former PE Santa Monica Air Line (originally the Los Angeles & Independence RR) as Metro tests the track and power system with Siemens/Sacramento LRV 231. It's just running between Vermont and Crenshaw during this phase of testing; there's some finishing-up to do between Crenshaw and Culver Junction, and the tunnel adjacent to USC has some more work to do.

1) At the Western Ave. westbound platform.

2) There it goes! Electric railroading returns after a 58 year hiatus.

3) Some grade crossings have standard crossing gates, mostly those that aren't at station stops. The gates are not yet in service, and crew members protect the crossings with STOP sign paddles.

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Yup the first one went under its own power this week.

Cant wait for opening day!

Are the Gold Line Siemens cars getting reassigned to the Expo line? I know the 231 was one that was on the Pasadena run for years. I miss seeing them, and prefer them to the Breda cars. There's also a bunch of them stored along the Gold Line at the old SP Cornfield Yard location.

Thanks for the views of the new line,

Rich



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/11 18:32 by PasadenaSub.

Haven't heard or seen any official word, but one report said the Breda cars can negotiate the bridge going south from Union Station faster than the Siemens cars. With 50 of the "silver trains" (reference to an obscure Rolling Stones song) on hand, Metro should have enough to cover the Gold Line and maybe assign some to Expo. There seems to be some strong opinions among members of the local railfan community about whether Breda or Siemens cars are better. My opinion is that if it runs on rails and is powered by electricity, it's good. Extra points if the electricity comes from an overhead wire.

There was a rumor going around. That the original Nippon Blue Line Cars.
Are going to operate on the Expo line. And the Siemens Cars was going to be assigned to the Blue Line
And the Bredas are staying on the Gold Line. The siemens cars are on the Green line. And can make the
transition to the Blue Line route at the Rosa Parks Station in the Watts Area



PasadenaSub Wrote:
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> Are the Gold Line Siemens cars getting reassigned
> to the Expo line? I know the 231 was one that was
> on the Pasadena run for years. I miss seeing
> them, and prefer them to the Breda cars. There's
> also a bunch of them stored along the Gold Line at
> the old SP Cornfield Yard location.
>
> Thanks for the views of the new line,
>
> Rich

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

How are cars moved between the Gold Line to the Blue and Green Lines? (For out of area folks, there is no connection between the Gold Line and the other lines.)

joemagruder Wrote:
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> How are cars moved between the Gold Line to the
> Blue and Green Lines? (For out of area folks,
> there is no connection between the Gold Line and
> the other lines.)


There is a connection between the Green and the Blue Lines in Watts at the Rosa Park/Imperial Station.

There is a link between these lines.

That is where some of the siemens cars might come from.

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

joemagruder Wrote:
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How are cars moved between the Gold Line to the
Blue and Green Lines? (For out of area folks,
there is no connection between the Gold Line and
the other lines.)
-------------------------------------------------------
Via Truck.

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GP25 Wrote:
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There was a rumor going around that the original
Nippon Blue Line Cars are going to operate on the
Expo line and the Siemens Cars was going to be
assigned to the Blue Line.

And the Bredas are staying on the Gold Line. The
Siemens cars are on the Green line and can make
the transition to the Blue Line route at the Rosa
Parks Station in the Watts Area.
-------------------------------------------------------

PasadenaSub Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
Are the Gold Line Siemens cars getting reassigned
to the Expo line? I know the 231 was one that
was on the Pasadena run for years. I miss seeing
them, and prefer them to the Breda cars.

There's also a bunch of them stored along the Gold Line
at the old SP Cornfield Yard location.

Thanks for the views of the new line,

Rich
--------------------------------------------------------

There are updated views of Expo Line action every day on
The Transit Coalition Discussion Board.
http://transittalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=expoline&action=display&thread=66&page=138

Additionally, and with no rumor, Bruce Shelburne, the Metro
Rail Service Development Manager told The Transit Coalition
audiences directly what the plans were going to be when he
spoke at The Coalition monthly meeting on 27 April 2010.
Watch the video and enjoy the direct information. Paste this
file into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyi-imi-2DM

The operational plans for Expo and the Blue Line is to run
trains every six minutes on the Blue Line and every twelve
minutes on the Expo Line. Operationally, all operators will
run out of Division 11 out of Long Beach initially. All
trains will operate on both lines as they cycle along both
of the routes. So, both the Nippon and Siemens cars will
operate from Venice / Robertson to 7th / Flower to Long
Beach.

The Breda Cars work better on the Gold Line, so most of
the Siemens Cars will cycle back to Division 11. You can
see photos of the car transport that I took while being
driven back to Metro. There was the car and I got two
shots from my Blackberry as we drove along.

I hope I've been able to answer some of your questions,
but check out the video. Bruce is returning to present
at the May 24, 2011 meeting. Anyone is welcome to
attend, by just showing up at Philippe the Original.
The meeting information is posted on The Transit Coalition
website, along with maps and directions to Philippe.

Enjoy.

Will the Gold line have a physical connection to the green and blue lines someday to avoid trucks?

My understanding is that there will at some point be a connection via the Red Line shop trackage between the Gold and Blue lines. But somebody from LA may know differently.

SBC_1344 Wrote:
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> Will the Gold line have a physical connection to
> the green and blue lines someday to avoid trucks?

See the proposed Regional Connector light rail project, currently slated to open in 2019 (or 2017 if 30/10 federal loans materialize).

Map: http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/connector/images/study_area_map.pdf

Project page: http://www.metro.net/projects/connector/

shoretower Wrote:
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My understanding is that there will at some point
be a connection via the Red Line shop trackage
between the Gold and Blue lines. But somebody
from LA may know differently.
-------------------------------------------------------
No, besides not being possible, it has never been
discussed. The Red / Purple Lines are Third Rail
and the Gold / Blue / Green / Aqua Lines are Light
Rail with a Pantograph. The Red / Purple Lines
are in a subway tunnel and don't lead anywhere
near to the Light Rail Lines.

Please be careful and ask, but don't state things
that you aren't clear upon.