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Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation Expo Line Tour 5/12/2016

I talked with Chris Parker about participating in the pre-opening Expo Line Tour and he organized for myself and Robin Bowers to be on it.

The Foundation's mission is to diligently preserve and dynamically present the history of railroading in Los Angeles through its three core programs: public outreach, archival preservation and multiple-media publishing. Each of these programs is inter-dependent and together they will enable the Foundation to achieve its mission.

This is my second tour with this group.

The Expo Line currently runs between Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. An extension that will provide service westward to Santa Monica is scheduled to open on May 20, 2016. The line is named "Expo" after Exposition Boulevard, which it runs alongside for most of its route. It is one of the six lines in the Metro Rail system, and is operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Expo Line largely follows the right-of-way of the Santa Monica Air Line, which ceased operation in 1953. Several Expo Line stations are built in the same location as Air Line stations, although no original station structures have been reused.

An independent agency, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, was given the authority to plan, design and construct the line by state law in 2003. After construction is complete, the line will be handed over to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for operation. The line is being built in two phases; the first phase comprises the 8.6-mile section between Downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. Construction began in early 2006 and most stations opened to the public on April 28, 2012. The Culver City and Farmdale stations opened on June 20, 2012.

Design and construction on the 6.6-mile portion between Culver City and Santa Monica started in September 2011, with opening anticipated in early 2016. Testing along the phase 2 segment began on April 6, 2015.

The Expo Line operates from approximately 4:30 AM to 2:00 AM on weekdays and until 2:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, serving the following stations: 7th Street/Metro Center, Pico, LATTC/Ortho Institute, Jefferson/USC, Expo Park/USC, Expo/Vermont, Expo/Western, 11th Av./Degnan Blvd, Expo/Crenshaw, Farmdale, Expo/La Brea, La Cienega/Jefferson, Culver City, Palms, Westwood/Rancho Park, Expo/Sepulveda, Expo/Bundy, 26th Street/Bergamot and Downtown Santa Monica.

The system length is 8.6 miles (Phase I) and 15.2 miles (Phases I & II). The maintenance facility is between Centinela Avenue and Stewart Street.

The line was first built in 1875 as the steam-powered Los Angeles and Independence Railroad to bring mining ore to ships in Santa Monica harbor and as a passenger excursion train to the beach - first independently and later after purchase by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1877. When the Santa Monica harbor closed to shipping traffic in 1909, the line was leased to Pacific Electric who converted it to electric traction.

By 1920, the line was called the Santa Monica Air Line providing electric-powered freight and passenger service between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Electrically-powered passenger service stopped in 1953 but diesel-powered freight deliveries to warehouses along the route continued until March 11, 1988.

While Southern Pacific maintained ownership of the right-of-way after 1988, it no longer used or maintained the rails. Portions of the right-of-way were leased for use as storage facilities, parking lots, impound lots and various businesses, but no permanent structures were built. The abandonment of the line spurred concerns within the community to prevent the line from being sold off piecemeal - destroying one of the few remaining intact rail corridors within Los Angeles County. Advocacy groups including Friends 4 Expo Transit supported the successful passage of Proposition C in 1990, which allowed the purchase of the entire right-of-way from Southern Pacific by Metro (LACTC).

Metro successfully lobbied the federal government to use the remainder of Red Line funding for a different project to the Mid-City district of Los Angeles in 1998. That same year Los Angeles County voters approved Proposition A, another sales tax increase for transit, allowing Metro access to additional funds for transit projects. Metro then released a Major Investment Study in 2000 which compared bus rapid transit and light rail transit options along what was now known as the "Mid-City/Exposition Corridor". Construction began in August 2010.

Metro conducted a study on the Expo Phase 2 from 2007 to 2009 and approved the project in 2010, with planned opening to Santa Monica in early 2016. The Expo Construction Authority officially handed over control of the Expo Phase II track to L.A. Metro for the county transit agency to begin pre-revenue train testing on January 15, 2016.

I woke up early to water the plants, have breakfat and prepare myself for the day. I drove to the Santa Ana station and parked in the northeast lot then walked over to Track 1 and bought my Metrolink round-trip ticket to Los Angeles. Robin soon met me and we waited for Metrolink 683 to arrive.

Metrolink 683 arrived and we boarded the Quiet Car for the trip to Los Angeles. It was a quick trip and soon we detrained and decided to look around.

Faces of Metrolink this morning at LAUPT.

Our train was on on the right.

Two more faces of Metrolink.

A train from Riverside with a leased BNSF engine on the point. We walked to the east entrance to LAUPT and waited by the big fish tank for our group to arrive. I talked with Ed Saalig, author of the RDC book then other friends, including Chris Parker, arrived. I paid my fare for the trip and received a lunch menu and a trip handout.

Soon Metro's Andres Di Zitti provided details of today's trip and distributed Metro cards to tap at all points during the day. We then proceeded down to the subway and waited for the next train.

The monitor shows the extension we would be riding.

The Purple Line train arrived and we all boarded the first car and were off to our first stop at 7th and Metro. Here we went up the stairs, tapped our Metro cards then walked onto the first car of the Expo Line train.

Once above ground, we came to the junction of the Blue Line to Long Beach.

We stopped at the Expo Park/USC station.

Next we came to the Expo/Vermont station.

Dinosaurs were on display here.

Later we came to the construction zone of the Metro Crenshaw Line. This line's northern terminus for Phase 1 would be at Exposition, with an underground station at Crenshaw/Exposition to connect to the above ground Expo Line. Phase 2 would tunnel all the way to the Purple Line Subway.

We stopped at the Farmdale station, after which I went to the front door to take pictures to Culver City, the Expo Line's present west end.

On the way to Culver City. Here we detrained while another group boarded for their tour of the line.

Our train left with the other tour group aboard.

This is true again in 2016.

Our train arrived and after all passengers detrained, we boarded.

My new mileage began and continued until we reached Santa Monica.

Departing Culver City station.

On the way to Palm station.

Palm station.

A siding on the Expo Line just west of Palm station.

Now we climbed a small hill to take us to the underpass under the Santa Monica Freeway.

We went through the underpass under the Santa Monica Freeway.

Curving to the right.

We went under this pedestrian walkway over the Expo Line which is a great location for photos of this line.

On the way to Westwood/Rancho Park station.

We met another Expo Line test train.

Bound for Westwood/Rancho Park station.

Westwood/Rancho Park station.

En route to Expo/Sepulveda station.

Expo/Sepulveda station.

Next we went under Interstate 405.

We then met another Expo Line test train.

Proceeding toward Expo/Bundy station.

Expo/Bundy station.

On the way to 26th Street/Bergamot station, we passed the Expo Line Maintenance facility.

26th Street/Bergamot station.

Travellng to 17th Street/SMC station.

17th Street/SMC station.

Making our way to Downtown Santa Monica station.

We arrived at the Downtown Santa Monica station, ending my new rail mileage.

Our train at the terminus. The other group was taking our train back but we had a good lunch planned, choosing Sonoma Gardens Restaurant where I had a bacon sandwich. Later we returned to the station and there was another group, led by Bart Reed.

Two tile mosaics at the station.

Our group photograph, the author behind the camera.

Our train arrived and we all boarded.

On the way back, we made a special stop at Expo/Bundy station to drop off Robert Jacoby then returned to the 7th/Metro station and went downstairs to wait for the Red Line train back to Union Station.

The group waiting for the train back to Union Station.

Our train arrived and we boarded the first car again. Once there, that ended our Pre-Opening Expo Line trip. A special thank you to Metro for having us today and to the Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation for putting on this trip. Robin and I walked to Track 8 and waited for the doors to open before we boarded Metrolink 602 home to Santa Ana. It had been a fantastic ride and experience on the newest Metro Rail Line, the Expo Line.

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