Tag Archives: Trains and Railways
La Grande railway station, downtown Los Angeles, 1930
The La Grande Station was the Los Angeles terminus of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It opened in 1893 at the corner of 2nd St and Santa Fe Ave in downtown L.A. This photo was taken in 1930 … Continue reading
Ticketing hall at Central Station, corner of Central Ave and 5th Street, downtown Los Angeles.
This is the ticketing hall at Central Station, located in downtown Los Angeles at Central Ave and 5th Street. It replaced the Arcade Depot and was rendered obsolete when Union Station was built in the 1930s.
Union Station, downtown L.A., 1940s
I love the sunlight shining directly on the tower of Union Station on the edge of downtown L.A. – it’s almost like it’s getting ready for its close-up. (circa 1940s)
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Tagged Downtown Los Angeles, Trains and Railways, Union Station, WWII
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Union Station interior, downtown Los Angeles, December 12th, 1939
One of my favorite buildings in Los Angeles is Union Station, the railway station built in 1939 (it just celebrated its 75th anniversary) at the height of transcontinental rail travel. (After WWII, the preferred mode would switch more and more … Continue reading
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Tagged Downtown Los Angeles, Trains and Railways, Union Station, WWII
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Miniature railway venice loop at the end of Windward Avenue, Venice, Los Angeles, circa 1905
This miniature railway looped at the end of Windward Avenue in Venice. This shot was taken circa 1905, which puts it at around the time Venice was founded in 1905 as a seaside resort town.
Interior of a passenger rail car on its way to California 1880s
In the 1880s, Los Angeles experienced one of its biggest booms when the transcontinental railways finally came to L.A. thus providing people with a (relatively) comfortable way to travel from coast to coast. I’ve read a lot about that era, … Continue reading
Model aircraft display at Union Station, downtown Los Angeles, 1943 (WWII)
Los Angeles’ Union Station turned 75 this month (May 2014) so a number of old photos of it have been surfacing. I thought this one was particularly interesting. It was taken in 1943—the middle of WWII—and shows a . . … Continue reading
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Tagged Airports Aircraft Airlines, Downtown Los Angeles, Trains and Railways, Union Station, WWII
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The Union Pacific’s Astra Dome dining car, which debuted in 1955
In 1955, the Union Pacific railroad debuted its luxurious Astra Dome dining car. According to a Union Pacific promotional piece, the railroad’s new dining car would “offer you only the finest of freshly prepared foods, graciously served by attentive waiters.” … Continue reading
Super Chief “Train of the Stars” lost its brakes and came to rest above Aliso Street.
The Super Chief claimed to be “The Train of the Stars” because of the many celebrities it carried between Chicago and Los Angeles. On this day it lost its brakes at L.A.’s Union Station (in downtown L.A.) and crashed through … Continue reading