Happy 110th, Angels Flight!

Today is not only the final day of 2011, but 110 years ago today, Col. J.W. Eddy gave us our beloved  Angels Flight funicular railway, which has survived countless ups and downs through the years - literally.

Unfortunately, it wasn't even given a Centennial celebration in 2001 since it suffered a tragic accident in February of that year.

So today, to honor its century-plus-a-decade birthday, the Shortest Railway In The World is offering prices like it was 1901. So instead of a quarter -- You get to ride for a penny!

Interesting, since, when you adjust for inflation, one cent back in 1901 is worth about 27 cents today. But who cares? You get to use up your pennies!

For most of Angels Flight's history, the fare was five cents. According to an article in the Pacific Electric Railway Journal, written in 1958:

"Shortly after the service officially opened on December 31, 1901..."Tickets were cheap and it soon became labeled as 'The 1-cent Line' because of the penny service. It competed with nobody, except for theunlikely pedestrian who tried to save a penny by hiking up the 207 steps along the Third Street tunnel.

Increased operating costs eventually forced Col. Eddy to consider and then finally raise the fare to 5 cents."

Today, though, the railway will also be selling up to 1,000 commemorative tickets for a dollar. All you collectors in da house!

This year was also a special one for Angels Flight -- in true Hollywood fashion, the funicular played a cameo role in the current movie, The Muppets (A film that happened to be written by a couple of Los Angeles natives and was surprisingly militant in nature at times).

Last year, The Militant earned the dubious distinction of being the last Angels Flight rider of 2010, the year it finally returned to service after the 2001 accident. He may or may not repeat that feat this year!

In any case, the railway is open today until 10 p.m., so bring some pennies and wish Sinai and Olivet a happy 110th!

Pictures of the 110th Anniversary:

A father and son enjoy the flight up.

The annual Angels Flight bulletin.

City Hall with the Lindbergh Beacon FTW!

The Militant got his ticket!

Wheel Be Right Back

When The Militant found out nearly a month ago that Downtown's legendary Angels Flight Railway was suddenly shut down due to deteriorating wheel flanges (they're the part of the wheels that run inside the rails, not on top of them), he took a deep sigh and thought, "Here we go again."

Though Angels Flight 1.0 was dismantled an unspecified number of years before The Militant was born, he was definitely in da house for the opening of Angels Flight 2.0 on February 24, 1996. After the tragic accident of 2001, he was one of the first people back on the funicular in March of last year when Angels Flight 3.0 (okay, really, more like a v 2.5 upgrade) finally ran again. The Militant even made (trivial) history as the very last Angels Flight rider of 2010!

The Militant was ready for a long-ass downtime filled with lots of red tape. He's heard it all before. After all, when Angels Flight 1.0 was dismantled in 1969, the City originally promised to bring it back "In about two years."  Shhyeah, right. He was all ready to draft a post meant for oh...sometime in September beyotching when Angels Flight will finally be ready.

But lo and behold, version 2.51 of the firmware update was announced on Tuesday. The new wheels, costing $40,000 (likely installed by funicular ninjas in the dead of night), were now in place and The Militant felt obliged to visit his old friends yet again.

The old wheels (June 2011)

The new wheels. installed by ninjas (July 2011)
Wait, did they forget to put on the brake? O_o

From the moment he got out of the (M) Red Line Pershing Square station on Hill Street and saw the little orange cars go up and down the incline, a The Militant wore a smile bigger than Los Angeles County. It's back.

And of course he had to take a ride.

Still wearing that big smile, he stepped into Olivet (Remember folks, Sinai is the car towards the north, Olivet towards the south), and after the buzzing sound heralding the 109-year old funicular's ascent, the ringing shriek of the brand-spankin' new wheels, the classic creaking of wood and, of course, the characteristic rumble. Ah, it's so nice to hear those sounds again.

The Militant lingered for a bit on the California Plaza end, listening to background music play as the Grand Performances crew set up for their next show. But he was there to watch his old funicular friends do their job - one that's inevitably filled with ups and downs - and this time not take it for granted.

Welcome back, old friends.

Ringin' In 2011: From Last To First

Let's face it, the Militant was a bad Militant in 2010. Not "bad" in the naughty sense (he wishes he were, believe the Militant), but "bad" as in not very prolific. With a paltry less than 70 posts for the entire year, he humbly apologizes to his readers (all 9 of you) for not being a very active Militant in twenty-ten. He didn't even think doing a year-end Militant Year-In-Review post was even worth his time, or yours. Meh. Whatevers.

[The Militant bows his head in shame]

So now we're here in a new year, it's time to reset, look forward and start anew. So here goes, 2011, lets do this!

The Militant spent his last few hours of 2010 doing what a Militant usually does, and used Metro's free New Year's Eve rides as reason enough to leave The Militant Compound in his unspecified Central Los Angeles neighborhood and ring in 2011 in Downtown Los Angeles.

Bundled to the hilt in layers so much that none of his camo fatigues underneath were visible, he boarded his Red Line train to Downtown and saw some hyped-up Wisconsin fans, decked in red, in town for The Rose Bowl game (Sorry, kids).

They were wearing shorts.

Of course, with 9-degree temps back in Madison, surely a 40-something night in Los Angeles for them is like 9/27/2010 for us or something.

He got off at Pershing Square and soon headed for Angels Flight Railway, which was celebrating its 109th birthday on Friday, its first anniversary since re-opening in March of last year. They celebrated with one-cent rides, commemorative tickets and free prizes at Grand Central Market (dang, missed that one...). As he looked at the clock, it was nearing 10, so he made it up, dropped his penny, and with 10 minutes to go until the funicular closed, intended to be the last Angels Flight rider of 2010.

One car came up, with three ladies inside, who were told by the operator that it was the last ride. He was willing to let them ride back down for the final ride. "Not so fast!" said the Militant, who dropped his penny, and chivalrous dude he is, told the women, "Ladies first..." Muhaha.

So we all rode down together on the final Angels Flight ride of 2010. And the Militant was the last to leave Olivet at approximately 10 p.m. so hark! The Militant Angeleno was the final Angels Flight rider of 2010!

The Militant chatted with the ladies, dropped some of his Militant knowledge on the Flight's history and later found themselves partying it up together at an unspecified bar in Downtown Los Angeles to ring in the New Year! Whatup!

At around 11:59 a.m. the TV screens there showed the three-hour-old ABC television broadcast of New Year's Rockin' Eve (this practice needs to stop, Pacific Standard Time people...even the musical performances were taped sometime in November). But behold, it was no longer 2010 but now Twenty Eleven.

Afterward, the Militant and his new operatives all took a stroll through Downtown to see various sights bedecked for the Holidays, such as Pershing Square. We passed total strangers on the street and all of us wished each other, "Happy New Year!" How cool was that?

The Militant headed back to the compound via Metro, which was no longer free, but was running a 24-hour schedule for the night (Too bad the "Next Train" displays were not functioning after-hours - booo!). On Red Line car #543, it sure looked (and smelled) like New Year's:
Later in the day, the Militant decided to take his first bike ride of 2010. And like any major holiday in Los Angeles, the streets were pleasantly quiet. He probably passed no more than two dozen cars on his route. It was almost like CicLAvia - he didn't have to wait three months and nine days for it!

As the first sunset of 2011 approached and back-lit the high-flying cirrus clouds in the cool winter sky, the Militant looked back on a great day, with a new year, new friends and new adventures to come. Where will the Militant be taking you the next 365 days? Stay tuned...and STAY MILITANT!

Vlogstyle Episode 06: The Militant Rides Angels Flight 3.0!

The Militant couldn't quite recall when was the last time he rode Angels Flight before the tragic February 1, 2001 accident, but he seems to think it may or may not have been towards the end of 2000 - nearly 10 years ago. And why would he remember? It was one of those things he took for granted.

After much anticipation, the Militant overheard via the Twittersphere that the Flight was open for riders today (the soft opening apparently began 10 a.m. on Saturday), so the Militant headed straight for Downtown for a ride. Sure enough, the twin orange-and-black cars, named Sinai (the one on the north-side track) and Olivet (the one on the south-side track), were moving. It was almost like it never left - the familiar rumble of the minute-long journey was there, and the dancing waters of California Plaza greeted him at the top.

The Militant does vividly remember being there on February 24, 1996 (Huell Howser and his trusted cameraman Luis Fuerte were there), patiently waiting in line. After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting heralding the release of Angels Flight 2.0, (re-)opened to the public after a 27-year absence from Angeleno reality, a nearly 3-decade limbo of historical lore, Leo Politi paintings and cynical uncertainty. But that limbo turned to heaven as Sinai and Olivet ascended and descended, as everyone assumed - for good.

The world has changed since 2/1/01. Most obvious was what happened seven months and ten days later some 3,000 miles away. But other things have changed. On Sunday afternoon, the Militant tweeted, "And YES, The Militant just rode on @AngelsFlight again!!!!!!!!!!!!" and suddenly realized that there was no Twitter back in 2001, much less 1996, even much less 1969 when Angels Flight 1.0 last ran (Speaking of which, there is an official Angels Flight Twitter account). In 2001, not as many people lived in Downtown Los Angeles. No Gold Line, No L.A. Live (but then again, virtually no hipsters...). And there was no Militant Angeleno blog. So here he is.

As he hung out near the top of the funicular, people-watching, he saw a couple teenagers watch the cars go up and down attentively -- they were too young to remember when they ran last. And he saw younger children ride on the 'Flight for the very first time -- they weren't even born the last time people were able to ride it (He also spotted Ed Fuentes, a.k.a. Mr. View From A Loft take a quick ride up and down, heheheh).

Angels Flight 3.0, which officially opens to the public on Monday (which will likely have long lines of residents, office workers and tourists clamoring to get their first ride in), is designed with several 'fail-safe' features that will hopefully keep the tragic death of 83-year old tourist (and Holocaust survivor) Leon Praport an anomaly. Features like a second cable (which Angels Flight 2.0 lacked, but Angels Flight 1.0 had) and track brakes designed to stop the vehicle in case of drive system failure are now implemented, so hopefully the third time's the charm, and no Angeleno from here on out will be deprived of an opportunity to ride it.

The Militant welcomes Sinai and Olivet back to Bunker Hill!

Angels Flight 3.0 operates from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Fare is 25 cents each way; payment is made at the top station.