Cities of the Underworld - LAs Lost Subway System

[nickdahammer]

Originally Posted by edwardius

It seems to me that building stuff underground in LA is a bad idea. First the weather in LA is pretty nice, unlike back east. Second, there are earthquakes and large pockets of natural gas (think La Brea tar pits).

I think LA is approaching the limits of how dense a city can get and still be dependent on rail, so I suspect that adding rail to LA isn't a bad idea, but I would much rather see it elevated like in Chicago rather than underground like NYC.

I don't see the benefits in LA of building underground.

I recall Ray Bradbury saying that he couldn't understand why a City like Los Angeles, with its great climate and tourist attractions should be saddled with an underground system. I tend to agree, though I supported Mayor Bradley when he pushed the Red Line, an above-ground line would be a pretty cool way to see the City.

Actually, you are probably safer underground in an earthquake than above. I was in the Transbay Tube in San Francisco when a mild tremor hit. I had no idea until I read about it in the paper the next day! Never felt a thing.

I think the only advantage LA has with its subways is their size- they are nowhere near as claustrophobic as NYC, Boston or London. The platforms here are huge, and the stations much easier to get in and out of, in my opinion.

[edwardius]

I have faith that engineers can probably address a lot of the issues regarding building underground and earthquakes, but I suspect that it also probably adds to the costs. But that earthquakes aren't the only geological hazard in the region, pockets of naturally occcuring natural gas are also a concern. To me this is the reason to build above grade rail, like the El in Chicago or parts of Bart in the East Bay. Snow isn't an issue in LA, generally the weather is really temperate. Why not take advantage of that and avoid the expenses of building underground?

[fatmancomics]

Originally Posted by Charles

You're right, this is fascinating.

PACIFIC ELECTRIC SUBWAY - Home (http://www.westworld.com/%7Eelson/larail/PE/tunnel.html - broken link)


Lots of pictures here:

PACIFIC ELECTRIC SUBWAY - Tunnel Tour (http://www.westworld.com/%7Eelson/larail/PE/tour.html - broken link)

That's now a luxury apartment complex called Belmont Station. From the pictures it looks like they kept the tunnel and even put one of the old street cars in it as a monument. Maybe the wife and I will go apartment hunting and take a tour of the place. Looks kind of neat.

[liv4son]

bunch of effin idots this has nothing to do with internet. the goal here was to hide a cleaner accurate way to publicly & locally have transpertation. forcing citizens to buy cars and pay 4 gas L.A. SUBS WERE PURCHASED BY THE 4 OIL INDUSTRIES then hiden from public knowladge cuz god forbid they end up with another new york, which would make them less profitable. thats it in a nutshell any1 belives any otherwise is just plain dum

[infinitekid]

the only thing that will save LA's transportation system is a star trek Teleporter...too many people streaming in and not enough money to create proper infrastrucure

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by liv4son

bunch of effin idots this has nothing to do with internet. the goal here was to hide a cleaner accurate way to publicly & locally have transpertation. forcing citizens to buy cars and pay 4 gas L.A. SUBS WERE PURCHASED BY THE 4 OIL INDUSTRIES then hiden from public knowladge cuz god forbid they end up with another new york, which would make them less profitable. thats it in a nutshell any1 belives any otherwise is just plain dum

Dafuq???

[Those Who Squirm]

Originally Posted by STLCardsBlues1989

They're talking about Los Angeles lost Subway system. It's really fascinating. If you catch the show on make sure to watch it or DVR it. They showed that only a very small part of the Subway is still there, and a new one is being built. The show comes on History Channel. It is called "Cities of the Underworld" and the episode called "Land of Manson".

I'm sure you guys are familiar with LA's lost Subway system, but if not check it out. I'm sure there's info available online, as well as this show.

It's a bit overblown to say we had a subway system, as if it were like the London Underground or the New York Subway. It never was; there was just this one large tunnel into which several of the downtown lines were routed in order to escape the surface street congestion. Except for the Subway Terminal Building itself, I don't think there were any other "stations" along the tunnel because it wasn't long enough.

It is true that the Red Cars went all over the county back in the day, but a lot of the system ran at grade, and run times actually increased over the years as more and more autos appeared on the roads. Even where the Red Cars did run in their own private ROWs, they weren't terribly fast. On YouTube you can see a film of one of the last runs of the Long Beach line, which mostly did have its own ROW; overall its speed seems to be about half that of today's Blue Line. It's a cool train, though, looking more like an intercity passenger coach than an urban transport railcar.

[matzoman]

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

I read there had been an extensive rail system plan put together for the Los Angeles area in the 1920s. Once the depression hit the plans were shelved. However, when the recovery began in the 1940s the plan got new life. But thanks to the power of the automobilbe lobby and real estate development interest the plan was killed again.

I do not know all of the details. If anyone knows more about it please post.

Real talk. they wanted people in LA to keep spending on gas to get to the suburbs and a new car every few years.