Chatsworth Train Tunnels (Fallbrook: home, high school, live) - Los Angeles - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

Vic Rattlehead · 05-31-2011, 06:40 PM

Some of you homegrown Angelenos may remember the Train Tunnels in Chatsworth. You probably hiked there, and got your doob & drink on in the tunnels. Well, I'm one of those kids (that eventually got old) and I have many memories of going there. Unfortunately, they aren't particularly fond ones... I used to go up there with three of my "stoner possie", mainly to get blunted and do some hiking on the side. I'll keep my buds' names to myself, but if you read this, you should know who you are; and who I am. Here's the reason I don't have such good memories for the tunnels.

When we went up there, we didn't have flashlights, train schedules or even an idea of how long and narrow that 3rd tunnel was. (there are 3 total) Pretty stupid. After going in the second short tunnel and having to climb up on the side embankment to evade an Amtrak (which was freakier than I had planned on) we continued into the 3rd tunnel. This tunnel didn't have any embankments; just seemed like flat walls--as we didn't have any light. Keep in mind that we had no idea that there were any alcoves. So picture a train track with about 3 feet on either side. I figured that if a train did come we'd either be too deep inside to run out in time or we'd flatten up against the wall until the train sucked us underneath.

So after about 500-1000 yards in I started stepping on axle grease and it was so dark we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. I kept thinking I heard a horn or the wheels, so I told my buds "Let's get out of here before a train comes or we're screwed!" They didn't want to go (of course). They figured they could go through the tunnel before the next train came. Well--they were wrong. I finally was able to convince them to come with me, and we got the H out of there. Three minutes later a freight train comes screaming out of the tunnel.

Now I've actually been through that tunnel since then on Amtrak's Coast Starlight, and that train is moving at near 60mph. It took around 5 minutes to get through that tunnel. We NEVER would have made it.

Basically, my fear or instinct or whatever you wanna call it saved all of our lives. I just want to get that out in the open, because my friendship with those guys was sacrificed, mainly because I wouldn't go back to the tunnels. So they kept going up there and I stayed home and played RPGs!

So I guess the moral of this story is trust your gut. People may call you paranoid or whatever, but follow your heart. Trains really do kill people, and they kill stupid, unprepared people the most. Peace out Acid Rock!

Charles · 05-31-2011, 06:45 PM

I used to hike up around there too in the 1970s.

Where did you grow up? High school?

I grew up near Saticoy and Fallbrook

DowntownVentura · 05-31-2011, 07:14 PM

Ahh good times.

Tunnel 28 is the one under Topanga Canyon Blvd. If you accessed the tunnels from Chatsworth Park, the first one you come across is Tunnel 27. Also short but it did have these nice cutouts in the side. Everybody used to sit up there as the trains went by.

Tunnel 26 is the long one, I think it is about a mile long. Only the bravest would go in there. I never did.

Patrolman · 06-01-2011, 12:28 AM

Downtown, there is a BIG differnece between being brave and being stupid. You were being smart.

Vic Rattlehead · 06-01-2011, 10:14 PM

Hey there,
I grew up in NH in the 80s and went to Madison Jr High and Grant for only a year...had to drop out to pursue other things, lol.
You sound like you're around 10 years older than me...45?
RattleYourGoddamnHead

Vic Rattlehead · 06-01-2011, 10:16 PM

Hey there,
So it goes short tunnel, longer tunnel then longest tunnel? And yeah, we came up via the park, whatever that was called...Stoney Point? But we hiked up through some scrub to get to the tracks.
RattleYourGoddamnHead

Vic Rattlehead · 06-01-2011, 10:18 PM

Hi there,
I just saw too many grizzly photos of people that got run over by the train. So I didn't want to be scraped up off some track. That's pretty much it, lol.
RattleYourGoddamnHead

DowntownVentura · 06-01-2011, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vic Rattlehead

Hey there,
So it goes short tunnel, longer tunnel then longest tunnel? And yeah, we came up via the park, whatever that was called...Stoney Point? But we hiked up through some scrub to get to the tracks.
RattleYourGoddamnHead

If you came from Stoney Point, then the first tunnel you encountered was the one under Topanga, then another short one, then the mile long one. It is the middle one where everybody waited inside for trains.

I was talking about coming up from Chatsworth Park (west of Topanga) so the first one you came to was the one everybody waited in, the middle one.

It is, going west, short tunnel (under Topanga), slightly longer tunnel, then very long tunnel.

The walk from the Topanga tunnel and the middle tunnel was a bit of a hoof. The third (long) tunnel was pretty close to the middle tunnel

btw, on the north side of that second tunnel was very close to Spahn Ranch, the home of the Manson Family.

Patrolman · 06-02-2011, 12:48 AM

And, just above the first tunnel off of Santa Susanna Road, is the Lone Ranger rock.

Winston Smith · 06-02-2011, 01:00 AM

Spent a fair amount of time hiking in that area in my late teens and 20s also. I've been through the shorter tunnels on foot many times. I remember one time -- and one time only -- entering with a couple of friends the long tunnel (the one DowntownVentura referred to as no. 26). We got about 100 feet in and it was pitch dark, black, black, black. We, as well, noticed the lack of cubbies to hop into should a train come through. We turned around, left the tunnel and I have never entered that one again.