The world's shortest railroad is making its teeny-tiny runs again
All aboard! OK now everybody off!
That's about how it goes with the Angels Flight -- the world's shortest incorporated railroad -- a downtown Los Angeles landmark that reopened on Thursday, four years after it shut down following a derailment.
Built in 1901, the funky little funicular was originally meant to shuttle privileged Bunker Hill residents from their Victorian mansions down to the city's historic core, sparing them 200+ steps when they went shopping.
It instantly became a tourist stop, an identity amplified by its brief appearance in La La Land -- something Angelinos chuckled at, since it wasn't yet running at the time of filming -- and, finally, its grand reopening hosted by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The Angels Flight's two cars run in opposite directions along the inclined railway for nearly 300 feet, a trip that takes just a couple of short minutes. Part of the appeal is its bumpy ride, and the illusion that the cars are about to collide -- before they safely swerve and pass without incident.
Well, most of the time.
Angels Flight has its own bumpy history, including a move down the block in 1969 that took nearly 30 years (it re-opened in '96), a fatal accident that shut it down in 2001 for nearly a decade, and that minor derailment in 2013 that revealed major safety issues.
Now that they've been addressed, this little engine that (mostly) could is running on the littlest track that could. The ride originally cost a nickel, but these days will set you back a buck -- or $0.50 for Metro Card holders, since it is considered a part of the city's public transportation system, after all.
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
