Queen takes scheduled train to Sandringham

FROM: Daily Express

DATE: 18/12/2010

AUTHOR: Richard Palmer

WRAPPED up against the cold in a patterned red headscarf and overcoat, the Queen took a scheduled train to King's Lynn today to begin her Christmas break at Sandringham.

She and Prince Philip travelled on the 10.45 service from London King's Cross, sitting in a cordoned-off First Class compartment on £86 return tickets for the hour and 35-minute journey.

As Philip, 89, stretched out on one side, reading a newspaper, the Queen, 84, sat sharing a joke with a detective across the aisle, as other passengers joined the train at the London station.

To all intents and purposes, they looked like any other ordinary, slightly well-to-do couple travelling on the service.

But their arrival at King's Cross in a green Daimler with a police back-up Range Rover behind them 15 minutes before their scheduled departure caused mayhem for other passengers.

Police blocked access to three platforms at the busy station, meaning a couple of dozen angry passengers missed their trains while others were told they were too late to get onto the King's Lynn service, only for that decision to be rescinded a few moments later after some had left the station.

Businessman Mark Saywell was among those prevented from getting onto the platforms and missed the 10.36 to his hometown station, St Neots, Cambridgeshire. "I am a little bit disappointed, to say the least," he said sarcastically. "I had my Christmas party last night and I just want to get to bed. I've got another hour's wait now."

The journey marks the start of a seven-and-a-half week stay at Sandringham for the Queen, who always remains there until just after February 6, the day in 1952 that her father died and she acceded to the throne.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to see her at the 20,000 acre estate this weekend. But the couple will not be there on Christmas Day, as William will be on duty at RAF Valley on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales, where he works as a search and rescue helicopter pilot.

In the coming days, most other senior members of the Royal Family will gather at Sandringham for the festive season.

Fitzhugh turns down Jets to keep job as conductor

FROM: The Associated Press

DATE: 08/12/2010

AUTHOR: Dennis Waszak Jr.

NEW YORK (AP) — Keith Fitzhugh chose operating trains over a shot at a Super Bowl.

The free-agent safety turned down an offer to join the New York Jets to remain a conductor with Norfolk Southern Railroad and stay on track financially while helping support his parents in Atlanta.

"I've got something now where I know every two weeks I'm getting a paycheck," Fitzhugh told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "That's what helps out the most right now. I don't knock the Jets at all. I highly appreciate them."

Jets coach Rex Ryan said the team was looking to sign a safety after Jim Leonhard was lost for the season last week with a broken shin and James Ihedigbo suffered a leg injury in New York's 45-3 loss to New England on Monday night. New York has only two safeties — Eric Smith and Brodney Pool — listed on its roster.

The 24-year-old Fitzhugh, who had stints in camp with the Jets the past two years, was contacted by the team but declined New York's offer to return.

"You don't hear this too often and some people might think it's not a good idea," Fitzhugh said. "Some people might think it is. I don't know. I just have to look out for what's best for me and my family."

Fitzhugh's decision was first reported by The Star-Ledger of Newark.

"To sacrifice what he did for his family is the most unselfish thing I've heard by a player in sports," said Daniel Rose, Fitzhugh's agent. "It's really impressive."

Fitzhugh's father, Keith Sr., is disabled and unable to work, while his mother, Meltonia, has been struggling to make ends meet.

"I know the Jets have a great opportunity of making the Super Bowl, and that's one dream that every child has is to play sports and make it to the Super Bowl or get to the World Series," Fitzhugh said. "But, there's a time when you have to think, 'Hey, you've only got one Mom and Dad.' They won't be here forever, and while they're here, you've got to cherish that time."

Fitzhugh went undrafted after an outstanding career at Mississippi State and signed last year with the Jets as a free agent. He was later cut and signed to the practice squad before Baltimore signed him last December. He re-signed with the Jets in the offseason.

"I was released three times. That's a lot," he said. "I just don't want to give up what I have now and say that I'm there for a couple of weeks and then I'm released again. Then, what am I going to do? It's really tough. It's the nature of the business."

Fitzhugh, who keeps in touch with a few former Jets teammates, has been working for Norfolk Southern Railroad for three months.

"I don't want to let them down or run from them because I got a shot for a couple of weeks," he said. "I just feel that that's not right at the moment. I'm looking more long-term in life right now than the short-term."

Fitzhugh said he has been blessed to work with his two childhood passions: football and trains. He also keeps close watch on his former team, to see if he still recognizes the defensive schemes Ryan is running.

"It's tough because I would love to say, 'Hey, I'm going to go out there and get it again,' but it's about a risk," he said. "Is it the end of my NFL career forever? I don't know. This is what I need to do right now."

70,000 commuters delayed by quarrel over cell phone on train in Chiba

TESTATA: Japan Today

DATA: 08/12/2010

AUTORE: n/a

ICHIKAWA - An argument on a Sobu line local train caused turmoil for tens of thousands of passengers in Chiba Prefecture on Tuesday morning. The incident involved two men arguing over the use of cell phones and caused the train to be delayed, which in turn affected dozens of other services running in both directions.

According to Ichikawa police, the incident started at around 6:40 a.m. Two office workers were sitting in the priority seats, speaking on their cell phones when another man sitting opposite them scolded them for their bad manners. He told them to get off at the next station and finish their call there, witnesses said.

One of the pair reportedly took exception to the suggestion and a dispute broke out. When the train pulled in to Ichikawa station, another passenger disembarked and sounded the emergency alarm situated on the platform.

The two men continued to argue on the platform. The man who had been admonished for using his cell phone called the police and accused the other man of assault, alleging that the latter had seized him by the wrist. The pair were taken to the police station and underwent questioning after which they apparently reconciled.

According to JR East, the quarrel caused delays to 47 services on the Sobu line, the maximum delay being 19 minutes which affected 28 services. JR East estimates that some 70,000 commuters were affected.

A Subway Trip Back in Time

FROM: The New York Times

DATE: 06/12/2010

AUTHOR: Emily S. Rueb

Passengers waiting on the downtown F train platform at the Broadway-Lafayette station on Sunday were stunned when the train approached. Instead of the silver bullet that they expected, an ancient-looking, olive-drab metal box lumbered into the station. When it ground to a halt and the doors opened, men dressed in orange reflective vests hopped out to announce that this was the F train, making all local stops.

The cars on the train — model R1 through R9, for you rail fanatics out there — date back to the 1930s.

In what is now an annual holiday treat from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, they are hauled out of storage at the Transit Museum and at rail yards around the city and given a little bit of exercise on Sundays from Thanksgiving to Christmas to keep them in working order.

“It’s like an automobile,” said Greg Gil, a retired engineer who was one of several volunteers answering confused and curious passengers’ questions. “You have to keep running it.” The R1 through R9 trains ran on the Independent Line and last saw regular service in 1977, the transportation authority said.

As the eight-car train sat at the Second Avenue stop before turning around for the journey to Queens Plaza, passengers walked through the cars, holding onto the triangular grips and pointing out the period advertisements, which included a poster for S&W coffee and a did-you-know backgrounder on the Port of New York Authority, then in its relative infancy.

One woman, like many others, chose to linger on the rattan benches. “I could have transferred to another train, but I chose to stay on this one instead,” she said to Mr. Gil.

But not everyone on the platform was surprised to see the vintage train. One man, dressed in a black jacket and porkpie hat, a matching maroon bow tie and trousers, sat still on a red vinyl bench as his companion crouched uncomfortably on the floor across the way, trying to get the perfect shot.

Constantino Diaz-Duran, a freelance writer, knew that the trains would provide the perfect backdrop for a leisurely photo shoot, so he dressed up for the occasion. His companion, Chris Kilmer, who works at ABC News, was trying to get a handle on a pricey new digital SLR camera.

“We have to come up with reasons to justify its expense,” he said. (Mr. Diaz-Duran has graciously shared his photo set with us on his Facebook page).

If you want to catch one of the trains next Sunday, the M.T.A. has posted the departure schedule. The train will make all local stops.

Two monkeys appointed station masters at Japanese train station

TESTATA: Telegraph

DATA: 18/10/2010

AUTORE: Danielle Demetriou

Two monkeys have been appointed to the unlikely position of station masters of a Japanese railway station.

Nehime and Rakan, two baby monkeys, have started "working" at Hojo-cho station in Hyoto prefecture in a bid to attract more visitors to the line.

The monkeys, aged seven months and three months, were dressed in blue uniforms made from traditional local fabrics complete with mini hats before being formally appointed station masters and "special city residents" by the local mayor.

The pair will now go on duty at the station located on the Hojo-cho line, which currently operates Japan's first biodiesel fuel train.

The monkeys belong to a local resident who proposed the unusual arrangement in order to help revive the fortunes of the financially troubled railway line, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

It is not the first time in Japan that animals have found themselves at the helm of a railway station: Tama, the tortoiseshell cat, is famous in Japan as a longstanding station master of Kishi station in Wakayama prefecture.

Following Tama's appointment four years ago, passenger figures increased by as much as 17 per cent, while the publicity surrounding the unusual feline contributed an estimated £8.5 million (1.1 billion yen) to the local economy in 2007 alone, according to a study.

Un treno da far west per vedere la PugliaCon l'i-pod e la carne nel cartoccio

TESTATA: Corriere del Mezzogiorno

DATA: 09/09/2010

AUTORE: Paola Moscardino

Donato Carrisi descrive i paesaggi incantati del Sud

TARANTO - La sua geografia del cuore ha tinte forti. Itinerari poco tradizionali di preferenza percorsi al tramonto e luoghi che emanano suggestioni, anche per i viaggiatori poco accorti. Donato Carrisi, 36 anni, premio Bancarella 2009 con Il suggeritore, record di copie vendute e traduzioni in tutto il mondo, la stella nera del thriller italiano vive a Roma ma è originario di Martina Franca (Taranto), cuore della Valle d’Itria e straordinaria fonte (per lui) d’ispirazione.

IL BOSCO DELLE PIANELLE E DEI BRIGANTI Ambientazione perfetta per un giallo, conserva intatto il fascino di una terra misteriosa ed impervia. «La nostra è stata terra di briganti— dice Donato Carrisi— e il Bosco delle Pianelle sembra stare lì, quasi a ricordarcelo. Io ci passeggio per ore, lo trovo di grande ispirazione, è sempre stato così, sin da bambino. Lo consiglio al tramonto: trovandosi in una zona collinare, gli alberi e le gravine creano un gioco di luci spettacolare».

LA SOSTA GOLOSA PER LA CARNE (NEL CARTOCCIO) - Definirla macelleria è un diminutivo. Rosticceria neanche a parlarne. Questo è il posto dove si può mangiare la carne più buona di tutta Martina Franca. È una tappa obbligatoria per chi visita la città, oltre che centralissima (è poco lontano dal Palazzo Ducale). «Preparano la carne al fornello già alle cinque del pomeriggio», racconta Carrisi. «Te la danno avvolta in un cartoccio caldo, dal profumo irresistibile. Non si può portarla via, bisogna consumarla al momento, lì davanti, seduti sui gradini. È una specie di fast food ante litteram. Io lo proporrei come patrimonio dell'Unesco»

L'ABBAZIA COME STONE ISLAND - Da taranto verso Gioia del Colle e poi da lì verso Noci, ecco l'abbazia della Madonna di Scala. «Non è semplicemente un luogo di religione, è un posto che ha un fortissimo alone mistico», dice Carrisi. «Anche solo soffermarsi sul piazzale produce uno strano effetto. Ho conosciuto l'Abbazia grazie ad una persona a me molto cara che mi ha portato la prima volta. Non immaginavo che un luogo così potesse fare un simile effetto anche su di me. È come quei posti in cui si concentra una carica energetica incredibile. Io la paragonerei a Stone Island»

QUEL TRENO PER LE MURGE (CON L'iPOD NELLE ORECCHIE) - «Consiglio di prendere il treno che attraversa gran parte delle Murge: è il modo migliore per godere di certi paesaggi, per conoscere un certo tipo di Puglia. È quasi una ferrovia del far west.ò Trovo bellissimo salire, trovare posto, mettere le cuffie dell'i-pod con della buona musica e godersi il viaggio».

Réplica de vagón de tren de Puente Alto se convierte en librería

TESTATA: La Tercera

DATA: 30/08/2010

AUTORE: Jorge Letelier

El trabajo patrimonial se instalará el sábado 4 de septiembre y ha sido desarrollado por quienes recuperaron el Teatro Palermo, el único de la comuna.

Fue construida simultáneamente a la Estación Mapocho, y recibía a los pasajeros que llegaban en tren desde Argentina. La Estación Pirque, punto de llegada del Ferrocarril del Llano de Maipo, ubicada a un costado de Plaza Italia, en el Parque Bustamante, fue una postal que iluminó las primeras décadas del siglo XX gracias a su belleza y elegancia. Diseñada por Emilio Jequier, discípulo de Gustave Eiffel, la estación marcaba el fin del viaje de la línea que conectaba a Puente Alto con el centro de Santiago, siendo por décadas el principal medio de transporte de la zona sur-oriente de la capital.

De estilo renacentista francés e iluminada por 15 candelabros que irradiaban luz hacia el Parque Bustamante, la Estación Pirque fue cerrada en 1943 y posteriormente demolida. Pese a ser una gran pérdida arquitectónica de Santiago, la estación estaba ligada principalmente a el FFCC del Llano del Maipo, uno de los íconos más significativos de Puente Alto.

"El ferrocarril está dentro de lo poco y nada patrimonial que tenemos en Puente Alto", dice Carlos Flores, presidente del Sindicato N° 1 de Papeles Cordillera. Por ello, desde hace un año intentan recuperar el imaginario del ferrocarril. Asociados con la Universidad de las Américas, con quienes ya recuperaron el Teatro Palermo, ahora se abocaron a construir una réplica de vagón de tamaño real, tal como eran los viejos carros del FFCC del Llano del Maipo.

"Hay un fuerte pasado ferrocarrilero al que queremos vincularnos", dice Horacio Valdeavellano, director de la Escuela de Arte de la U. de las Américas, quienes generan obras y conciertos para el Teatro Palermo. Cuando revisaba con el sindicato las viejas fotografías del teatro se encontró con que en todas ellas aparecían trenes. Preguntó por ellos: "Eso se perdió", le respondieron.

El vagón

El éxito del Teatro Palermo les dio la pauta de que había hambre cultural en la comuna. Y pusieron manos a la obra. Sobre la base de fotografías antiguas construyeron el vagón, con las mismas dimensiones de los carros originales del viejo ferrocarril: seis metros de largo por 2,20 de alto.

La construcción ya finalizó y el sábado 4 de septiembre el carro será instalado a un costado de la Gobernación de Cordillera, en Puente Alto. La ubicación no es casual: ahí funcionaba la antigua Estación de Puente Alto que conectaba al FFCC del Llano del Maipo con el Tren Militar a El Volcán. "Será la puerta de entrada al turismo de la comuna", cuenta Flores.

Ese día el vagón será llevado por bueyes, en lo que han denominado una "mingaco", y se convertirá en librería y centro de información turística. Para ello lograron un acuerdo con Editorial Universitaria, que entregará textos de historia y literatura universal. Además, gracias a un proyecto de los estudiantes de arquitectura de la UDLA, se construirá el llamado "pasaje ferrocarrilero" y una plaza de la cultura a un costado del Teatro Palermo.

"Cuesta entender que un sindicato de obreros esté en convenio con una universidad", precisa Flores. "Pero los resultados han demostrado que hacer estos aportes a la comunidad son bien recibidos", agrega.

Entusiasmados, ya trazan los siguientes pasos de esta recuperación ferrocarrilera: se unirán al proyecto Ave Fénix, que planea revivir el tren a El Volcán en una red turística, y construirán dos réplicas más de los carros de tren, una en La Florida y otro en el Parque Bustamante. Será el final de un recorrido que en vez de rieles tendrá literatura y recuerdos.

Un elogio de la socialdemocracia

TESTATA: El País
DATA: 03/04/2010
AUTORE: Antonio Muñoz Molina

Tony Judt probablemente no volverá a tomar nunca un tren pero escribe apasionadamente sobre ellos. Para ser exactos, no escribe, dicta. Tony Judt, que ha escrito algunos de los mejores libros de historia y de pensamiento político de los últimos años, padece la enfermedad de Lou Gehring, que va degradando poco a poco su sistema nervioso, y aunque todavía puede hablar y mantiene intactas sus facultades intelectuales sólo mueve débilmente los dedos de una mano. Dentro de poco también habrá perdido esa capacidad. En una confesión que apareció primero en la New York Review of Books y tradujo este periódico Tony Judt cuenta el proceso gradual de su enfermedad y la sensación de haberse convertido en una conciencia lúcida e insomne aprisionada en un cuerpo inerte. Pero en lugar de rendirse a la fatalidad se ha vuelto más ansioso de aprovechar el tiempo que le queda. Continúa dictando episodios fragmentarios de unas memorias que tienen un tono de impudor confesional matizado por la ironía, y acaba de publicar un libro que es un valeroso manifiesto: una declaración de principios progresistas, una vindicación de la legitimidad de lo público y de lo universal como valores de la izquierda en una época en la que sólo lo privado y lo particular parece respetable, o peor aún, eficiente y moderno. Tony Judt defiende lo que hasta hace nada se había vuelto indefendible: los espacios públicos, los servicios públicos, las causas comunes, todo lo que los expertos en economía de la derecha y los expertos en identidades irreductibles de la presunta izquierda llevan proscribiendo más de treinta años.

A Tony Judt, que no volverá a disfrutar de ellos, los trenes le parecen el símbolo más hermoso de lo que sólo puede existir gracias al esfuerzo de todos y está al servicio de cada uno; la clase de servicio que sólo puede ofrecer el Estado, y que cuando se privatiza cae en la ruina y en la ineficacia; lo que se ha mantenido prometedor y moderno durante casi dos siglos, gracias a la acumulación de esfuerzo y experiencia de generaciones sucesivas. Quién no ha disfrutado y disfruta todavía el romanticismo urgente de las grandes estaciones de ferrocarril, las que albergaron las locomotoras de vapor que incitaban la imaginación visual de Turner y Monet y ahora acogen los trenes de alta velocidad. Quién, en Europa, en América del Norte, no ha visto mejorada su vida gracias a ese otro empeño colectivo que sólo una armadura pública puede sostener, el Estado de Bienestar.

El libro se titula Ill Fares the Land y tiene poco más de doscientas páginas. Es el arrebato de un hombre al que no le queda mucho tiempo. Tony Judt, historiador de la Europa que surgió de las ruinas de 1945 y duró dividida hasta 1989, examina el panorama del mundo después de casi treinta años de desprestigio de lo público y obscena rendición a los poderes del dinero. Desde los tiempos del New Deal en Estados Unidos y de la llegada al Gobierno de las socialdemocracias europeas, y en especial después de 1945, las más graves diferencias sociales habían empezado a mitigarse, y el control del Estado hizo imposible que se repitiera una catástrofe como la de 1929. Si uno deja a un lado los vapores de las ideologías, se impone una constatación práctica: "En muchos aspectos, el consenso socialdemócrata significa el progreso más grande que se ha visto hasta ahora en la Historia. Nunca antes tuvo tanta gente tantas oportunidades en la vida".

Todos, sin excepción, en Europa y en Estados Unidos, somos beneficiarios en algún grado de la revolución socialdemócrata, que supo favorecer la igualdad y la justicia fortaleciendo y no sólo conservando las libertades individuales: cuando vamos al médico, cuando asistimos a la escuela o mandamos a nuestros hijos a la universidad, cuando tomamos el tren o el metro, incluso cuando conducimos nuestro coche privado por una autopista que no habría podido construirse sin enormes inversiones públicas. Y sin embargo, desde los tiempos de Margaret Thatcher y Ronald Reagan, el descrédito de lo público se ha extendido como una gangrena, en la derecha y también en la izquierda, que cuando llega al poder muchas veces adopta un lenguaje entre tecnocrático y cínico. Lo público es ineficiente. Cualquier servicio lo puede prestar mucho mejor una empresa privada, que se rige por la racionalidad del beneficio y no por la rutina o la corrupción de la burocracia. Hay una manera de que las profecías se cumplan: a los servicios públicos se les quitan los medios y se descuida su gestión y así se demuestra que no funcionan y que necesitan ser privatizados. Y para atraer inversores se les tienta con subsidios, con precios tan bajos que son un saqueo de lo que pertenece a todos, y que contribuyen directamente al beneficio de los accionistas. Tony Judt, británico de origen, cuenta con ira el expolio de los ferrocarriles de su país, vendidos de saldo a compañías que los han hecho mucho peores y además los han arruinado, de modo que el Estado ha tenido que intervenir para rescatarlos.

Los expertos en economía aseguraban que una vez desmontados los controles públicos sobre el mercado, la riqueza se multiplicaría ilimitadamente en beneficio de todos. Cuanto más ricos fueran los ricos y más de ellos hubiera la catarata de su prosperidad contribuiría al bienestar de los pobres mucho más eficazmente que las toscas políticas sociales de los gobiernos. Tony Judt aporta algunos datos: en 1968, el director ejecutivo de General Motors ganaba sesenta y seis veces más que la media de sus empleados. En 2005 la diferencia de ingresos entre un empleado medio de WalMart y su máximo directivo estaba en una escala de uno a novecientos. Y la familia propietaria de WalMart posee una fortuna estimada en 90.000 millones de dólares, que equivale a los ingresos conjuntos del 40% más pobre de la población americana: 120 millones de personas.

Mientras esto sucedía, la izquierda ha estado entretenida en otras cosas, sobre todo en defender causas singulares que en muchos casos eran justas, pero que descuidaban lo más valioso del patrimonio del pasado, el impulso de un proyecto universal de justicia. Las diferencias identitarias se volvieron más importantes que las diferencias de clase. El narcisismo individualista de los años sesenta se alió fácilmente con los halagos comerciales para imposibilitar cualquier empeño de rebeldía política colectiva. En nombre de diversidades reales o inventadas, justas o caprichosas, la izquierda se ha condenado a sí misma a la parálisis justo en una época en la que hace más falta que nunca restablecer la fortaleza de lo público, que es la única defensa de la inmensa mayoría contra los abusos de los saqueadores y de los corruptos. Los que llevaban treinta años denostando al Estado han tenido que recurrir a él para que los salve de la ruina que ellos mismos provocaron con su codicia. Deberíamos estar mucho más furiosos, dice valerosamente Tony Judt desde su cama de inválido; y deberíamos reunir de una vez nuestras causas diversas en una gramática común de la emancipación.

Argentino se convierte en héroe al evitar choque de tren con auto

TESTATA: Nacion

DATA: 11/02/2010

AUTORE: n/a

Buenos Aires (EFE). Un joven argentino se convirtió hoy en una suerte de héroe nacional tras arriesgar su vida para desplazar con sus propias manos una furgoneta que estaba a punto de ser arrollada por un tren en un cruce ferroviario en las afueras de Buenos Aires.

La divulgación de las imágenes grabadas por una cámara de seguridad han captado rápidamente la atención de los principales medios argentinos, que no han dudado en bautizar a este joven -cuya identidad aún se desconoce- como el “héroe de Tigre ”, el municipio de la provincia de Buenos Aires donde se registró el incidente.

En la tarde de ayer, el joven viajaba como acompañante en una motocicleta que esperaba tras una furgoneta para superar un cruce urbano de vías férreas.

La furgoneta violó las normas de tráfico y saltó la barrera de protección que avisaba de la proximidad del tren pero se quedó atrapada en medio de las vías.

Tras percatarse de la inminencia del accidente, el “héroe de Tigre” no dudó en bajarse de la motocicleta, y en cuestión de segundos, empujar con sus propias manos el vehículo más allá de las vías y dar rápidamente un paso hacía atrás esquivando la embestida del tren por apenas unos segundos.

Pese a que había disminuido su velocidad, el convoy ferroviario estuvo a punto de arrollar al joven y habría chocado contra la furgoneta con toda seguridad de no ser por la rápida actuación del joven.

Tiny LA railway back on track years after crash

TESTATA: Associated Press

DATA: 15/03/2010

AUTORE: Daisy Nguyen

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The city's beloved Angels Flight began carrying passengers up and down a steep downtown hill again Monday, nine years after a fatal accident forced an extensive overhaul of the tiny railway's operating and safety systems.

Fans of "The Shortest Railway in the World" waited eagerly to board the first ride at 6:45 a.m., recalling childhood memories of riding the orange-and-black wooden cars—named Olivet and Sinai—which looked the same as when they were first put into service in 1901.

Angels Flight is a funicular, meaning its two passenger cars are attached by a cable and move in tandem, one going up the inclined tracks as the other goes down.

"It's as fun a ride as the first ride I took 60 years ago," said William Daniel, 66, of Santa Ana. "Before Disneyland opened, this was the thrill ride of Southern California for me."

He said the ride was slightly bumpy, just as he remembered it from decades ago.

Officials from the nonprofit organization that operates Angels Flight joked that they purposely kept the ride bumpy to preserve that old-time feel. However, underneath the meticulously restored wooden cars and 298 feet of track is a state-of-the art braking and collision avoidance system.

The railway climbs a 33-percent incline and both cars share a common middle rail, except in the middle of the route where they pass as one ascends and the other descends.

Service halted in February 2001 after one car rolled uncontrolled downhill and hit the other car, killing Leon Praport, 83, of New Jersey and injuring seven other passengers.

The investigation faulted the modern operating mechanism that had replaced the original. It found that a gear failed and caused a cable that raised and lowered the car to come off its spool. In addition, an emergency brake on that mechanism wasn't working and there were no emergency brakes on the cars.

Federal investigators also concluded there was poor oversight of the railway.

The Angels Flight Railway Foundation, whose members include historic preservationists and downtown boosters, spent years raising about $3.5 million to repair and upgrade the railway.

The redesigned mechanism is much like the original, with both cars counterbalancing each other at opposite ends of the same cable. Each car now has a second safety cable, and there are four types of brake systems and collision avoidance technology similar to positive train control. The system relies on sensors on the track to determine the cars' location and when they are allowed to safely move.

Other updates include entrance gates that automatically open and close.

"It's highly sophisticated technology on the inside, but we try to keep it funky and old fashion-looking on the outside," said John Welborne, president of the foundation.

The railway opened in 1901 to connect residents of Bunker Hill, which at the time was topped with Victorian mansions, to the shopping district at the bottom. Riders paid a penny then for the one-minute ride.

The city razed the neighborhood in the 1960s after it became a slum, and Angels Flight was dismantled in 1969 to make way for skyscrapers, hotels and apartment buildings. The railway sat in a warehouse for years before it was reassembled in 1996 a short distance from its original location.

It was a popular tourist attraction, and was often used by workers to avoid a 153-step staircase.

The fare is now a quarter, and the cars will operate seven days a week from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Local courthouse worker Frank Campagna said he used to take the funicular for relaxing lunches at a water fountain atop the hill. He held a quarter in his hand and joked that he saved it for nine years to ride Angels Flight again.

"This is one of the few things that survived from old L.A.," Campagna said. "It's fantastic. It's an oasis in the middle of the city."

L'educazione sentimentale dell'andar per treni

TESTATA: Il Sole 24 Ore
DATA: 05/03/2010
AUTORE: Luigi Paini

Andava in treno da Lodi a Savona per incontrare... la bella Gigogin? No, l'innamorato di cui stiamo per parlare sarebbe anche disposto a una bella scarpinata, proprio come il protagonista della celebre canzone. Ma non per andare dalla sua bella: è il treno la sua passione, il treno declinato in tutte le possibili forme.

Innanzi tutto, ovviamente, quello classico: elettrico o diesel o, meglio ancora, a vapore, magari con attaccati bei vagoncini d'epoca appena tirati a lustro da qualche gruppo di appassionati. Ma l'innamorato delle rotaie è un onnivoro, che non lascia niente. Gli piace camminare fra i binari dismessi, fare acrobazie in mountain bike sui vecchi tracciati delle ferrovie di una volta, indovinare tra un rovo e una ginestra i resti di quello che, un tempo lontano, era il percorso di qualche dimenticato trenino.

È un tipo strano, l'appassionato di treni. Nella vita "normale" non si distingue per nulla dagli altri umani: lavora, studia, si diverte e si annoia, proprio come tutti. Ma poi arrivano le occasioni di "migrare", come quelle offerte dalla "Giornata nazionale delle Ferrovie dimenticate", la cui terza edizione si svolge domenica 7 marzo. Da tutte le parti d'Italia (ma anche dall'estero: la specie "nidifica" soprattutto in Svizzera, Germania e Austria, paesi dalla lunga e appassionante storia ferroviaria) si precipita verso queste aree di sosta aperte una sola volta all'anno.

Volete mettere il fascino di un'escursione ai Ponti del Metauro, sulla tratta Fano-Fermignano-Urbino? Oppure un viaggio sul "Treno del tartufo marzuolo", che percorre la fantastica linea Siena-Asciano-Monte Antico, da anni rimessa in funzione da un gruppo di appassionati che meriterebbero il Nobel... della perseveranza?

Dalle Alpi alle Isole, le possibilità sono davvero molte. Di divertirsi, a piedi in bici in treno, ma anche di riflettere. Perché lo scopo di una manifestazione come questa - organizzata da Co.Mo.Do., confederazione di Associazioni che si occupano di mobilità alternativa - è anche quello di creare una diversa mentalità, meno schiava dell'automobile. E, soprattutto, di far toccare con mano le mille possibilità di recupero di piccole infrastrutture utilissime allo sviluppo di un modo diverso di fare turismo.

Per finire, un consiglio personale, da appassionato ad appassionati: della ferrovia toscana, davvero unica, si è già detto; chi può, non manchi, stavolta o in futuro, le fenomenali, selvagge, incantevoli ferrovie secondarie della Sardegna; o ancora, il simpatico Treno Blu, che da anni fa la spola tra Palazzolo e Paratico-Sarnico, sul Lago d'Iseo; e infine i trenini della Sila, per un vero salto indietro nel tempo.

Senza dimenticare - ma questo si può fare ogni giorno perché si tratta di una linea tuttora (fino a quando?) servita dalle Fs - la Sulmona-Roccaraso-Carpinone: sbuffanti automotrici diesel, paesaggi favolosi (la Maiella sullo sfondo), boschi e praterie. È il treno, bellezza!