Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Trains in Downtown Orange

Anonymous reflects about the trains that ran near the Orange Circle, and says that there used to be a train car that when around the Circle...

I remember as a child growing up in orange. My aunt lived on cypress st where the original cypress barrio was. Anyhow i recall the old freight train parking lot that was behind the "Omega" burger joint which is still there. I recall watching the night man with his lantern guiding the train back so to leave the cars in the lot. there were about six different sets of tracks. all used to park train cars. i also remember that one set of tracks continued toward the circle all the way up to and a little past plaza muffler. My mother told me that there use to be a train car that went around the circle and on to santa ana. i can not find any pics of what i remember as a child but i have my memories.

4 comments:

  1. Go in to google images and do a search on that subject if go Orange County archives they might have them.

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  2. That was the old Pacific Electric Station and yard. It once connected with Santa Ana down Lemon Street and up the North side of Santiago Creek to Main St. at the bridge then on to 4th Street in Santa Ana.When they stopped running trolleys in about 1938 they only used the yard at Chapman for freight going north. Alot of the old rail is still there right next to the Metrolink track behind Cypress.

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  3. I remember a train pedestrian accident at Lemon and Chapman in the early sixties. I may be remember incorrectly, but it seems that it was near the Post Office. My friend and I were out for an evening of cruising and got stuck on Chapman at the stopped train

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  4. Beginning in 1888, there was a horse drawn rail trolley (nicknamed the "Hayburner") that went from the plaza south on Glassell St., to Santa Ana. Later, the horses were replaced with a steam engine (the "Peanut Roaster"). It ran only until about 1914 when the bigger red line started running two blocks west on Lemon St. The rails on Glassell were subsequently removed. The Orange red line station was built on the NW corner of Chapman and Lemon in 1918.

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