Day tripping to Los Angeles for $5.75

Mark LaCiura.

A Santa Fe 3751 crew member talks about rail safety and the 3751 steam locomotive at L.A. Union Station.

With the high cost of living, I always try to save in my travel/fuel budget as I can. Yes, a day trip to Los Angeles for $5.75 is possible!

I used the Metrolink train station on Sierra Highway in Lancaster to get to the Los Angles area. You just have to get yourself there and you can ride the train if you are a senior (65+) for $5.75, one way.

For a regular train pass it's a bit more, but still very cost effect to get to Los Angles Union Station where there is a lot to see, like the Historic Mexican Market, Olvera Street and Father Serra Park, just to name a few. Riding the Metrolink is very relaxing. You can read or nap a bit so you are fully refreshed for a day in L.A.

One of reasons I went to Union Station this trip was to explore railroad safety. This hits home for us in Tehachapi being a railroad town. The weekend of Sept. 21-22 focused on Operation Lifesaver with their mission statement: "Together, we can save lives at railroad crossings and on train tracks."

Operation Lifesaver has helped reduced the number of train/motor vehicle collisions from its high in 1972 of 12,000 annual incidents to about 2,200 in 2019. Operation Lifesaver's common goal is reducing collisions between trains and people/vehicles through rail safety education. For starters, you should always stay 25 feet back from any railroad tracks and railroad crossings.

Another reason I went to Union Station was to see the oldest operating steam locomotive. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe 3751 4-8-4, a "Heavy Mountain" type steam locomotive, was on display and fired up. Santa Fe 3751 was built in 1927 by the Baldwin Locomotive works, originally fueled by coal and was upgrade to operate on fuel oil in 1939, due the fact fuel oil was easily found in the west. Coal was more likely to set fires with hot embers exhausted from the smoke stack. Then, in 1941, Santa Fe did a frame off rebuild/restoration. Santa Fe 3751 was fitted with an all roller bearing, 80-inch drive wheels with many other modern upgrades at that time.

For more information on Operation Lifesaver go to http://www.oli.org/.

For more information on Santa Fe 3751 go to http://www.sbrhs.org. To learn more about riding the train out of Lancaster go to http://www.metrolinktrains.com/.