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Angels Flight
Angels Flight is a historic 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named Olivet and Sinai, that run in opposite directions on a shared cable. The tracks cover a distance of 298 feet (91 m) over a vertical gain of 96 feet (29 m).
The funicular has operated on two different sites, using the same cars and station elements. The original location, with trackage along the side of Third Street Tunnel and connecting Hill Street and Olive Street, operated from 1901 until 1969, when its site was cleared for redevelopment.
The current location opened half a block south of the original location in 1996, mid-block between 3rd and 4th Streets, with tracks connecting Hill Street and California Plaza. It was shut down in 2001 following a fatal accident and reopened in 2010. It was closed again during June and July 2011, and then again after a minor derailment incident in September 2013. The investigation of this latter incident led to the discovery of potentially serious safety problems in both the design and the operation of the funicular.
Before the 2013 service suspension, the cost of a one-way ride was 50 cents (25 cents for Metro pass holders). Although it was marketed primarily as a tourist novelty, it was frequently used by local workers to travel between the Downtown Historic Core and Bunker Hill. In 2015, the executive director of the nearby REDCAT arts center described the railroad as an important "economic link," and there was pressure for the city to fund and re-open the railroad. After safety enhancements were completed, Angels Flight reopened for public service in August 2017, charging $1 for a one-way ride (50 cents for TAP card users). In June 2025, citing increased operating costs, the fare was increased to $1.50 for a one-way fare and $3 for a round trip fare (75 cents for TAP card users).
Angels Flight funicular was built as the "Los Angeles Incline Railway" in 1901, with financing from J. W. Eddy. It began at the west corner of Hill Street at Third, and ran for two blocks uphill (northwestward) to its Olive Street terminus. The service consisted of two vermillion "boarding stations" and two cars, named Sinai and Olivet, alternately pulled up the steep incline by metal cables powered by engines at the upper Olive Street station. The downhill car descended by gravity alone. An archway labeled "Angels Flight" greeted passengers on the Hill Street entrance, which became the official name of the railway in 1912 when the Funding Company of California purchased it from its founders.
The original Angels Flight was a conventional funicular, with both cars connected to the same haulage cable and no track brakes in case of cable failure; a separate safety cable would be activated in a break. It operated for 68 years with a good safety record, with three notable incidents: a derailment with a single female passenger in 1913, a sleeping salesman being dragged several yards by a car in 1937, and a sailor walking up the tracks being killed in 1943.
A total of seven companies operated the railroad at its original location. In 1912 Colonel Eddy sold it to the Funding Company of Los Angeles, which sold it to Continental Securities Company in 1914. Robert W. Moore, an engineer for Continental Securities, and the railway's general manager since 1914, purchased the line in 1946. In 1952, Moore retired, and sold Angels Flight to Lester B. Moreland, an electrical engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Byron Linville, a prominent banker at Security First National Bank. Moore had gotten to know Moreland and Linville over his many years and believed the pair were earnest about preserving the history of the railway and capably maintaining its operation. The following year Moreland's family bought out Linville's interest and became sole stockholder. In 1962 condemnation proceedings instigated by Los Angeles forced Moreland to sell to the city, whose redevelopment agency hired Oliver & Williams Elevator Company to run the line until it was shut down on May 18, 1969. Dismantling began the following day, and the cars were hauled off to a warehouse. The railroad's arch, station house, drinking fountain, and other artifacts were taken to an outdoor storage yard in Gardena, California.
In November 1952, the Beverly Hills Parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West erected a plaque to commemorate fifty years of service by the railway. The plaque reads:
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Angels Flight
Angels Flight is a historic 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named Olivet and Sinai, that run in opposite directions on a shared cable. The tracks cover a distance of 298 feet (91 m) over a vertical gain of 96 feet (29 m).
The funicular has operated on two different sites, using the same cars and station elements. The original location, with trackage along the side of Third Street Tunnel and connecting Hill Street and Olive Street, operated from 1901 until 1969, when its site was cleared for redevelopment.
The current location opened half a block south of the original location in 1996, mid-block between 3rd and 4th Streets, with tracks connecting Hill Street and California Plaza. It was shut down in 2001 following a fatal accident and reopened in 2010. It was closed again during June and July 2011, and then again after a minor derailment incident in September 2013. The investigation of this latter incident led to the discovery of potentially serious safety problems in both the design and the operation of the funicular.
Before the 2013 service suspension, the cost of a one-way ride was 50 cents (25 cents for Metro pass holders). Although it was marketed primarily as a tourist novelty, it was frequently used by local workers to travel between the Downtown Historic Core and Bunker Hill. In 2015, the executive director of the nearby REDCAT arts center described the railroad as an important "economic link," and there was pressure for the city to fund and re-open the railroad. After safety enhancements were completed, Angels Flight reopened for public service in August 2017, charging $1 for a one-way ride (50 cents for TAP card users). In June 2025, citing increased operating costs, the fare was increased to $1.50 for a one-way fare and $3 for a round trip fare (75 cents for TAP card users).
Angels Flight funicular was built as the "Los Angeles Incline Railway" in 1901, with financing from J. W. Eddy. It began at the west corner of Hill Street at Third, and ran for two blocks uphill (northwestward) to its Olive Street terminus. The service consisted of two vermillion "boarding stations" and two cars, named Sinai and Olivet, alternately pulled up the steep incline by metal cables powered by engines at the upper Olive Street station. The downhill car descended by gravity alone. An archway labeled "Angels Flight" greeted passengers on the Hill Street entrance, which became the official name of the railway in 1912 when the Funding Company of California purchased it from its founders.
The original Angels Flight was a conventional funicular, with both cars connected to the same haulage cable and no track brakes in case of cable failure; a separate safety cable would be activated in a break. It operated for 68 years with a good safety record, with three notable incidents: a derailment with a single female passenger in 1913, a sleeping salesman being dragged several yards by a car in 1937, and a sailor walking up the tracks being killed in 1943.
A total of seven companies operated the railroad at its original location. In 1912 Colonel Eddy sold it to the Funding Company of Los Angeles, which sold it to Continental Securities Company in 1914. Robert W. Moore, an engineer for Continental Securities, and the railway's general manager since 1914, purchased the line in 1946. In 1952, Moore retired, and sold Angels Flight to Lester B. Moreland, an electrical engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Byron Linville, a prominent banker at Security First National Bank. Moore had gotten to know Moreland and Linville over his many years and believed the pair were earnest about preserving the history of the railway and capably maintaining its operation. The following year Moreland's family bought out Linville's interest and became sole stockholder. In 1962 condemnation proceedings instigated by Los Angeles forced Moreland to sell to the city, whose redevelopment agency hired Oliver & Williams Elevator Company to run the line until it was shut down on May 18, 1969. Dismantling began the following day, and the cars were hauled off to a warehouse. The railroad's arch, station house, drinking fountain, and other artifacts were taken to an outdoor storage yard in Gardena, California.
In November 1952, the Beverly Hills Parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West erected a plaque to commemorate fifty years of service by the railway. The plaque reads: