CLIPBOARD : Riding the Rails

* Last month, Fullerton mayor Chris Norby officially proclaimed March “Rail Safety Month.”

* Singer Bonnie Raitt’s great-grandfather came to Orange County in 1885 to work on the Newport-Santa Ana railroad.

* Tustin pioneer David Hewes donated the famous “Golden Spike” for the transcontinental railroad.

* Because of its unique architecture, Amtrak insiders refer to the Santa Ana station as the “Taj Mahal.”

* Fountain Valley, named because of all the artesian wells and swampland, swallowed a Southern Pacific train in 1905.

* Orange County’s first scheduled train rolled into Anaheim around 11 a.m., Jan. 14, 1874. couple of says later, heavy rains wreaked havoc with the new tracks and they had to be temporarily closed.

* The push to connect Southern Pacific’s route from Los Angeles to San Diego derailed because of a mutual dislike between one of the company’s owners, Collis Huntington, and land baron James Irvine, Sr. In 1876, the company sued for the right to run its line through the Irvine Ranch. The railroad lost, and Irvine adamantly refused to sell the railroad right-of-way as long as he lived.

* When producers of the Academy Award-winning movie “Rain Man” needed a train station, they chose the snazzy, renovated, Santa Ana depot. It got such rave reviews that pop singer Tiffany subsequently used it in her music video, “All This Time.”

Source: Amtrak Vehicle-Train Accidents and Casualties at Orange County Grade Crossings

Number of Number of Total Year Crossings Accidents Casualties 1989 354 11 3 1988 373 4 2 1987 366 21 5 1986 366 9 3

* A “grade crossing” is a location where one or more railroad tracks cross at a public highway, road, or street or private roadway including sidewalks and pathways associated with the crossing.

Casualties include deaths and serious injuries.

Source: California Public Utilities Commission Safety Division, Annual Report of Railroad Accidents Occurring in California

Intra-County Ridership

Train travel has grown increasingly popular from each of Orange County’s five stations during the last three years. And now, with the opening of the new Irvine station, the total ridership has again increased.

Fullerton, Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano stations handle the bulk of travelers (82% in 1990). The 5% increase from 1989 to 1990 brought total county ridership to more than 1.2 million last year.

Here’s how the ranks of rail riders have been growing:

Station 1988 1989 1990 Fullerton 331,343 339,448 347,830 Anaheim 169,894 176,115 189,482 Santa Ana 297,627 300,998 326,680 Irvine* 4,008 San Juan Capistrano 317,056 317,252 320,974 San Clemente** 14,388 17,708 23,744

* Opened in mid-1990 and is only scheduled for two roundtrip stops.

** The San Clemente station has only one scheduled round-trip stop.

Researched by: DALLAS M. JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

O.C. Ridership Increase

Total Train Riders (In millions) 1988: 1.13 1989: 1.16 1990: 1.21 Source: Amtrak