Commuters Visualize Life Sans Trains : Strike: The railroad set is unhappily ready to hit the road if it must but fears a traffic ‘nightmare’ despite more buses.

Crowded freeways might soon be a bit more crowded.

With the threat of a national railroad strike that would shut down train service from San Diego to Los Angeles, commuters are ready to hit the road. But they’re not happy about it.

“The traffic’s going to be a nightmare,” said Barbara Hager of Fountain Valley, who works as a tax accountant in downtown L.A. “It’s scary.”

About 1,500 of the 160,000 Orange County residents who commute to Los Angeles ride the eight daily trains, officials said. Although the Orange County Transportation Authority is planning replacement buses and encouraging train riders to take buses, most of those boarding trains home from Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon said they would be driving to work if and when a rail strike occurs this week.

Dozens of commuters used the word “inconvenient” as they pondered the possibility of a strike. Many said they would not work so far from home if the train service did not exist.

On the 5:40 p.m. train out of Union Station, some executives peered into propped-open briefcases, while others snoozed. Newspapers spread over suited laps, and chatter among longtime commuting buddies filled the train. By Friday, these people could be back on the road.

“You kind of get spoiled when you take the train,” said health-care specialist Irene Lord of Laguna Hills, who said she would leave home at 5:30 a.m. to miss the rush if a strike occurred. “You don’t have to think about where you’re going, you don’t have to watch out for the next guy.”

Peter Wittenberg of Anaheim Hills, who started riding the train just six days ago, said he “will definitely miss it.”

For attorney Penny Nagler of Yorba Linda, the strike may mean less quality time with her son. Nine-month-old Robert rides on her lap every day to his day care at the Department of Justice, where Nagler works.

“He thinks it’s very inconvenient because he does not like sitting in traffic,” Nagler said of Robert as he slurped milk from a bottle. “Plus, he’s environmentally conscious and all those cars on the road really bother him.”

Nagler said she loves the train because it gives her a chance to play with the baby even though she works full time. “He’s got a lot of pals,” she said, as a seatmate tickled Robert’s leg. “He’s kind of the mascot.”

As the train lumbered along, people munched popcorn as they planned car pools for the strike. One pair of colleagues and commuting comrades sipped red wine, glad they will be out of town on business for the next few days.

Rare among Southland residents, these people said they enjoy traveling to work. Riders become friends--two commuters recently started dating--and each Friday afternoon there is wine, cheese and tequila shooters in the front car, known to the regulars as “the party car.”

“We’re train people,” explained Bob Cordova of Laguna Beach, a regular in the party car . “We talk about everything, from business to social activities to what we had for lunch,” Cordova said. “We solve all the world’s problems.”

Although they are annoyed about losing their comfortable commute, most train-riders expressed support for the striking workers, their “friends.”

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