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Angels Flight funicular car in L.A. derails; no injuries reported

One of the Angels Flight funicular railway cars derailed Thursday and was left tilting on the rail platform.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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Six people were assisted off an Angels Flight funicular railway car Thursday when it derailed and was left tilting on the rail platform.

None of the passengers were injured, said Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The car derailed at 11:33 a.m.

The historic railway, which first opened in 1901 in a different location, was shut down in 2001 after the brakes failed on one car, which sent it crashing into the other car, killing an 83-year-old passenger and injuring seven others. It reopened in March 2010.

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Federal investigators concluded that faulty mechanical and brake systems, combined with weak oversight, led to the crash.

Then in 2011, Angels Flight had to temporarily stop operating because of deterioration to the wheels of the funicular railway.

Inspectors for the California Public Utilities Commission discovered wheel flange damage during a routine inspection of the Los Angeles landmark. The flanges hold the cars’ wheels on the rails, the agency said in a statement.

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Joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @josephserna

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