Steam generator for nuclear plant

Controllers help move the steam generator along the old Highway 101 in San Onofre State Park. The generator was shipped from Japan and offloaded at the Del Mar Boat Basin, about 17 miles south of its destination.

For the record: An earlier version of this caption said the Del Mar Boat Basin was about eight miles south of its destination.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A cyclist zips along old Highway 101 through San Onofre State Park just as the steam generator crests the hill. The generator and three others will replace those now in use at the power plant that are nearing the end of their lives.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

It’s not a race, but the passing Metrolink train won by a long shot. Here on a paved section of old Highway 101, the generator carriage can move about 7 mph.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The steam generator, bound for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, creeps north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 just after midnight.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

With its destination in sight, the rig carrying the steam generator slows to a crawl at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The new equipment should extend the power plant’s life by at least a decade.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)