07-21-2011, 10:49 AM
We spent the day exploring the LAJ, City of Commerce, and Vernon as well as driving up to the area of South Central Los Angeles where the old Santa Fe "patch" was located and over to the similar area nearby where the S.P. "mole" was located. We finished the day with a run by the BNSF Hobart Yard. We were in that area from @10:30 am until 3:30 pm or so, and it is amazing how little of the LAJ we were able to explore in that time!
The neat thing about exploring Vernon on foot is that virtually all of the LAJ tracks are readily accessible, but because Vernon was built for industries, the tracks run behind the industries while the streets run in front of the buildings. The result is that when you use Google or Bing street views, you see the front of the buildings but not the back of the property. Reinhard had thought that many of the old buildings in Vernon had been torn down to be replaced by new concrete tilt ups. What we found were that a few of the buildings had been replaced, but most of the old buildings are still there. What has happened to make them appear to have been replaced is that many have had the old brick and cinder block facades have been given a coat of stucco to make them look like new, but the sides and rear of the buildings look like they have never been touched. It is not unlike the old west false fronts to make the buildings look more imposing than they really were. I think all three of us found a lot of potential structures to build for our railroads. My problem is that I need a building like Gary built to house a layout big enough to hold all of the buildings I would like to build, but I only have a 7 foot by 9 foot "L" shape 2 feet wide!
The only LAJ property that is "posted" are the company yards. Much of the right of way through town are wide open and most of the industries that used to use rail service no longer do. Either the company that originally occupied the building has moved on and the new owners don't use rail, in some cases the buildings are vacant with for lease signs up, but many companies still use rail service. We were able to pretty much walk wherever we wanted down the right of way, and what switching the LAJ does in the Vernon is generally done at night. In addition there is enough room on the sides of the right of way to drive a vehicle along side of the tracks, not recommended due to debris that would flatten tires, so there is no reason to be on the tracks, and there is no one around to hassle anyone.
One other thing we did as we went to lunch was to drive by the Farmer John facility. We ate at a food court opposite Farmer John on Soto St. We drove west on Vernon Ave to Soto, and when I pointed out the mural on the wall, Reinhard's wife was disappointed to see the paint was badly chipped. We turned the corner onto Soto St, and there were a couple of workers repainting the mural. They had finished almost to the corner of Soto and Vernon on the Soto side. They had about another 10-15 feet to finish and they would then turn the corner to do the Vernon Ave. side of the facility.
I've known Andy for a few years, he lives a couple of miles form me. Andy's user name on here is lajry. Reinhard posts as Faraway on the site. We have had extensive discussions on the board about modeling So. Cal. industrial districts. He is visiting the U.S. from Germany and we had a great time.
One last question, I don't have any online location for pictures. All of my pictures are on my computer in my Documents section. Can I post pics from my computer directly to Big Blue, or do I need to put them up on a site like Photo Bucket first in order to post them?
The neat thing about exploring Vernon on foot is that virtually all of the LAJ tracks are readily accessible, but because Vernon was built for industries, the tracks run behind the industries while the streets run in front of the buildings. The result is that when you use Google or Bing street views, you see the front of the buildings but not the back of the property. Reinhard had thought that many of the old buildings in Vernon had been torn down to be replaced by new concrete tilt ups. What we found were that a few of the buildings had been replaced, but most of the old buildings are still there. What has happened to make them appear to have been replaced is that many have had the old brick and cinder block facades have been given a coat of stucco to make them look like new, but the sides and rear of the buildings look like they have never been touched. It is not unlike the old west false fronts to make the buildings look more imposing than they really were. I think all three of us found a lot of potential structures to build for our railroads. My problem is that I need a building like Gary built to house a layout big enough to hold all of the buildings I would like to build, but I only have a 7 foot by 9 foot "L" shape 2 feet wide!
The only LAJ property that is "posted" are the company yards. Much of the right of way through town are wide open and most of the industries that used to use rail service no longer do. Either the company that originally occupied the building has moved on and the new owners don't use rail, in some cases the buildings are vacant with for lease signs up, but many companies still use rail service. We were able to pretty much walk wherever we wanted down the right of way, and what switching the LAJ does in the Vernon is generally done at night. In addition there is enough room on the sides of the right of way to drive a vehicle along side of the tracks, not recommended due to debris that would flatten tires, so there is no reason to be on the tracks, and there is no one around to hassle anyone.
One other thing we did as we went to lunch was to drive by the Farmer John facility. We ate at a food court opposite Farmer John on Soto St. We drove west on Vernon Ave to Soto, and when I pointed out the mural on the wall, Reinhard's wife was disappointed to see the paint was badly chipped. We turned the corner onto Soto St, and there were a couple of workers repainting the mural. They had finished almost to the corner of Soto and Vernon on the Soto side. They had about another 10-15 feet to finish and they would then turn the corner to do the Vernon Ave. side of the facility.
I've known Andy for a few years, he lives a couple of miles form me. Andy's user name on here is lajry. Reinhard posts as Faraway on the site. We have had extensive discussions on the board about modeling So. Cal. industrial districts. He is visiting the U.S. from Germany and we had a great time.
One last question, I don't have any online location for pictures. All of my pictures are on my computer in my Documents section. Can I post pics from my computer directly to Big Blue, or do I need to put them up on a site like Photo Bucket first in order to post them?
- ok, and others who were wondering the same thing. Let me know if you have questions.