The Santa Ana Branch is located in downtown Anaheim just off of the 5 freeway (exit Lincoln). What makes this line especially unique is that it includes a 1.5 mile long stretch of street running down Santa Ana and Olive streets through residential neighborhoods. The branch is served by the Costa Mesa Local which runs down to the L.A. Times plant in Costa Mesa in the morning, and by the Marlboro Local which switches industries in Anaheim and Orange in the afternoon. The branch is active Monday - Friday with occational Sunday service. Disneyland is only two miles away, so for those out-of-state railfans who need an excuse to come see the Anaheim street running, you can make a whole family vacation out of it! Of course, if I were asked to choose a day at Disneyland or a day on Santa Ana St., that would NOT be a hard decision. Santa Ana St., of course!
The Marlboro enters Santa Ana St. The power for the locals is typically SW1500's, GP38's, and GP15-1's. MP15AC's like this one are less common
SP 2756 still has a complete headlight package both front and rear.
This is the road power for the Anaheim Hauler that brings the cars to Anaheim for all the locals. It runs at night, but the power is always visible at the wye on Broadway during the day. Often, it is all-SP units.
Here's an interesting unit: it's an SD40-2M rebuilt by M-K from an SDP45. Although SP did have SDP45's, the heritage on this one is ex-Erie-Lackawana.
The highlight of the line is the operating wig-wag signal at the corner of Lemon St. and Santa Ana St. This is the last wig-wag in Orange County. Get your photos of it while it's still standing!
The classic wig-wag shot.
In addition to the wig-wag, there are also some old crossbucks that still have "Southern Pacific" stenciled on the post. There are also others that say "Look Out For The Cars."
Now we're on Olive St. This kid started racing the train as it turned the corner. The kid won easily.
The power for the locals spends a lot of time sitting out in the open, so graffitti has become a big problem.
