Orange (train station)

Orange
The former ATSF station currently used by Metrolink
Station statistics
Address	100 N. Atchison Street Orange, California 92866
Coordinates	33°47′20″N 117°51′26″W / 33.7888°N 117.8573°W / 33.7888; -117.8573Coordinates: 33°47′20″N 117°51′26″W / 33.7888°N 117.8573°W / 33.7888; -117.8573
Lines	Amtrak:   Pacific Surfliner Metrolink:   Orange County Line   IEOC Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Parking	225 spaces
Other information
Opened	1888
Rebuilt	1994
Accessible
Code	OGE
Owned by	City of Orange
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	2,439[1]  35% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Anaheim toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Santa Ana toward San Diego Metrolink Anaheim toward L.A. Union Station Orange County Line Santa Ana toward Oceanside Anaheim Canyon toward San Bernardino IEOC Line     Former services     Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Anaheim toward Los Angeles Surf Line Santa Ana toward San Diego
Location
Location within Los Angeles

Orange is a railroad station located in Orange, California, United States, on a site at one time occupied by two former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway combination depots. The present depot structure was dedicated on May 1, 1938 and was closed with the Santa Fe's discontinuation of passenger service in 1971. The building was granted historic landmark status by the City on November 15, 1990.^[2]

History

The town's first rail service, the Santa Ana, Orange & Tustin Street Railway, was a 4.04 mile (6.5 km) long horsecar line that ran between Santa Ana and Orange, beginning in 1886. One year later the Santa Ana & Orange Motor Road Company purchased the line, using a steam "dummy" car and a single gasoline motorcar as its means of conveyance. In 1906 Henry E. Huntington acquired the company under the auspices of the Los Angeles Inter-Urban Railway and electrified the line. Passenger service over the new line operated by Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway began on June 8, 1914, originating at the PE's depot on Lemon Street. The route provided freight service to the local citrus growers in direct competition with the Santa Fe. In 1961 Pacific Electric sold out to the Southern Pacific Railroad, who ultimately abandoned the line in 1964.

The Santa Fe, under its affiliate the Southern California Railway, laid its first tracks through Orange in 1886 and established its first depot the following year. The route would become part of the railroad's famous "Surf Line" and by 1925 sixteen daily passenger trains (the Santa Fe's San Diegan) made stops in Orange. During peak growing seasons, as many as 48 carloads of citrus fruits, olives, and walnuts were shipped daily from the Orange depot as well. Rail connections to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and Northern San Diego County are provided by the Metrolink regional commuter rail network. The Metrolink platform is situated adjacent to the former Santa Fe depot in the downtown Historic District, which is also home to an Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus station. The former Santa Fe mainline links the cities of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Diego via a junction north of the station.

Service

Two Metrolink lines, the Inland Empire-Orange County line and the Orange County line, serve the Orange station. Also, since October 29, 2007, two morning and two evening Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains stop at this station. Of the 73 California stations served by Amtrak, Orange was the 72nd busiest in Fiscal Year 2010, boarding or detraining an average of seven passengers daily.^[3] The train station currently houses a Ruby's Diner.

Notes

1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/CALIFORNIA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
2. ^ Gustafson and Serpico, p. 187
3. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2010, State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2010. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/CALIFORNIA10.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 

References

• Gustafson, Lee and Phil Serpico (1974). Santa Fe Coast Lines Depots: Los Angeles Division. Omni Publications, Palmdale, CA. ISBN 0-88418-003-4. 

External links

Media related to Orange (train station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Amtrak – Stations – Orange, CA
• Metrolink - Orange
• Orange Amtrak-Metrolink Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)