137-664: The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego to Orange County along California 's Pacific coast . It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than 100 feet (30 m) in some places. It is the second busiest passenger rail corridor in the United States after the Northeast Corridor . The tracks are now owned by Metrolink in Orange County and
274-408: A crank on a driving axle. Steam locomotives have been phased out in most parts of the world for economical and safety reasons, although many are preserved in working order by heritage railways . Electric locomotives draw power from a stationary source via an overhead wire or third rail . Some also or instead use a battery . In locomotives that are powered by high-voltage alternating current ,
411-586: A dining car . Some lines also provide over-night services with sleeping cars . Some long-haul trains have been given a specific name . Regional trains are medium distance trains that connect cities with outlying, surrounding areas, or provide a regional service, making more stops and having lower speeds. Commuter trains serve suburbs of urban areas, providing a daily commuting service. Airport rail links provide quick access from city centres to airports . High-speed rail are special inter-city trains that operate at much higher speeds than conventional railways,
548-731: A fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway , now part of the London Underground Northern line . This was the first major railway to use electric traction . The world's first deep-level electric railway, it runs from the City of London , under the River Thames , to Stockwell in south London. The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown , then working for Oerlikon , Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission, using three-phase AC , between
685-542: A funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Austria. The line originally used wooden rails and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel . The line is still operational, although in updated form and is possibly the oldest operational railway. Wagonways (or tramways ) using wooden rails, hauled by horses, started appearing in the 1550s to facilitate
822-492: A hydro-electric plant at Lauffen am Neckar and Frankfurt am Main West, a distance of 280 km (170 mi). Using experience he had gained while working for Jean Heilmann on steam–electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a commutator , were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than
959-431: A steam engine that provides adhesion. Coal , petroleum , or wood is burned in a firebox , boiling water in the boiler to create pressurized steam. The steam travels through the smokebox before leaving via the chimney or smoke stack. In the process, it powers a piston that transmits power directly through a connecting rod (US: main rod) and a crankpin (US: wristpin) on the driving wheel (US main driver) or to
1096-469: A transformer in the locomotive converts the high-voltage low-current power to low-voltage high current used in the traction motors that power the wheels. Modern locomotives may use three-phase AC induction motors or direct current motors. Under certain conditions, electric locomotives are the most powerful traction. They are also the cheapest to run and provide less noise and no local air pollution. However, they require high capital investments both for
1233-692: A block inland from the ocean. It was moved to its current location, along the seaside bluffs, in 1910, because the grade was less steep and there were fewer crossings. The line became part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad 's transcontinental rail line in 1885 via an extension of the California Southern from Colton north over the Cajon Pass to Barstow . From 1886 to 1888, the Riverside, Santa Ana and Los Angeles Railway built
1370-551: A branch from Highgrove southwest via Riverside to Santa Ana and from Orange (just north of Santa Ana) northwest to Los Angeles. Also in 1888 the San Bernardino and San Diego Railway completed its line from Oceanside north to Santa Ana, completing what was originally called the Los Angeles–San Diego Short Line. The now-downgraded old route was destroyed by floods in 1891 and the new line, later named
1507-680: A brief portion of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and Anaheim as part of its full Phase 1 route. Similarly, for Phase 2 of the California High-Speed Rail, the final portion of the route from Los Angeles to San Diego via the Inland Empire will parallel the Surf Line into San Diego from University City to either San Diego International Airport , Old Town San Diego station, or Santa Fe Depot in San Diego. This plan for
SECTION 10
#17327718360981644-745: A burgeoning Chinatown in the vicinity of Palm Street and Chorro Street. Laborers were brought from China by Ah Louis in order to construct the Pacific Coast Railway , roads connecting San Luis Obispo over the Cuesta Pass to Paso Robles and from Paso Robles to Cambria , and also the 1884 to 1894 tunneling through Cuesta Ridge for the Southern Pacific Railroad . The town's Chinatown revolved around Ah Louis Store and other Palm Street businesses owned and run by Chinese business people. Today, Mee Heng Low chop suey shop
1781-413: A catalyst worldwide in anti-smoking legislation. In April 2010, San Luis Obispo strengthened its anti-smoking legislation, making smoking in public, excepting for certain conditions, a citable offense beginning on June 20, 2010. In 1982, following public hearings, the city council approved an ordinance forbidding the construction of " drive-through " businesses. In-N-Out Burger opened a restaurant in
1918-490: A city ordinance to ban smoking in all indoor public areas. Following a failed effort by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to defeat the ordinance, the City Council voted 4–1 in favor on June 19, 1990, with only Mayor Ron Dunin dissenting. As a result, on August 2, 1990, San Luis Obispo became the first municipality in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings, including bars and restaurants. This statute has been
2055-550: A diesel locomotive from the company in 1909. The world's first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland, but was not a commercial success. The locomotive weight was 95 tonnes and the power was 883 kW with a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). Small numbers of prototype diesel locomotives were produced in a number of countries through
2192-478: A double track plateway, erroneously sometimes cited as world's first public railway, in south London. William Jessop had earlier used a form of all-iron edge rail and flanged wheels successfully for an extension to the Charnwood Forest Canal at Nanpantan , Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1789. In 1790, Jessop and his partner Outram began to manufacture edge rails. Jessop became a partner in
2329-467: A dozen possible routes for the tunnel have been considered by SANDAG. Residents have expressed concerns about the shortest and fastest routed that would take trains beneath residential properties. With extensive beach erosion, waves crashing over the rails damaged the tracks in San Clemente on September 15, 2021. The segment had to be shut down through October 3 as storms and high tideshad aggravated
2466-437: A large turning radius in its design. While high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Since 1980, rail transport has changed dramatically, but a number of heritage railways continue to operate as part of living history to preserve and maintain old railway lines for services of tourist trains. A train is a connected series of rail vehicles that move along
2603-498: A larger locomotive named Galvani , exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors , with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simple commutators . It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres). It
2740-423: A locomotive. This involves one or more powered vehicles being located at the front of the train, providing sufficient tractive force to haul the weight of the full train. This arrangement remains dominant for freight trains and is often used for passenger trains. A push–pull train has the end passenger car equipped with a driver's cab so that the engine driver can remotely control the locomotive. This allows one of
2877-477: A number of trains per hour (tph). Passenger trains can usually be into two types of operation, intercity railway and intracity transit. Whereas intercity railway involve higher speeds, longer routes, and lower frequency (usually scheduled), intracity transit involves lower speeds, shorter routes, and higher frequency (especially during peak hours). Intercity trains are long-haul trains that operate with few stops between cities. Trains typically have amenities such as
SECTION 20
#17327718360983014-676: A piece of circular rail track in Bloomsbury , London, the Catch Me Who Can , but never got beyond the experimental stage with railway locomotives, not least because his engines were too heavy for the cast-iron plateway track then in use. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murray 's rack locomotive Salamanca built for the Middleton Railway in Leeds in 1812. This twin-cylinder locomotive
3151-465: A pivotal role in the development and widespread adoption of the steam locomotive. His designs considerably improved on the work of the earlier pioneers. He built the locomotive Blücher , also a successful flanged -wheel adhesion locomotive. In 1825 he built the locomotive Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the northeast of England, which became the first public steam railway in
3288-632: A rainstorm soaks the slope. Service was suspended on January 25, 2024, due to a landslide from private property north of the San Clemente Pier. Two damaged sections of the Mariposa Pedestrian Bridge on the slope above the tracks had to be removed. California Transportation Commission initially awarded $ 2 million to clean up the debris and added $ 7.2 million in February to help repair the rail line. A barrier wall similar to
3425-439: A revival in recent decades due to road congestion and rising fuel prices, as well as governments investing in rail as a means of reducing CO 2 emissions . Smooth, durable road surfaces have been made for wheeled vehicles since prehistoric times. In some cases, they were narrow and in pairs to support only the wheels. That is, they were wagonways or tracks. Some had grooves or flanges or other mechanical means to keep
3562-739: A single lever to control both engine and generator in a coordinated fashion, and was the prototype for all diesel–electric locomotive control systems. In 1914, world's first functional diesel–electric railcars were produced for the Königlich-Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen ( Royal Saxon State Railways ) by Waggonfabrik Rastatt with electric equipment from Brown, Boveri & Cie and diesel engines from Swiss Sulzer AG . They were classified as DET 1 and DET 2 ( de.wiki ). The first regular used diesel–electric locomotives were switcher (shunter) locomotives . General Electric produced several small switching locomotives in
3699-407: A standard. Following SNCF's successful trials, 50 Hz, now also called industrial frequency was adopted as standard for main-lines across the world. Earliest recorded examples of an internal combustion engine for railway use included a prototype designed by William Dent Priestman . Sir William Thomson examined it in 1888 and described it as a "Priestman oil engine mounted upon a truck which
3836-632: A terminus about one-half mile (800 m) away. A funicular railway was also made at Broseley in Shropshire some time before 1604. This carried coal for James Clifford from his mines down to the River Severn to be loaded onto barges and carried to riverside towns. The Wollaton Wagonway , completed in 1604 by Huntingdon Beaumont , has sometimes erroneously been cited as the earliest British railway. It ran from Strelley to Wollaton near Nottingham . The Middleton Railway in Leeds , which
3973-409: A valley subject to inversion , although seldom cold. The warmest night recorded was 75 °F (24 °C) on September 22, 1939, and the coldest day at 40 °F (4 °C) on December 11, 1932. The 2010 United States Census reported that San Luis Obispo had a population of 45,119. The population density was 3,489.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,347.3/km ). The racial makeup of San Luis Obispo
4110-408: A wheel. This was a large stationary engine , powering cotton mills and a variety of machinery; the state of boiler technology necessitated the use of low-pressure steam acting upon a vacuum in the cylinder, which required a separate condenser and an air pump . Nevertheless, as the construction of boilers improved, Watt investigated the use of high-pressure steam acting directly upon a piston, raising
4247-531: Is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks , which usually consist of two parallel steel rails . Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport , next to road transport . It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed . Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains . Power
Surf Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
4384-666: Is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County , in the U.S. state of California . Located on the Central Coast of California , San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway between the San Francisco Bay Area in the north and Greater Los Angeles in the south. The population was 47,063 at the 2020 census . San Luis Obispo was founded by the Spanish in 1772, when Saint Junípero Serra established Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa . The town grew steadily through
4521-410: Is a single, self-powered car, and may be electrically propelled or powered by a diesel engine . Multiple units have a driver's cab at each end of the unit, and were developed following the ability to build electric motors and other engines small enough to fit under the coach. There are only a few freight multiple units, most of which are high-speed post trains. Steam locomotives are locomotives with
4658-543: Is all that remains of the culture, although a slightly Chinatown-themed commercial development has been planned. A display of some of the unearthed relics from this period can be seen on the first floor of the Palm Street parking garage, which was built over the location where Chinatown once stood. The San Luis Obispo Historical Society (adjacent to the Mission) also contains rotating historical exhibits. San Luis Obispo
4795-561: Is an eccentric landmark established by Alex Madonna in 1958. The Fremont Theater , a historic Art Deco theater from the 1940s, once played first-run movies on the huge screen, and now hosts stage performances. Murals adorn the walls of the main theater while neon swirls light the ceiling. The Palm Theatre boasts solar heating and is home to the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival . Since about 1960, people have been sticking chewed gum on
4932-402: Is designed to specifically target areas that have had a nuclear power plant shut down within 10 years (including San Luis Obispo) for federal tax credits for renewable energy generation, including solar, wind, and wave energy. According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: San Luis Obispo is incorporated as a charter city . It is also
5069-399: Is dominant. Electro-diesel locomotives are built to run as diesel–electric on unelectrified sections and as electric locomotives on electrified sections. Alternative methods of motive power include magnetic levitation , horse-drawn, cable , gravity, pneumatics and gas turbine . A passenger train stops at stations where passengers may embark and disembark. The oversight of the train is
5206-609: Is dubbed as the "Daygo". The Surf Line is the second busiest rail corridor in the United States, after the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston , as the Surf Line hosts the Pacific Surfliner, the third busiest Amtrak route behind the Acela and Northeast Regional , which run on the Northeast Corridor. As trains on the Surf Line traverse speeds up to 90 mph (140 km/h) on portions of
5343-572: Is headquartered in San Luis Obispo. Ernie Ball 's Music Man factory is located in San Luis Obispo. Mindbody and iFixit have been headquartered in San Luis Obispo since their inceptions. In 2019, SLO experienced a boom in home construction along with continued building of commercial structures. As housing had not kept up with job growth, many people who cannot afford to live where they work, commute to their jobs in SLO. Pacific Gas and Electric
5480-417: Is safe to proceed. Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), which owns the section of track, declared an emergency on June 12 to speed up construction of temporary barrier wall at the bottom of the slope. The 250-foot long (76 m) barrier is 12 feet (3.7 m) high with the piles set roughly 32 feet (9.8 m) into the ground. Service resumed on July 19, 2023. The bluffs can become unstable after
5617-557: Is the largest non-governmental employer in the city. In 2016, they announced the closure of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in 2025, which will cost the local economy 1,500 jobs with an average salary of $ 157,000, as well as nearly $ 1 billion annually in economic activity. Congressman Salud Carbajal introduced H.R. 5441 to the House of Representatives in order to create Energy Opportunity Zones, which
Surf Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
5754-533: Is under consideration. In 2022, $ 300 million was included in the state budget for the SANDAG so that the project can compete for federal matching funds. Local leaders, including SANDAG’s executive director, showed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg the coastal erosion at the bluffs in October 2022. Del Mar City Council approved a list of guiding principles for the relocation on November 13, 2023. More than
5891-814: Is used at the Farmers' Market and other special events throughout the city. Four members of the Fire Department are also on the San Luis Obispo SWAT Team as SWAT Medics and respond using Squad 1 (an ALS equipped ambulance which also carries some light rescue gear and other specialty tools) The front-line members of the department are represented by the San Luis Obispo City Firefighters' IAFF Local 3523. The City of San Luis Obispo Utilities Department can trace its lineage back to 1872 when plans were made to provide
6028-408: Is usually provided by diesel or electrical locomotives . While railway transport is capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can carry heavy loads of passengers and cargo with greater energy efficiency and safety. Precursors of railways driven by human or animal power have existed since antiquity, but modern rail transport began with the invention of the steam locomotive in
6165-556: Is worked on a temporary line of rails to show the adaptation of a petroleum engine for locomotive purposes." In 1894, a 20 hp (15 kW) two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks . In 1906, Rudolf Diesel , Adolf Klose and the steam and diesel engine manufacturer Gebrüder Sulzer founded Diesel-Sulzer-Klose GmbH to manufacture diesel-powered locomotives. Sulzer had been manufacturing diesel engines since 1898. The Prussian State Railways ordered
6302-584: The California Southern Railroad Company . On January 2, 1882, the California Southern commenced passenger and freight service between National City and Fallbrook Junction , just north of Oceanside . From Oceanside the line turned northeast for a winding route through the Temecula Canyon , and was finished on August 21, 1882. The section through Del Mar was built in 1881 but was originally built on an alignment about
6439-1082: The California State Legislature , San Luis Obispo is in the 17th Senate District , represented by Democrat John Laird , and in the 30th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Dawn Addis . In the United States House of Representatives , San Luis Obispo is in California's 24th congressional district , represented by Democrat Salud Carbajal . All public K–12 institutions in San Luis Obispo are operated by San Luis Coastal Unified School District , which contains six elementary schools, one middle school (Laguna Middle School), and one high school, San Luis Obispo High School . The district also operates several schools outside of San Luis Obispo in nearby Avila Beach, Edna Valley, Morro Bay, and Los Osos. Additionally, Mission College Preparatory Catholic High School and Old Mission School (est. 1876 as The Academy of
6576-567: The North County Transit District (NCTD) in San Diego County and hosts Metrolink's Orange County Line and Inland Empire–Orange County Line , San Diego County's Coaster , and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains. BNSF Railway operates freight over the line using trackage rights . Construction of the Surf Line between Los Angeles and San Diego began on October 12, 1880, with the organization of
6713-722: The Presidio of Monterey and Junípero Serra founded the second mission, San Carlos Borromeo , in Monterey . The mission was moved to Carmel the following year. In 1772, as the people of Presidio of Monterey and San Carlos Borromeo faced starvation, owing to a lack of supplies, Commander Pedro Fages (a member of the Portolà expedition ) led a hunting expedition to the Cañada de Los Osos to bring back food. Over twenty-five mule loads of dried bear meat and seed were sent north to relieve
6850-518: The Tour of California bicycle race, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and a long-standing Christmas Parade. In May, the Madonna Hotel hosts the annual California Festival of Beers, which includes beer tasting of over 200 craft beers. Another attraction is the development of Edna Valley into a well-known wine region. Just south of the city, people can spend an afternoon wine tasting several wineries in
6987-692: The United Kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. The first passenger railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway , opened in 1825. The quick spread of railways throughout Europe and North America, following the 1830 opening of the first intercity connection in England, was a key component of the Industrial Revolution . The adoption of rail transport lowered shipping costs compared to water transport, leading to "national markets" in which prices varied less from city to city. In
SECTION 50
#17327718360987124-615: The United Kingdom , South Korea , Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The construction of many of these lines has resulted in the dramatic decline of short-haul flights and automotive traffic between connected cities, such as the London–Paris–Brussels corridor, Madrid–Barcelona, Milan–Rome–Naples, as well as many other major lines. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates
7261-479: The county seat of San Luis Obispo County . The city charter provides for a "Council-Mayor-City Manager" form of municipal government. The city council has five members: a mayor who is elected to two-year terms, with each mayor limited to serving no more than four consecutive terms, and four city council members who are elected to four-year terms, with each council member limited to serving no more than two consecutive terms. The fire department of San Luis Obispo
7398-414: The overhead lines and the supporting infrastructure, as well as the generating station that is needed to produce electricity. Accordingly, electric traction is used on urban systems, lines with high traffic and for high-speed rail. Diesel locomotives use a diesel engine as the prime mover . The energy transmission may be either diesel–electric , diesel-mechanical or diesel–hydraulic but diesel–electric
7535-458: The puddling process in 1784. In 1783 Cort also patented the rolling process , which was 15 times faster at consolidating and shaping iron than hammering. These processes greatly lowered the cost of producing iron and rails. The next important development in iron production was hot blast developed by James Beaumont Neilson (patented 1828), which considerably reduced the amount of coke (fuel) or charcoal needed to produce pig iron. Wrought iron
7672-418: The rotary phase converter , enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high-voltage national networks. An important contribution to the wider adoption of AC traction came from SNCF of France after World War II. The company conducted trials at AC 50 Hz, and established it as
7809-540: The 1880s, railway electrification began with tramways and rapid transit systems. Starting in the 1940s, steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives . The first high-speed railway system was introduced in Japan in 1964, and high-speed rail lines now connect many cities in Europe , East Asia , and the eastern United States . Following some decline due to competition from cars and airplanes, rail transport has had
7946-521: The 1930s (the famous " 44-tonner " switcher was introduced in 1940) Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives starting in 1929. In 1929, the Canadian National Railways became the first North American railway to use diesels in mainline service with two units, 9000 and 9001, from Westinghouse. Although steam and diesel services reaching speeds up to 200 km/h (120 mph) were started before
8083-508: The 1960s in Europe, they were not very successful. The first electrified high-speed rail Tōkaidō Shinkansen was introduced in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. Since then high-speed rail transport, functioning at speeds up to and above 300 km/h (190 mph), has been built in Japan, Spain, France , Germany, Italy, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan (Republic of China),
8220-461: The 1990s, initially as an outgrowth of existing Amtrak services until the establishment of Metrolink and Coaster by the California State Legislature in 1992. Coaster runs within San Diego County, between San Diego and Oceanside, while Metrolink's services operate north of Oceanside. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner travels throughout the corridor. The San Diego Trolley light rail shares the Surf Line's right of way in San Diego, running adjacent to
8357-464: The 40 km Burgdorf–Thun line , Switzerland. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line rather than a short section. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works. The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed
SECTION 60
#17327718360988494-530: The Butterley Company in 1790. The first public edgeway (thus also first public railway) built was Lake Lock Rail Road in 1796. Although the primary purpose of the line was to carry coal, it also carried passengers. These two systems of constructing iron railways, the "L" plate-rail and the smooth edge-rail, continued to exist side by side until well into the early 19th century. The flanged wheel and edge-rail eventually proved its superiority and became
8631-544: The CAHSR Phase 2 has yet to be finalized. Many, but not all of these stations currently operate. Many of these stations no longer exist (e.g. Linda Vista) and new ones have opened (e.g. Sorrento Valley ). For a list of stations that currently operate, see the articles for Metrolink's Orange County Line and the Coaster or the templates to the right. Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport )
8768-514: The DC motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloor bogies : they could only be carried within locomotive bodies. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed a new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in Évian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. In 1896, Oerlikon installed
8905-667: The Immaculate Heart of Mary) operate privately within the Diocese of Monterey. San Luis Obispo is home to California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), a public university enrolling 21,97 students as of fall 2023. The school is just outside city limits and provides on-campus housing for nearly 6,000 freshmen and sophomores. The area is also served by Cuesta College , part of the California Community College System . The Madonna Inn
9042-579: The Mexican period before a rapid expansion of San Luis Obispo following the American Conquest of California . San Luis Obispo is a popular tourist destination, known for its historic architecture, vineyards , and hospitality, as well as for being home to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo . The earliest human inhabitants of the local area were the Chumash people . One of
9179-453: The San Luis Obispo area from coastal areas around today's Pismo Beach . One of the expedition's three diarists, padre Juan Crespí , recorded the name given to this area by the soldiers as Cañada de Los Osos ("cañada" translates as "valley" or "canyon," and Osos translates to "bears"). The party traveled north along San Luis Obispo Creek, turned west through Los Osos Valley, and reached Morro Bay on September 9. In 1770, Portola established
9316-828: The Southern California Regional Rail Authority in Orange County and the San Diego Northern Railway in San Diego County . The route is the southerly portion of the 351-mile-long (565 km) LOSSAN Rail Corridor between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. Local agencies along the route formed the Los Angeles–San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency (LOSSAN) in 1989. Commuter trains began operating in
9453-513: The Spanish Franciscans and secularization of the missions. Because the fledgling Mexican government had many more important problems to deal with than far-off California, actual secularization did not happen until the mid-1830s. After 1834, the mission became an ordinary parish, and most of its huge land holdings were broken up into land grants called ranchos . The ranchos were given by Mexican land grant from 1837 to 1846, with
9590-448: The Surf Line, was now the only line to San Diego from the north. In 1910, the Fullerton and Richfield Railway built a short cutoff of the San Bernardino–Los Angeles route from Atwood west to Fullerton , giving the Surf Line its northern terminus of Fullerton. For much of the 20th century, the Surf Line (officially, the Fourth District of the Los Angeles Division) was to the Santa Fe what the New York City – Philadelphia corridor
9727-418: The Valley of the Bears. On September 1, 1772, Junípero Serra celebrated the first Mass with a cross erected near San Luis Creek. The very next day, he departed for San Diego leaving Fr. José Cavaller, with the difficult task of building the mission. Fr. José Cavaller , five soldiers and two neophytes began building the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa which would later become the town of San Luis Obispo. Both
9864-438: The age of 18 living in them, 5,690 (29.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,336 (7.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 586 (3.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,104 (5.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 124 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 6,213 households (32.4%) were made up of individuals, and 1,957 (10.2%) had someone living alone who
10001-417: The age of 18 living with them. 31.3% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 14.2% under
10138-501: The age of 18, 33.6% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 98,977 and the median income for a family was $ 112,740. The median household income in San Luis Obispo County
10275-607: The beach at the base of the bluff in September 2020 to stabilize the face of the bluff for 20 or 30 years. In August, the California Coastal Commission had emphasized the need to move the railroad tracks inland as they reviewed the emergency permits for the stabilization work. The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is conducting a $ 3 million study on relocating the rail line. A tunnel under Del Mar, which would cost more than $ 3 billion,
10412-614: The beaches of Southern California, the line faces persistent issues due to sea level rise and coastal erosion , exacerbated by climate change . The tracks run atop coastal bluffs some 40 feet (12 m) above the beach for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) in Del Mar . Another segment along the San Clemente coast on a low-lying section of track crosses an ancient, recurring landslide. Aggravated by storms and high tides, waves sometimes crash across these rails at high tide that are close to
10549-488: The city has a total area of 13.25 square miles (34.3 km ), of which, 13.1 square miles (34 km ) is land and 0.15 square miles (0.39 km ) (1.13%) is water. San Luis Obispo is on the West Coast of the United States and in the Central Coast of California . The Pacific Ocean is about 11 miles (18 km) west of San Luis Obispo. The Santa Lucia Mountains lie just east of San Luis Obispo. These mountains are
10686-697: The city with safe drinking water. Currently the Utilities Department operates a water treatment plant designed to treat 16 million gallons a day, the Whale Rock Reservoir located in Cayucos, CA , a water distribution system including 15 pressure zones and 150 miles of water mains . The Water Resource Recovery Facility treats 4.5 million gallons per day and is currently undergoing a plant upgrade expected to be completed in 2021. In June 1990 City Councilman Jerry Reiss proposed
10823-511: The city. The population density was 4,144.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,600.2/km ). There were 19,306 housing units at an average density of 1,811.3 per square mile (699.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 84.1% White , 5.3% Asian , 1.5% African American , 0.7% Native American , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 4.8% from other races , and 3.6% from two or more races. 11.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 18,639 households, out of which 17.7% had children under
10960-489: The college became "the most popular...university in the 19-campus CSU system", Poly Royal began drawing over 100,000 people from throughout the state, including 126,000 people in 1985. Concerts, parties, and other entertainment were added and it earned $ 3–4 million in revenue for the city every year. San Luis Obispo has been home of several other events, including a stop on the way of the Olympic Flame Relay,
11097-550: The cost of the necessary improvements. As stated above, sections of the Surf Line in Del Mar and San Clemente will be relocated inland from their current locations to reduce the amount of times of service disruption. This would mean that there would be tunnels inland in San Clemente and Del Mar. There have been plans to upgrade tracks to Class 5 trackage, in which passenger trains can reach up to speeds of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). The California High-Speed Rail will run on
11234-515: The discovery of gold, the county experienced a major economic surge with the rising price of beef, with the highest prices coming in 1851. The county remained focused on cattle until 1863, when a drought left most ranchos devastated. Residents quickly turned to other venues, leading to the breaking up of many of the ranchos and a major change in the economic climate of the town, which focused less on cattle ranching and more on dairies, agriculture, and mined goods from then onward. San Luis Obispo once had
11371-430: The duty of a guard/train manager/conductor . Passenger trains are part of public transport and often make up the stem of the service, with buses feeding to stations. Passenger trains provide long-distance intercity travel, daily commuter trips, or local urban transit services, operating with a diversity of vehicles, operating speeds, right-of-way requirements, and service frequency. Service frequencies are often expressed as
11508-476: The earliest villages lies south of San Luis Obispo and reflects the landscape of the early Holocene when estuaries came farther inland. The Chumash people used marine resources of the inlets and bays along the Central Coast and inhabited a network of villages, including sites at Los Osos and Morro Creek . The tribal site on present-day San Luis Obispo was named tiłhini ( Obispeño for 'Place of
11645-402: The end of the 19th century, because they were cleaner compared to steam-driven trams which caused smoke in city streets. In 1784 James Watt , a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, patented a design for a steam locomotive . Watt had improved the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen , hitherto used to pump water out of mines, and developed a reciprocating engine in 1769 capable of powering
11782-471: The end of the 19th century, improving the quality of steel and further reducing costs. Thus steel completely replaced the use of iron in rails, becoming standard for all railways. The first passenger horsecar or tram , Swansea and Mumbles Railway , was opened between Swansea and Mumbles in Wales in 1807. Horses remained the preferable mode for tram transport even after the arrival of steam engines until
11919-527: The engine by one power stroke. The transmission system employed a large flywheel to even out the action of the piston rod. On 21 February 1804, the world's first steam-powered railway journey took place when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales . Trevithick later demonstrated a locomotive operating upon
12056-740: The entire section. A 2.6-mile (4.2 km) section of double track between Elvira ( SR 52 ) and Morena (Balboa Avenue) was completed in July 2020. The $ 192 million project, which began in August 2015, completed 14.6 miles (23.5 km) of double track from San Diego northward. The segment of the LOSSAN Corridor within San Diego County achieved full implementation of positive train control in December 2018, for all passenger and freight trains operating on this segment. Due to its location along
12193-475: The era of great expansion of railways that began in the late 1860s. Steel rails lasted several times longer than iron. Steel rails made heavier locomotives possible, allowing for longer trains and improving the productivity of railroads. The Bessemer process introduced nitrogen into the steel, which caused the steel to become brittle with age. The open hearth furnace began to replace the Bessemer process near
12330-522: The first commercial example of the system on the Lugano Tramway . Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provide regenerative braking , and are well suited to steeply graded routes, and the first main-line three-phase locomotives were supplied by Brown (by then in partnership with Walter Boveri ) in 1899 on
12467-513: The formation of a vigilance committee in the County that killed one, the suspected leader of the gang Pio Linares , and lynched six others, a total of seven men suspected of such misdeeds (the most lethal in California history). Members of the committee remained influential members of the community for decades. The ranchos remained focused on cattle after the conquest of California . With
12604-648: The full moon'). During the Spanish Empire expansion throughout the world, specifically in 1769, Franciscan Junípero Serra received orders from Spain to bring the Catholic faith to the natives of Alta California ; the idea was to unify the empire under the same religion and language. Mission San Diego was the first Spanish mission founded in Alta California that same year. On September 7, 1769, an expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá entered
12741-514: The headwaters for San Luis Obispo Creek , whose watershed encompasses 84 square miles (220 km ) surrounding the city and flows to the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach . San Luis Obispo is a seismically active area; there are a number of nearby faults including the San Andreas Fault . The Nine Sisters are a string of hills that partially run through San Luis Obispo. They are geologically noteworthy for being volcanic plugs . Six of
12878-662: The heavy rail tracks. For about a mile in Oceanside , the Sprinter service parallels the Surf Line before heading east on the Escondido Subdivision towards Escondido, California . Freight traffic includes military vehicles and equipment to Camp Pendleton and the Navy ports in San Diego. Due to passenger trains running on a daily schedule, BNSF manifest freight trains run through the Surf Line often at night, which
13015-502: The highest possible radius. All these features are dramatically different from freight operations, thus justifying exclusive high-speed rail lines if it is economically feasible. San Luis Obispo, California San Luis Obispo ( Spanish for ' St. Louis the Bishop '; / s æ n ˌ l uː ɪ s ə ˈ b ɪ s p oʊ / san LOO -iss ə- BISS -poh ; Spanish: [san ˈlwis oˈβispo] ; Chumash : tiłhini )
13152-1230: The limit being regarded at 200 to 350 kilometres per hour (120 to 220 mph). High-speed trains are used mostly for long-haul service and most systems are in Western Europe and East Asia. Magnetic levitation trains such as the Shanghai maglev train use under-riding magnets which attract themselves upward towards the underside of a guideway and this line has achieved somewhat higher peak speeds in day-to-day operation than conventional high-speed railways, although only over short distances. Due to their heightened speeds, route alignments for high-speed rail tend to have broader curves than conventional railways, but may have steeper grades that are more easily climbed by trains with large kinetic energy. High kinetic energy translates to higher horsepower-to-ton ratios (e.g. 20 horsepower per short ton or 16 kilowatts per tonne); this allows trains to accelerate and maintain higher speeds and negotiate steep grades as momentum builds up and recovered in downgrades (reducing cut and fill and tunnelling requirements). Since lateral forces act on curves, curvatures are designed with
13289-429: The locomotive-hauled train's drawbacks to be removed, since the locomotive need not be moved to the front of the train each time the train changes direction. A railroad car is a vehicle used for the haulage of either passengers or freight. A multiple unit has powered wheels throughout the whole train. These are used for rapid transit and tram systems, as well as many both short- and long-haul passenger trains. A railcar
13426-569: The main portion of the B&;O to the new line to New York through a series of tunnels around the edges of Baltimore's downtown. Electricity quickly became the power supply of choice for subways, abetted by the Sprague's invention of multiple-unit train control in 1897. By the early 1900s most street railways were electrified. The London Underground , the world's oldest underground railway, opened in 1863, and it began operating electric services using
13563-433: The mid-1920s. The Soviet Union operated three experimental units of different designs since late 1925, though only one of them (the E el-2 ) proved technically viable. A significant breakthrough occurred in 1914, when Hermann Lemp , a General Electric electrical engineer, developed and patented a reliable direct current electrical control system (subsequent improvements were also patented by Lemp). Lemp's design used
13700-485: The mission and the town were named after San Luis, obispo de Tolosa (St. Louis, bishop of Toulouse, France). When the Mexican War of Independence from Spain broke out in 1810, all California missions had to become virtually self-sufficient, receiving few funds or supplies from Spanish sources. Beginning soon after Mexico won her independence from Spain in 1821, anti-Spanish feelings led to calls for expulsion of
13837-455: The mission itself being granted in the final year. The central community, however, remained in the same location and formed the nucleus of today's city of San Luis Obispo. Following the American Conquest of California , San Luis Obispo was the first town incorporated in the newly formed San Luis Obispo County . It remains the center of the county to the present. Early in the American period,
13974-424: The missionaries, soldiers, and neophytes (baptized natives). It was after this that Junípero Serra decided that La Cañada de Los Osos would be an ideal place for the fifth mission. The area had abundant supplies of food and water, the climate was also very mild, and the local Chumash were very friendly. With soldiers, muleteers, and pack animals carrying mission supplies, Junípero Serra set out from Carmel to reach
14111-589: The nearby town of Atascadero because of the ban. In 2008 the City Council voted 3–2 to keep the ban. In April 2010, an "unruly gathering" ordinance passed with a vote of 4–1. This ordinance poses a fine of $ 700 for the hosts of gatherings with more than 20 people on private property that create a substantial disturbance in a significant amount of the neighborhood. Unlawful conduct includes excessive noise ; public drunkenness ; serving alcohol to minors; fighting; urinating in public; crowds overflowing into yards, sidewalks, or streets; or similar unlawful behaviors. In
14248-751: The nine peaks are open to the public for recreation. San Luis Obispo experiences a warm Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csb ). On average it has 50 days with measurable rain per year, mostly during winter months. Summers are generally warm and sunny, often with morning fog from the Pacific coast. Winters are generally mild, though below freezing lows occur 2.6 nights per year on average. Measurable snowfall in San Luis Obispo has not officially been recorded since records began in 1870, although photos show about 0.3 inches (0.76 cm) fell in 1922 and snow flurries were reported in both 1988 and 2006. Temperatures do, however, vary widely at any time of
14385-412: The noise they made on the tracks. There are many references to their use in central Europe in the 16th century. Such a transport system was later used by German miners at Caldbeck , Cumbria , England, perhaps from the 1560s. A wagonway was built at Prescot , near Liverpool , sometime around 1600, possibly as early as 1594. Owned by Philip Layton, the line carried coal from a pit near Prescot Hall to
14522-509: The one at the Casa Romantica slide will be constructed. Limited service through the landslide area resumed on March 6. Full service then resumed on March 25. OCTA says $ 7 million is needed to study realignment and other possible solutions to protect 7 miles (11 km) of the line along the shore. The first study, that started in August 2023, will identify the issues that impact the rail corridor, offer solutions to protect it, and develop
14659-400: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 26,712 people (59.2%) lived in rental housing units. The city has a desired maximum population of 57,200 within the urban reserve, however with the extremely rapid growth of the area it is unknown whether this population cap will remain. As of the 2000 census, there were 27,819 people, 18,639 households, and 7,697 families residing in
14796-525: The possibility of a smaller engine that might be used to power a vehicle. Following his patent, Watt's employee William Murdoch produced a working model of a self-propelled steam carriage in that year. The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built in the United Kingdom in 1804 by Richard Trevithick , a British engineer born in Cornwall . This used high-pressure steam to drive
14933-691: The region was well known for lawlessness. It gained a reputation as "Barrio del Tigre" (or Tiger-Town) because of the endemic problem. Robberies and murders that left no witnesses were carried out on along the El Camino Real and elsewhere around San Luis Obispo for several years. Finally a gang of eight men committed a robbery with three murders and a kidnapping at the Rancho San Juan Capistrano del Camote in May 1858, that uncharacteristically left two witnesses alive. This brought about
15070-509: The route in Orange County and San Diego County, there are plans to upgrade tracks to Class 6 trackage , which can run at speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), when funding is available. About two-thirds of the 60-mile (97 km) segment from the Orange County line to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego has been double-tracked. As one of the nation's busiest corridors, local transportation and planning agencies want to complete
15207-476: The situation. An extended closure occurred the next year when the segment was closed to passenger traffic on September 29, 2022 due to soil movement; freight traffic continued at lowered speed. Additional rock was added between the beach and the railroad tracks after each incident. The passenger rail traffic stop continued as anchors were being placed into bedrock. The line fully reopened in April 2023 but rail service
15344-441: The standard for railways. Cast iron used in rails proved unsatisfactory because it was brittle and broke under heavy loads. The wrought iron invented by John Birkinshaw in 1820 replaced cast iron. Wrought iron, usually simply referred to as "iron", was a ductile material that could undergo considerable deformation before breaking, making it more suitable for iron rails. But iron was expensive to produce until Henry Cort patented
15481-583: The surf on the narrow beach. The eroding bluffs above the tracks in at least three locations require temporary closure of the tracks until conditions can be stabilized. Extra funding for maintenance of both sections continues to be sought to keep them in operation as long term solutions are developed. Coastal erosion eats away at the Del Mar bluffs each year and the rate has accelerated due to sea level rise due to climate change. The bluffs erode by about six inches every year. The bluff has had to be shored up to safely run current operations. Steel beams were driven into
15618-475: The time, was Liverpool and Manchester Railway , built in 1830. Steam power continued to be the dominant power system in railways around the world for more than a century. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Thus it was also the earliest battery-electric locomotive. Davidson later built
15755-543: The track. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most trains carry a revenue load, although non-revenue cars exist for the railway's own use, such as for maintenance-of-way purposes. The engine driver (engineer in North America) controls the locomotive or other power cars, although people movers and some rapid transits are under automatic control. Traditionally, trains are pulled using
15892-471: The transport of ore tubs to and from mines and soon became popular in Europe. Such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and a vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from
16029-572: The walls of Bubblegum Alley . The doctor's office on the corner of Santa Rosa and Pacific streets is one of very few commercial buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . San Luis also has a Carnegie Library which is now home to the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum. The "underground city" is a series of tunnels beneath the city. One of the largest Mardi Gras parades west of the Mississippi
16166-629: The wheels on track. For example, evidence indicates that a 6 to 8.5 km long Diolkos paved trackway transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. Paved trackways were also later built in Roman Egypt . In 1515, Cardinal Matthäus Lang wrote a description of the Reisszug ,
16303-559: The world in 1825, although it used both horse power and steam power on different runs. In 1829, he built the locomotive Rocket , which entered in and won the Rainhill Trials . This success led to Stephenson establishing his company as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives for railways in Great Britain and Ireland, the United States, and much of Europe. The first public railway which used only steam locomotives, all
16440-548: The year, with 80 °F (27 °C) readings in January and February not uncommon. Although heat extremes above 110 °F (43.3 °C) have been recorded, the maritime moderation is generally strong due to the proximity to the cool ocean waters. The hottest temperature on record is officially at 113 °F (45 °C) on September 6, 2020, although a 120 reading was reported in the local news. Nights remain cool year round due to cold-current ocean air in summer and being in
16577-498: Was $ 60,534, and the median family income was $ 72,327. Males had a median income of $ 41,915 versus $ 27,407 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,386. 26.6% of the population and 7.1% of families were below the poverty line , a similar number to Cleveland, Ohio . Out of the total population, 9.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Downtown San Luis Obispo has many eclectic shops and boutiques. Takken's Shoes
16714-405: Was 26.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.2 males. There were 20,553 housing units at an average density of 1,589.5 per square mile (613.7/km ), of which 7,547 (39.3%) were owner-occupied, and 11,646 (60.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 17,225 people (38.2% of
16851-547: Was 38,117 (84.5%) White , 523 (1.2%) African American , 275 (0.6%) Native American , 2,350 (5.2%) Asian , 65 (0.1%) Pacific Islander , 1,973 (4.4%) from other races , and 1,816 (4.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6,626 persons (14.7%). The Census reported that 43,937 people (97.4% of the population) lived in households, 967 (2.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 215 (0.5%) were institutionalized. There were 19,193 households, out of which 3,178 (16.6%) had children under
16988-419: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29. There were 7,612 families (39.7% of all households); the average family size was 2.81. The population was spread out, with 5,522 people (12.2%) under the age of 18, 15,670 people (34.7%) aged 18 to 24, 9,630 people (21.3%) aged 25 to 44, 8,866 people (19.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,431 people (12.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
17125-512: Was a soft material that contained slag or dross . The softness and dross tended to make iron rails distort and delaminate and they lasted less than 10 years. Sometimes they lasted as little as one year under high traffic. All these developments in the production of iron eventually led to the replacement of composite wood/iron rails with superior all-iron rails. The introduction of the Bessemer process , enabling steel to be made inexpensively, led to
17262-602: Was accomplished by the distribution of weight between a number of wheels. Puffing Billy is now on display in the Science Museum in London, and is the oldest locomotive in existence. In 1814, George Stephenson , inspired by the early locomotives of Trevithick, Murray and Hedley, persuaded the manager of the Killingworth colliery where he worked to allow him to build a steam-powered machine. Stephenson played
17399-553: Was also a popular stop en route to Los Angeles. U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 were constructed with the rise of car culture. Due to its popularity as a stop, it was the location of the first motel in the world, the Milestone Mo-Tel . San Luis Obispo is located on U.S. Route 101 , about 31 miles (50 km) north of Santa Maria . According to the United States Census Bureau ,
17536-514: Was built by Siemens. The tram ran on 180 volts DC, which was supplied by running rails. In 1891 the track was equipped with an overhead wire and the line was extended to Berlin-Lichterfelde West station . The Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton , England. The railway is still operational, thus making it the oldest operational electric railway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram opened near Vienna in Austria. It
17673-706: Was built in 1758, later became the world's oldest operational railway (other than funiculars), albeit now in an upgraded form. In 1764, the first railway in the Americas was built in Lewiston, New York . In the late 1760s, the Coalbrookdale Company began to fix plates of cast iron to the upper surface of the wooden rails. This allowed a variation of gauge to be used. At first only balloon loops could be used for turning, but later, movable points were taken into use that allowed for switching. A system
17810-415: Was first organized in 1872 and now has 45 full-time firefighters and four fire stations (as of 2007 ). The SLO City Fire Stations are staffed with three-man ALS engine companies and a four-man ALS Truck company. Each apparatus has at least one paramedic on duty each day. The department responds to over 4,500 calls each year. The San Luis Obispo City Fire Department also maintains a bike medic program which
17947-412: Was halted again two miles to the north. Falling debris did not damage the tracks but ground movement continued from a landslide involving Casa Romantica on the bluff above. Full service resumed in late May but was halted indefinitely again in early June. During the work closures, freight trains are able to resume at a speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) as officials were on site to clear them when it
18084-403: Was held in San Luis Obispo, but canceled in 2005 because of difficulties related to crowd control and alcohol consumption. Cal Poly's open house, Poly Royal, was held annually from 1933 to 1990, though canceled in 1945 due to war rationing. It began as a show-and-tell for students to display their projects. It traces its origins to the 1904 Farmer's Institute and Picnic Basket. By the 1980s, as
18221-548: Was introduced in which unflanged wheels ran on L-shaped metal plates, which came to be known as plateways . John Curr , a Sheffield colliery manager, invented this flanged rail in 1787, though the exact date of this is disputed. The plate rail was taken up by Benjamin Outram for wagonways serving his canals, manufacturing them at his Butterley ironworks . In 1803, William Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway ,
18358-489: Was light enough to not break the edge-rails track and solved the problem of adhesion by a cog-wheel using teeth cast on the side of one of the rails. Thus it was also the first rack railway . This was followed in 1813 by the locomotive Puffing Billy built by Christopher Blackett and William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery Railway, the first successful locomotive running by adhesion only. This
18495-705: Was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use. It was destroyed by railway workers, who saw it as a threat to their job security. By the middle of the nineteenth century most european countries had military uses for railways. Werner von Siemens demonstrated an electric railway in 1879 in Berlin. The world's first electric tram line, Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin , Germany, in 1881. It
18632-636: Was the first tram line in the world in regular service powered from an overhead line. Five years later, in the U.S. electric trolleys were pioneered in 1888 on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway , using equipment designed by Frank J. Sprague . The first use of electrification on a main line was on a four-mile section of the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895 connecting
18769-578: Was to the Pennsylvania Railroad . Daily traffic could reach a density of ten trains (each way) during the summer months. The route hosted AT&SF San Diegan passenger trains, renamed the Pacific Surfliner by Amtrak in 2000. The Santa Fe installed centralized traffic control in 1943–1944 which increased capacity on the line. Santa Fe sold the line to local transportation authorities in 1992, with ownership split between
#97902