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Los Angeles Live Steamers
LALS Facilities and Stations
The LALS facility is
built in a grassy park area with large trees and abundant shade.
The facility is located between Travel Town and the Los Angeles
Zoo. Due to its inland location next to the LA river at the mouth
of the San Fernando valley, it can get quite hot in the summer. The
shade is very welcome. The day I was there, "June Gloom" abounded,
it was overcast and cool. This will change soon.
New
Sherwood Station is where the public accesses the trains. It has
its own entrance to the facility with public parking just east of
the gate. There are two tracks, the left one is usually used for
steam equipment as there is boiler water available on that track.
The two tracks can hold two or three trains each so that almost
continuous loading and unloading is possible, and often needed.
This is the side of New
Sherwood Station that the public sees. The large scale layout is
just off to the right, viewable through a fence.
This is the
original Sherwood station. Its primary purpose now is for loading
and unloading of the 1" scale lines on meet days.
Before New
Sherwood Station was built, Sutchville Station was the primary
loading area for the public as it serves both the 1" and 1-1/2"
scale lines. However due to the marginal stability of 1" scale
rolling stock, the public isn't hauled on the 1" stuff anymore.
Sutchville Station is right in the middle of the facility so that
it made crowd control difficult. New Sherwood is in a corner of the
park, near adequate parking, so it makes crowd control much
easier.
Utility stands such as
this one stand all around the facility. This stand provides city
water, treated boiler water and compressed air to service the steam
engines.
The 1 inch scale lines
run around the main part of the park, inside the 1 1/2" scale lines
which also run around a much larger loop in another part of the
park.
A new car barn was recently completed that holds
trains on three levels. The lowest level tracks have direct access
to the outside.
On the other side of
the barn, there is a jack and a three level transfer table so that
users of the upper level tracks can remove their equipment.
The club owns 20 or
more riding cars and cabooses. The riding cars hold 3 adults each
and a caboose is usually used by a conductor who watches over the
train when hauling the public. Club riding cars can be used by
anybody for hauling the public. These club owned cars are stored on
six covered tracks behind the old car barns. Bad order cars are
also kept here.
The old car barns are in
front of a pair of transfer table tracks leading to the steamup
bays.
The two transfer
tables are long enough to hold an engine and tender or riding car
and sometimes another car as well. They can be moved to any storage
track, the loading jack, any steamup track or to the inbound or
outbound tracks.
To facilitate loading
and unloading equipment from trucks and vans, a hydraulic jack can
be accessed from both the steamup bays and a track that goes behind
the car barns. The jack table can also be used as a turntable.
These are the steamup
bays near the old car barn.
The steamup bays are
located in the shade of some large trees.
The excursion
train that was running is stopped at the "station" at one end of
the property. This train was so long, that the engines have almost
disappeared in the distance.
There are
extensive facilities for the 1" scale trains too. This roundhouse
and turntable had seen better days, but somebody has completely
rebuilt them. The roundhouse can be used to store equipment on
site.
There
is also an transfer table for the 1" equipment. There was a car
barn here as well, but it was in really bad shape. I expect that it
is in the process of being rebuilt too.
There are three full
scale cabooses on the property. This ATSF caboose has been
converted to a private residence for the full time caretaker of the
facility.
A UP caboose has been
converted to a club room for club members.
An SP bay window caboose has
been converted to an office for the club's officers.
The Disney company
has been a supporter of the LALS. Walt Disney's barn from Carolwood
has been moved to the LALS facility for preservation. Walt used it
as a workshop and a place to use his own model trains. The barn in
open to the public usually on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
When the Disney
barn was dedicated, this plaque was installed.
Next to the members
entrance is a ticket shack. This building is used only during meets
where the public is admitted to the grounds. Normally, the public
enters at the other end of the facility at Sherwood Station.
© 1999-2001 George Schreyer
Created May 29, 1999
Last Updated Jan 21, 2000
