Bunker Hill's beloved little funicular Angels Flight has been shuttered since a 2013 derailment (which happened right after another safety-related shutdown), but momentum's finally gathering to open it up again. The Angels Flight Railway nonprofit has begun a fundraising campaign that aims to gather $10,000 (or more!) by the end of September to go toward expenses like electricity and maintenance, says the LA Business Journal, but mostly toward insurance, which apparently costs nearly $8,000 every month.
Why isn't this wee train making trips between Hill Street and California Plaza right now? Though it was shut down for safety issues, advocates say that those problems have been resolved and the railway is in working order; according to them, a reopening has been held up by bureaucratic red tape. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Metro have gotten involved to figure out what needs to happen in order to get the railway's two vintage cars, Sinai and Olive, back in business again.
· Donate to Angels Flight [Official site]
· Fundraising Campaign Launched for Angels Flight [LABJ]
· Mayor Garcetti Trying to Get Downtown's Angels Flight Funicular Reopened ASAP [Curbed LA]
· Can Bunker Hill's Angels Flight Funicular Just Reopen Already? [Curbed LA]