Graffitists in Santa Monica wistfully pine after the Red Cars of yore — an interesting sight, given that the Red Cars stopped in 1961. It’s a sad tale, and one which exerts a strangely tragic pull over Angelenos to this day. (It’s worth mentioning here that, like nearly all transit [and most passenger transportation systems], the Red Car was only ever marginally profitable — land speculation along the ROWs paid for Henry Huntington’s empire.)
Meanwhile, the Chicago machine is suddenly wistfully looking back on the days when it could bulldoze entire neighborhoods. Too bad the freight railroads are actually using that land for something useful, like, um, moving freight; that CREATE remains woefully unfunded; and that there are already two (well, 1.75, but soon to be two) toll beltways around the city’s south and west flanks. Hmm.
west north 