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Programs

The Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation is built on three elements: preservation, adventures and education. Our education initiatives include Boy Scout Railroad Merit Badge classes and Urban Archeological tours. For the general public LARHF's permanent "satellites" displays are continuing sources of historical and geographical educational information. The displays consist of archival and contemporary photographs. Complementing the photos are prototypical miniature train models.

Programs

Satellite Exhibits

Programs

Satellite Exhibits

Roger L. Titus is a noted rail-traction historian and postcard collector. He is the co-author of "Destinations," a LARHF-published title documenting the rise of Southern California through vintage postcards and their relationship to the trolley lines that fueled Southland growth. As a teenager, Roger and his father Robert rode the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway systems, photographing the systems as they were on the verge of shutdown. His collection provides a brilliant snapshot into late-1940s through late-1950s Southern California, and how trolley systems defined our way of life.

Ralph Melching (1917-2005) was a founder of the Pacific Rail Society (née Railroad Boosters) and an avid rail photographer throughout his adult life. Ralph photographed a wide variety of rail-based subjects, including the construction of Los Angeles Union Station in 1938-39, as well as the Pacific Electric Railway and main line railroads.

National Geographic Collection

Elrond Lawrence

Nov 29, 20191 min read

Scouts learn about railroads, ride the Gold Line

We're thrilled and grateful at the turnout for the October 19 Scouts of America Railroad Merit Badge Class in downtown Los Angeles. About 70 scouts (boys & girls) attended the Saturday class at the Metro LA boardroom near Union Station. Speakers from BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, Metro Los Angeles, and LARHF taught the scouts about railroad operations, safety, careers, and rail equipment. After lunch the Scouts rode from Union Station to Pasadena via Metro’s Gold Line, with nearly all the class posing for a group portrait at the former Santa Fe passenger depot. Our next scouting class will be in March of 2020; visit our Merit Badge web page for updates.