Railroad Americana
Light Rail Revolution!
Wheels on the Bus
Beyond the City Limits
Transit by Design
100
In this folk standard, popularized by Arlo Guthrie, “15 cars and 15 restless riders” are aboard an iconic Illinois Central train.
What is City of New Orleans?
100
In 2024, Green and Orange Line service into Santee was scaled back, and this new line was created to replace service north of El Cajon.
What is the Copper Line?
100
Triton Transit, UC San Diego’s shuttle system, has no shortage of operational oddities. On the weekends, this route is replaced by the Grocery-Convoy, between Gilman Transit Center and much of the campus’ graduate student housing.
What is the Mesa Loop?
100
On Dec 31st, 2025, the last of these iconic yellow New York City farecards were sold.
What is the MetroCard?
100
The statue shown here had to be lifted up and moved across the tracks to build the Trolley’s Lemon Grove Depot station, which is today served by this line.
What is the Orange Line?
200
This San Diego business magnate, who played an instrumental role in building the so-called “impossible railroad,” operated so many public services that many called his San Diego a “one-man town.”
Who is John D. Spreckels?
200
The distance between these stations is the longest in the Trolley network, along the Mid-Coast Blue Line.
What is the Blue Line between Balboa Avenue and Nobel Drive?
200
These routes operate between El Cajon Transit Center and cities like Ramona and Campo with extremely limited schedules and an $8.00 base fare, the highest in the MTS system.
What is MTS Rural Service?
200
This rail station in East Los Angeles’ El Sereno neighborhood requires a special announcement from the conductor to stop at, due to its unusually short platform.
What is Cal State L.A. Metrolink Station?
200
At the entrance to this Trolley station, artist Ann Hamilton designed a walkway engraved with a “spine” of words and phrases interpolated with a feminist Kumeyaay origin story.
What is UC San Diego Central Campus Station?
300
This once-renowed Chicago railcar magnate built an empire around luxurious sleeper cars staffed by “porters” - some of the first opportunities for Black men in railroading.
Who is George Pullman?
300
Until the 2005 opening of the Green Line, the Blue Line ran along the Mission Valley West line, which stretched from the Trolley Main Line at Old Town to this station.
What is Mission San Diego Station?
300
Three road detour plans exist for flooding in and out of the Fashion Valley Transit Center. In the most severe plan - plan #3 - buses are redirected to this Trolley station instead.
What is Mission Valley Center Station?
300
The rarest railroad service to spot at the Oceanside Transit Center is a once-or-twice-daily Metrolink train to this city, part of the nation’s first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail line, and one of its longest.
What is San Bernardino?
300
At this Trolley station located along I-8, artist Michael Davis wanted to reflect the running water nearby by creating a “river-like gathering spot” - complete with native trees, leather ferns, and bamboo reeds growing towards the soaring elevated station over 40 feet above.
What is Union Grantville Station?
400
A slew of American heavy rail systems opened around the 1960s are often nicknamed this, after the landmark social program that set them in motion.
What are the Great Society metros?
400
After just over five years of Trolley operation, demand in this city was so high that an infill station was added.
What is Chula Vista?
400
Before MTS, San Diego’s local and express bus routes were operated by a variety of local operators. Many routes in the 800-series, in East County, were formerly of this operator.
What was the San Diego County Transit System?
400
Every night, at the end of regular BART service hours, all four tracks at this rail station are filled with trains in a “Grand Meet,” ensuring riders can access every corner of the system and not worry about getting stranded.
What is MacArthur BART?
400
At this Trolley station, the spirit of the nearby Living Coast Discovery Center is reflected by a series of tile animals and a retaining wall mural created by the local Rainforest Art Project.
What is E Street Station?
500
This railroad was the former main operator on the Escondido subdivision, now used by the SPRINTER.
What is the Santa Fe Railroad?
500
One of the Trolley’s most unique operations - the Silver Line - operates some vintage PCC streetcars from across the nation. While three of MTS’ five PCCs hail from St Louis, two more were originally built for this agency.
What is Philadelphia Rapid Transit?
500
Unlike their direct-access-ramp (DAR) counterparts, these two stations on Rapid 235 sit in the freeway median.
What is City Heights Transit Plaza and Boulevard Transit Plaza?
500
At this LA Metro station, a ladder stretches up from the concourse level into the sky - inspired by Italo Calvino’s short story The Distance of the Moon, about a time when the Earth and Moon were so close together you could walk between them.
What is LAX/Metro Transit Center?
500
Artist Anne Mudge created these sweeping, hanging figures for SDSU Station, which combine with “stepping stones” in the station floor to create a visual allegory for education.
What are the TapRoots?