Taylor Yard (Los Angeles, California)

USA / California / South Pasadena / Los Angeles, California
 place with historical importance, railroad yard, historical layer / disappeared object
Site of a former Southern Pacific freight yard. SP outgrew their Midway Yard facility and began developing this site shortly after WWI. This yard included shops, which are still in use (by Metrolink), and a "hump" sorting yard. A switch engine would take a train to be broken for sorting (also called classification) and push it up a small hump. Workers at the hump would uncouple the cars. They would roll down the other side of the hump and through a series of switches (controlled from a tower) on to various tracks to make up new trains. The shops had the ability to repair both cars and locomotives. Freight-switching operations ceased by 1985. Parts of this yard are a park next to the Los Angeles River.

www.abandonedrails.com/Glendale_California
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°5'56"N   118°14'8"W

Comments

  • RIVER-EDGE IMPROVEMENTS The Los Angeles River Revitalization Project vision for Taylor Yard is based on the following scenario: the G2 site was heavily contaminated from past rail uses. To make it functional, contaminated soils can be excavated from the area next to the River’s edge and used to create a series of mounded, sculptural landforms that support an upland, meadow-like landscape. The excavated area will be capped to prevent infiltration of contaminants into the groundwater, and a series of water quality treatment wetlands can be constructed on top of the cap, using imported soils that were stabilized to prevent erosion from the force of flood flows. This large site can be a very efficient regional water quality treatment facility, capturing runoff from very large box culverts that transport stormwater runoff that emerges from pipes in Glassell Park. The purchase of the G2 parcel would provide enough land area to naturalize the east bank of the River, and to strengthen riparian habitat established within the channel itself. For a one-mile stretch, the concrete walls can be removed, and a more natural meander can be restored in the River’s alignment. A series of pools and riffles can provide habitat for desirable fish species. Because the site is viewed primarily as a preserve, only a limited number of boardwalks and pathways should be provided, allowing birdwatchers an opportunity to enjoy the area without disturbing shorebirds and migratory songbirds.
This article was last modified 5 years ago