An Iconic, Century-Old Train Ride In California Is Known As The 'World's Shortest Railway'

There are so many reasons the Angels Flight Railway looks out of place in modern Los Angeles. The two vintage cars with their wooden benches and old-school lightbulbs look like the setting for a Sam Spade movie. The track is slanted at a 33% grade, which is pretty steep. It's also short — only 300 feet — almost the exact length of an American football field. Then there's the climb itself: If you know L.A., you know that downtown is mostly level, with very little change in topography, so a 95-foot ascent to the top of a hill is pretty significant.

Eccentric as it is, Angels Flight has attracted riders since it first opened in 1901, first as a form of mass transit and more recently as a tourist attraction. The cars are nicknamed Olivet and Sinai, and they run up and down the track, mirroring each other's movements from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. Each ride costs $1, and the $2 round-trip comes with an old-timey souvenir ticket. This is a quick-and-cheap addition to your itinerary if you only have one day in Los Angeles.

Angels Flight is technically a funicular — a cable railway that uses counter-balancing to pull and lower the cars simultaneously. Funiculars are found all over the world, usually in hilly or mountainous locations. Part of Angel Flights' charm is its location; Los Angeles is hemmed in with hills, but none of them are near downtown. The funicular's two stations are located in the Bunker Hill neighborhood, a rare bump in the terrain. The tracks' brevity has earned it the moniker "World's Shortest Railway."

Angels Flight is convenient if you're just trying to get from Point A to Point B: At the bottom is the Grand Central Market, and you'll find the Water Court shopping mall at the top. You'll also get a nice view of the L.A. skyline, which is hard to find in this part of the valley (for grander vistas, check out the best hikes to take on your next trip to Los Angeles).

But cinephiles and history buffs will find even more to love about these little passenger cars. Downtown L.A. is the historic heart of the city, with a great deal of surviving architecture from the early 20th century. With its proximity to Hollywood, it's no surprise that this distinctive landmark has appeared in more than 100 movies and TV shows, most recently in HBO's "Perry Mason" reboot. Preservationists will also appreciate the miraculous endurance of Angels Flight. The cars were removed from their tracks in 1969 and kept in storage for nearly three decades. Long after the extinction of the L.A. "Red Car" trolley system, Olivet and Sinai are still operating, putting the fun in funicular.

Most visitors to L.A. are going to drive there or rent a car at LAX, which is about 40 minutes away from downtown. Incredibly, L.A. has a comprehensive mass transit system, including a bus ride to downtown's Gateway Plaza that also takes 40 minutes. From there, you can hop on the underrated metro to Pershing Square, which is just a block away from the Angels Flight station. While you're checking out L.A.'s more unusual destinations, here are 13 off-the-beaten-path ideas for your next trip.