The beloved Angels Flight Railway in the city of Los Angeles began carrying passengers up and down a steep downtown hill again on March 15, nine years after a fatal accident forced an extensive overhaul of the tiny railway's operating and safety systems.
深受洛杉磯市民喜愛的「天使觀光纜車」，9年前因死亡事故，被迫全面檢查翻修這段迷你有軌纜車的營運和安全系統後，3月15日重新上路，運送旅客上下洛城陡峭的市中心山坡地。
Fans of “The Shortest Railway in the World” waited eagerly to board the first ride at 6:45 a.m., recalling childhood memories of riding the orange-and-black wooden cars - named Olivet and Sinai - which looked the same as when they were first put into service in 1901. Angels Flight is a funicular, meaning its two passenger cars are attached by a cable and move in tandem, one going up the inclined tracks as the other goes down.
一群「全球最短有軌觀光纜車」的粉絲，當天一早6點45分就迫不及待等著搶搭頭班車，他們想重溫童年搭乘橘黑色相間木製纜車的舊夢。取名「奧利維」與「西奈」的2部纜車，看起來和1901年首次投入營運時一模一樣。「天使觀光纜車」是有軌纜車，這意味著它的兩節車廂是由電纜掛上，同步移動，當其中一部爬上往上傾斜的軌道時，另一部同時下山。
“It's as fun a ride as the first ride I took 60 years ago,” said William Daniel, 66, of Santa Ana. “Before Disneyland opened, this was the thrill ride of Southern California for me.” He said the ride was slightly bumpy, just as he remembered it from decades ago.
加州聖塔安娜66歲的居民丹尼爾說：「這和60年前我第一次搭乘時一樣好玩，在迪士尼樂園開幕前，對我來說，這有如南加州的雲霄飛車。」他並說正如他數十年前的回憶，乘坐纜車時有點顛簸。
Officials from the nonprofit organization that operates Angels Flight joked that they purposely kept the ride bumpy to preserve that old-time feel. However, underneath the meticulously restored wooden cars and 298 feet of track is a state-of-the-art braking and collision avoidance system.
經營天使觀光纜車的非營利機構官員開玩笑說，他們刻意保留乘坐纜車時的顛簸感，以延續過去的感覺。但在精心修復的木製車廂和298英呎長的軌道下面，是一套最先進的煞車和防撞系統。
The railway climbs a 33％ incline and both cars share a common middle rail, except in the middle of the route where they pass as one ascends and the other descends.
天使觀光纜車傾斜度為33％，2部車廂共用中間軌道，除了中間路段，上下行纜車在這裡會車。
Service halted in February 2001 after one car rolled uncontrolled downhill and hit the other car, killing Leon Praport, 83, of New Jersey and injuring seven other passengers.
2001年2月，其中一輛纜車下坡時失控滾落，撞上上行列車，新澤西州83歲的居民普拉波特當場死亡，另有7名乘客受傷，觀光纜車暫停營運至今。
The investigation faulted the modern operating mechanism that had replaced the original. It found that a gear failed and caused a cable that raised and lowered the car to come off its spool. In addition, an emergency brake on that mechanism wasn't working and there were no emergency brakes on the cars. Federal investigators also concluded there was poor oversight of the railway.
調查指出，問題出在現代化的運作機制取代了原來那一套。研究還發現，齒輪失靈導致升降車廂的電纜從線軸上脫落。此外，那套機制的緊急煞車系統出現故障，纜車上等於沒有緊急煞車系統。聯邦調查人員還下結論說，纜車主管當局監督不周。
The Angels Flight Railway Foundation, whose members include historic preservationists and downtown boosters, spent years raising about $3.5 million to repair and upgrade the railway.
天使觀光纜車基金會，其成員包括主張保護歷史古蹟及重建市中心的人士，他們奔走數年，籌募約350萬美元的經費，以修復並改善這一段觀光纜車。
The redesigned mechanism is much like the original, with both cars counterbalancing each other at opposite ends of the same cable. Each car now has a second safety cable, and there are four types of brake systems and collision avoidance technology similar to positive train control. The system relies on sensors on the track to determine the cars' location and when they are allowed to safely move.
重新設計的機制和最原始的版本很像，在同一條電纜兩端兩節車廂互相制衡，每輛纜車現在有第2條安全電纜，並有4套煞車系統和類似「正向火車控制系統」的防撞科技。該系統靠軌道上的傳感器，以確定纜車的位置及何時可以安全運行。
Other updates include entrance gates that automatically open and close. “It's highly sophisticated technology on the inside, but we try to keep it funky and old fashion-looking on the outside,” said John Welborne, president of the foundation.
其他更新的設施包括入口可以自動開關。「這裡頭有非常先進精密的技術，但在外觀上我們盡量保持獨特時髦和質樸老舊的樣子。」基金會總裁威爾波恩說。
The railway opened in 1901 to connect residents of Bunker Hill, which at the time was topped with Victorian mansions, to the shopping district at the bottom. Riders paid a penny then for the one-minute ride.
這條纜車於1901年開放，接駁邦克山上和山下的居民，當時山上很多維多利亞式豪宅，山下則是購物區。乘客當時只要付1分錢就可以搭歷時僅1分鐘的纜車。
The city razed the neighborhood in the 1960s after it became a slum, and Angels Flight was dismantled in 1969 to make way for skyscrapers, hotels and apartment buildings. The railway sat in a warehouse for years before it was reassembled in 1996 a short distance from its original location.
洛城於1960年代將已淪為貧民窟的附近社區夷為平地，天使觀光纜車也於1969年拆除，以便騰出空地蓋摩天大樓、飯店和公寓大廈。這條有軌纜車被堆放在倉庫裡好幾年，最後才在1996年在距原址不遠的地點重新組建。
Local courthouse worker Frank Campagna said he used to take the funicular for relaxing lunches at a water fountain atop the hill. He held a quarter in his hand and joked that he saved it for nine years to ride Angels Flight again. “This is one of the few things that survived from old L.A.,” Campagna said. “It's fantastic. It's an oasis in the middle of the city.”
在當地法院上班的坎帕納說，他過去常搭登山纜車到山頂噴泉旁，輕鬆吃個午餐。他手上拿著25美分，開玩笑說，他已經存了9年，就等著再搭乘天使觀光纜車。「這是洛城老市區少數倖存下來的東西，」坎帕納說：「實在太棒了，這有如城市中的綠洲。」
It was a popular tourist attraction, and was often used by workers to avoid a 153-step staircase. The fare is now a quarter, and the cars will operate seven days a week from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. Photo shows that the Angels Flight Railway, for the first time in more than nine years, resumes ferrying passengers up and down Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles March, 15, 2010.
這是個熱門的旅遊景點，上班族也經常使用，以免爬153步階梯。現在的票價是25美分，纜車1周運行7天，上午6點45分開放到晚上10點。圖為今年3月15日，天使觀光纜車9年多來首次在洛杉磯市中心恢復運送乘客上下邦克山。（法新社）