Venta Spur

[JR]

Christmas Eve my Irvine GF and I go for a walk through the 'hood and come across this sign on the walk/bike path.....

[JR]

later we come across this neat historical marker (sorry 'bout the poor quality cam phone pics)

[Myfordbrowning]

It was nice that they used the name Venta Spur Trail. My avatar is of a train on the Venta (called the Irvine Spur from 1965 to abandonment in 1983) Spur at Old Myford Road.

Cliff

[jjlamain]

I can remember the other terminus of the Venta Spur at the packing house on Newport Av. This was right across the street from the SP Tustin Branch and if you were there at the right time SP would be on the west side of Newport working the lumber yard south of Larwin Square and the ATSF would be working the packing house on the east side on Newport next to the old Red Hill Volunteer Fire Station.

[SPIKE]

Thanks for the history lesson. Always enjoy reading about local r.r. history.

Spike

[SteveD]

A number of Clifford's pix of operations along this Spur appeared in my article on the subject in the August, 1985 Pacific Rail News. The text, but not the pix nor maps or ETT excerpts appeared as chapter 16 of "Cultural Resource Management Report, Irvine Valencia Growers Packing House"

http://sphere.ci.irvine.ca.us/pdf/Append...Final3.pdf

http://sphere.ci.irvine.ca.us/pdf/Appendix_C_IVGPH_Final3.pdf

[snowyage]

Heres a picture of the north end of the spur heading towwards tustin on 1400 Wanda Rd in Villa Park in 1965 looking westward. Compare it to how the intersection looks like today on Google Earth

[Van Nuys Local]

Actually Steve it was the August 1985 issue, and what a great one it was! Train orders at Santa Barbara, the Eureka Southern, Millbrae 35 years later, and your Venta Spur made for great western rail reading. I still have it as a matter a fact. I studied that issue and your article many times when I was younger. Do you have any articles or books in the works?

[bastatim4294]

Comparing the two photos that area has changed alot. Thanks to googlemaps you can follow the whole route of the spur.

Tim.

[Myfordbrowning]

The photo of the Villa Park Market with railroad tracks is a nice view of the "old" Orange County. However the railroad in the picture is the SP Tustin Branch. This was the other line that served Tustin.



Cliff