As a spring storm heads east, Metrolink train 684 rolls to a stop about halfway between Los Angeles and the mouthful station of Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo. (Fun fact: There is no mission in Mission Viejo. They are liars!). Train 684 is one of the few trains on the Orange County Line that operates with a cab car on the southern end. That is because this train travels north again as train 808, but to San Bernardino rather than Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire-Orange County Line trains have their locomotives on the north end. As the train was about to depart, the conductor got on the PA and announced that this train was about to depart and "careen" to its destination. "Careen?" I asked, "That sounds rough!"
"No," he said, "it’s because we go 90 miles-per-hour."
"But if you’re careening," I suggested, "then they’d better fix the track, as that sounds rough!"
He just smiled and gave the engineer a highball... (Orange, California – May 2, 2023)
