After reopening little Los Angeles railroad stops again

Four days after its splashy reopening, the Angels Flight railway in downtown Los Angeles has shut down again.

A notice on its website Monday said the funicular would be closed for several days for maintenance.

Mayor Eric Garcetti was on hand last Thursday for a ceremony marking the return to service of the 116-year-old line that stretches just 298 feet up Bunker Hill. 

Before that, the beloved railway had been closed since 2013 after a derailment.

A pedestrian walking a steep flight of stairs next to the Angels Flight railroad in downtown Los Angeles. The 298-foot funicular had been closed since 2013 and reopened on Thursday before closing again Monday

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and council member Jose Huizar shows their Metro cards as they ride the Angels Flight when it reopened on Thursday

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, and council member Jose Huizar shows their Metro cards as they ride the Angels Flight when it reopened on Thursday

A sign posted Monday at the ticket booth says recent extreme weather conditions prompted the maintenance work. No details were given.

Angels Flight is a Los Angeles landmark that’s made frequent cameo appearances in movies, including last year’s Oscar-nominated La La Land, 1998’s City of Angels, and 1960’s Little Shop of Horrors.

While it was idled, many of its cars were badly scarred by graffiti in 2015, prompting thousands to petition the mayor to get it back in service. They were freshly repainted for Thursday’s run.

Angels Flight first opened in 1901 and round trips cost just a penny. They cost $1 now with a 50-cent discount for paying with a transit card.

The Angels Flight funicular seen in it's original location next to the 3rd Street Tunnel in downtown Los Angeles, California in 1945

The Angels Flight funicular seen in it’s original location next to the 3rd Street Tunnel in downtown Los Angeles, California in 1945

The railway closed in 1969 for a decades-long redevelopment project that saw Bunker Hill’s Victorian mansions replaced by high-rise office buildings, hotels, luxury apartments and museums.

Four years after it reopened in 1996 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It was closed again in 2001, however, after a failure of the counterbalancing system caused a crash that killed one rider and injured several others. The railway finally reopened in 2010, only to be closed three years later after riders had to be rescued.

Pedestrians make their way down a steep flight of stairs next to the Angels Flight railroad in downtown Los Angeles

Pedestrians make their way down a steep flight of stairs next to the Angels Flight railroad in downtown Los Angeles

Virginia Baies, an operator for Angels Flight railroad sits in the operators booth during test runs prior to Thursday's opening in downtown Los Angeles

Virginia Baies, an operator for Angels Flight railroad sits in the operators booth during test runs prior to Thursday’s opening in downtown Los Angeles

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