Like a Teatray in the Sky

Look, up in the sky!  Nope, it isn't a bird or a plane -- it's a TRAIN!  This afternoon,  two 70-year old flat-bed freight cars flew over Santa Ana Street and landed on the special tracks set up outside Anaheim's landmark Packing House.

The wheels were rolled onto the track first... followed shortly by the two enormous iron platforms, each one weighing 55 thousand pounds.  It took some fancy kite-flying techniques to guide the heavy structures over to the exact right spot.

As the thick cables were removed, the two retired freight cars settled into their new home, where they will remain for a long, long time. 

The cars are now a unique feature to the highly-anticipated Packing House District in Downtown Anaheim.  Opening to the public in 2013, the restored Packing House will become a grand artisan food hall, sporting a variety of restaurants, cafes and entertainment.   Built in 1919 at the edge of downtown Anaheim and along the Southern Pacific rail line, the huge building was once the hub of commerce for this area. Local farmers brought trucks of freshly picked citrus to be washed, crated, and loaded onto rail cars parked on the side of the building to be shipped nationwide.

The two 1940s train cars will serve as a provocative building-length dining porch, as well as helping to keep some of Anaheim's citrus history alive.