Rail Grinder 9310 was built by the Los Angeles Railway in 1925 at the South Park Shops in Los Angeles. The purpose of rail grinding cars was to grind out corrugations worn into the rails from streetcars starting and braking at car stops and intersections. Riding on a single four-wheeled truck, the truck also had a grinding block apparatus controlled by hand operated cranks and levers that could be lowered onto the rail surface. The car would run back and forth over the rough area until ground smooth. 9310 could be found working at night on the entire Los Angeles Railway system. 9310 and the other work cars were based out of Vernon Yard, and was often seen in between assignments at Division 3 Carhouse in Cypress Park. With LARy being sold to Los Angeles Transit Lines in 1945, and again sold to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Authority in 1958, 9310 was in continual service until 1963 with the end of streetcar service in Los Angles. The car was purchased by members of the Orange Empire Trolley Museum (now Southern California Railway Museum) and moved to the museum in Perris, California. Today, 9310 is in complete operating condition and may be visited today with the Los Angeles Railway Collection in Carbarn 1 at the Southern California Railway Museum.
Los Angeles Railway builders photo of 9310, posed on Gage Avenue in 1925. Ira Swett Magna Collection.
