Angels Flight is the Los Angeles railway funicular known as one of the world’s shortest public railways.
The 298-foot, or about 91-metre, line was opened in 1901 on Bunker Hill. It used two counterbalanced cars, named Sinai and Olivet, that moved on a steep incline between Hill Street and Olive Street. The railway became a familiar part of downtown Los Angeles.
Angels Flight was dismantled in 1969 during the redevelopment of Bunker Hill. It was later rebuilt one block south and reopened in 1996. The rebuilt line uses the historic cars, although its operation and safety arrangements differ from those of the original railway.
It is a funicular rather than a conventional level railway: the two cars are connected so that their movements balance each other. The short length is part of its identity, but “shortest” can vary depending on whether a source counts public funiculars, tourist railways, or temporary systems.