This abandoned route is actually a line relocation. This line was originally built in the 1870s-1880s. The abandoned segment ran southeast from Anaheim through Orange to Santa Ana. It ran roughly parallel to, and a few miles west of, the Santa Fe mainline through the same area.
In downtown Santa Ana there were numerous sidings that received box car loads of freight.
In the 1990s, construction began on widening parallel Interstate 5, and the SP lost part of its right-of-way to add more freeway lanes. The SP started using the nearby Santa Fe route for the Anaheim-Santa Ana segment, and its own rails were abandoned.
As of 2004 few traces remain. The right-of-way along I-5 has disappeared under new freeway lanes and landscaping. Through Santa Ana part of the right of way is still open but has also been completely re-landscaped.
