Every pin tells a story.

The Lanyard

California High Speed Rail

This pin carries the emblem of the California High Speed Rail Authority, the state agency tasked with building the High Speed Rail network from San Francisco to Los Angeles and San Diego. I'm not sure how far in the project's lifecycle it dates back - I got it from a pin trade with a family friend.

Operation Lifesaver

This pin has been a staple of the lanyard since I started collecting pins. It was given to me by a Metra Electric District conductor many years ago. Metra conductors are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet on transit; I once had one offer to open an entire car of the train so I could look out the front window.

Since the 1970s, Operation Lifesaver has provided critical rail safety training to schools and community organizations. This pin is in the shape of a crossbuck, the iconic railroad crossing indicator that all rail-highway crossings in the US must carry.

Streets For All

This is one of my favorite pins and almost instantly made it onto the lanyard, for both its bright colors and the memories I associate it with. I traded for this pin with one of my now-best friends, on the Santa Fe Depot concourse. One of the reasons I love the lanyard so much is that attaching each pin feels like attaching a little story like this one to it.

This pin carries the logo of Streets For All, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group that focuses on multimodal travel and transit.