Nostalgia & History > SP Bayshore

SP back shops circa 1953.
Photo: George Solimine

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Nice shot of the transfer table and the "Cow Palace" in the background. I wonder how many native San Franciscans can give the original name of the Cow Palace.

Didn't know it was called something else?

Nice shot of the shop area.

AL Bayer

TonyJ Wrote:
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> Nice shot of the transfer table and the "Cow
> Palace" in the background. I wonder how many
> native San Franciscans can give the original name
> of the Cow Palace.

I had to go look it up, all I've ever heard it called was the "Cow Palace". Don't think I ever went to any events there, but have driven by many a time.

Nathan

Originally it was called the "San Francisco International Livestock & Exhibition Hall." IIRC after it opened some newspaper wag called it the "Cow Palace" and the name stuck.

California State Livestock Pavilion (1941-44)

This photo, along with a bunch of others shot by George - or one of his buddies - has been posted on my website for more than a decade (see: http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_fran/bay/shore_rh.html), yet I have never been able to confirm the exact photographer. When George Junior gave me the photo collection of his late father, he said that at least some of the photos were made by Fred Cribbins (photo of him at page bottom here: http://wx4.org/to/foam/sp/san_fran/mission/1bay.html) and by another person whose name he did not know.

It would be nice to give proper attribution to the photos. So, your pic is labeled as being photographed by George Sr., presumably? Or does it say "collection of..."?

Regards,
E.O.
Wx4 org - The Dome O' Foam

building on left is boiler shop right? Would the steam locomotives enter that shop from the side building off of this transfer table? Or would they enter the front .i.e. on an east-west axis?

and behind the Cow Palace slightly up the hill was the Geneva Drive-In theatre...wow what memories!!!

Last_WP_Disp Wrote:
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> and behind the Cow Palace slightly up the hill was
> the Geneva Drive-In theatre...wow what memories!!!

Wasn't there a race track within the Geneva?

BTW, the Geneva property is still undeveloped to this day. It had the distinction of issuing more rain checks than any other drive-in nationwide. Not because of rain, though. It was the abundant fog that led to it's demise.

The last track at the bottom right (out of the camera's sight) fed locomotives to the transfer table on the west (right hand) side and came out from the railroad west end of Bayshore yard, passing alongside the passenger car shop. The same position of the transfer table connected to a short track that fed directly into the roundhouse turntable. Locomotives did not enter the railroad west side although there was access by rail there from the west side only for a couple of bays near the end of the structure.

Another track at the far end (where the locomotive is) had an entry to the transfer table on the left hand side in this view, at the very last stop. That track continued railroad east, around the roundhouse, eventually connecting with the east end of the yard. It also connected to the large S shaped track that wound between the boiler shop building to the right and the passenger car shop behind it. This area of Bayshore could be properly described as a maze of tracks.



sliderslider Wrote:
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> building on left is boiler shop right? Would the
> steam locomotives enter that shop from the side
> building off of this transfer table? Or would they
> enter the front .i.e. on an east-west axis?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/14 16:27 by Westbound.

Photo SP Bayshore back shops
My mistake.
Photos were taken by George Solimine and Fred Cribbins,

sliderslider Wrote:
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> building on left is boiler shop right? Would the
> steam locomotives enter that shop from the side
> building off of this transfer table? Or would they
> enter the front .i.e. on an east-west axis?

Hiya, Slider

I don't know if you'll see this, being several days after the fact, but technically, "locomotives" per se, didn't enter the boiler shop: Boilers (and tenders) did, after being removed from the frame in the backshops. Now, I'm willing to bet some older-timer than me can remember the time or two that a switch engine or something did actually go inside the shop, but the few photos I have of the boiler shop show boilers - without running gear. Sometimes ugly with asbestos flakes! I have pics of the open area between the roundhouse and the boiler shop with what I can only assume are new flue sheets, racked and ready to install. Standing in front of the sheets are cabs and other parts waiting for repainting/reassembly.

Entrance to the boiler shop was pretty much from the transfer table, although I've seen ancient pics of tracks 2 and 7 extending out the south wall. I don't remember them connecting up anywhere, but it would make sense to have a couple tracks that could access the shop from other than the table. But, for the most part, the entrance doors were (and still are, for that matter) on the north wall, from the table.

Walter
Sanfranciscotrains.org