Nostalgia & History > City Belt west of Ft. Mason in the early 1970's in SF>

I moved from Marin County to Potrero Hill in the summer of 68. Even at the tender age of 22, I knew that railroading was always in a state of change and nothing lasts for ever. I was already familiar with the City Belt of San Francisco and at this time, most of the action was along the Embarcadero at at pier 38 1/2 where the the W.P. Ferry Las Plumas and the ATSF car float from Richmond were daily visitors. The trackage out to the Presidio was active thru the Vietnam war but seldom so trains after that. Much to my surprise, I saw a freight in early 1970 sitting opposite where Pier 39 is today. The crew just had breakfast and I asked isn't the engine on the wrong end of the train?. The Conductor said no, they were going to the Presidio. At less than 10 mph, I was able to shot them from Aquatic Park to the Marina Green. I have not photo shopped these so the contrast is not the best. Text and photos by Mike Pechner, COPYRIGHT 2014, All Rights reserved.

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Here is one more shot along Marina Green looking east towards Ft. Mason. The tunnel will be used again for the extension of Muni's F line to the Presidio.

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These are priceless photos of a super rare move--thanks for posting them! I think I see the Marina SAFEWAY store in the background in the last photo.


When is MUNI going to get started on that extension / planned opening? That will be a HUGE improvement in mass transit for that part of the City. I wish that in conjunction with that, they'd extend the new CENTRAL SUBWAY all the way to Fisherman's Wharf. That part of the City needs more rail mass transit, NOT more slow buses.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/14 23:13 by coach.

The F-line extension to Ft. Mason has been discussed for years, but things are rarely done quickly in SF. Between all the bureaucratic hassles of City Hall and NIMBY objections, and finding enough money to do the job, don't hold your breath or bet the ranch.

How lucky you were to catch the train. Growing up in The City I never was lucky enough to catch a train heading to/from the Presidio; only finding cars parked there when it was still pretty much an active military base. The closest I got was when the 4449 was parked at Aquatic Park; but then that was on the east side of the tunnel.

Another interesting item about the trackage in your photos is that sometime in the 70s or 80s, the track was totally replaced with new rail. I think this may have had something to do with the massive sewage project SF had to do where the tracks were torn up during the project. I used to drive along the Marina and was thrilled to see new rails put in, although I was puzzled why so much money was spent on a line that saw no longer saw traffic to the Presidio. Then a little later the new track was buried under asphalt for the bikeway. Go figure.

And yes, that is the Marina Safeway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/14 05:05 by TonyJ.

Great catch Mike, thanks for sharing.

Kent in CArmel Valley

DNRY122 Wrote:
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> The F-line extension to Ft. Mason has been
> discussed for years, but things are rarely done
> quickly in SF. Between all the bureaucratic
> hassles of City Hall and NIMBY objections, and
> finding enough money to do the job, don't hold
> your breath or bet the ranch.


Actually, the extension has received the most important approval required, that of the National Park Service. At this point, funding is the issue. Expect it will happen, just not soon.

Rare mileage photos indeed.

Some of our family 8mm footage shows a bunch of guys playing the bongos at the amphitheater shown in #3. No trains though, the tunnels had iron gates on them, iirc.

Great photos! How many of you remember the mural on the front of the Marina Safeway that had a silver-painted streamliner as a part of it? I always thought it was there to represent the "California Zephyr..." I never drive by this area that I don't look back at the tunnel under Fort Mason, and think of the train on that mural... Great memories in these photos, and thanks for sharing!

ShastaDaylight

These are rare views - thank you for sharing them.

In the photo of the train along Marina Green, is that girder rail? Its hard to tell if its girder rail or an artifact of the high-contrast image.

Does anybody know what the Presido would have been receiving by the carload at this time?