Western Railroad Discussion > South San Francisco SP Flavor Slip Sliding Away

Well at South City it's just another dream of the SP that's slipping away, to paraphrase Keith Richards. The South San Francisco Station Station Improvement Project appears to be entering its final and perhaps cruelest phase.  

---

---

---

The southbound Caltrain main now runs right against the retaining wall of Grand Avenue. Before the rebuild began, there was a drill track here that led, up until the time it was removed, to the spur to South City Lumber.

 

---

---

---

Thanks for the update. I've been meaning to drive over there but it looks pretty inaccessable.

Regards, Jim Evans

FiveChime Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the update. I've been meaning to drive
> over there but it looks pretty inaccessable.
>
> Regards, Jim Evans

Jim plenty of parking at the station due to pandemic, not many folks commuting out of here on the train. Also, or alternatively, you can park under Grand Avenue on the other side of the tracks, at that motel, and walk right up to the tracks. The fence around there has been removed for construction and traffic coming off the freeway is not able to get onto that road anymore due to construction. Only traffic coming East Grand can get down there so it's relatively safe to stand sort of in the street over there. The UP's trailer shanty has been moved down to the lead to the South San Francsico industrial park accessed via the Denny's/La Quinta Inn parking lot. They keep the power(1 unit!) down there as you can see in these images.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/21 18:58 by phthithu.

Happier times at South San Francisco.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

---

---

As someone who rode those old coaches I can't see how times were "happier" than new and modern equipment. Should we all be living in caves?

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

MojaveBill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As someone who rode those old coaches I can't see
> how times were "happier" than new and modern
> equipment. Should we all be living in caves?

Bill, Photobob's photo comment is more about the SP days at South San Francisco and the old SP flavor with those subs and the SP engine and the signal bridge and the yard tracks at the station. Your comment could readily be made about the South San Francisco station as well. It's going to be a much nicer place to commute to or from when it's complete. But as far as railfanning it will have lost just about all the SP accoutrements except a couple yard tracks and who knows how long those will last!  

All progress is change...but not all change is progress.

Thanks for the update and fine images both old and new.I guess the Local power is down to one unit.I liked riding in the older cars as well as the new ones.Bill Webb

Gonna hurt when they finally take that signal bridge down.  One of the last things that said "SP".

That said I'm happy to see the improvements.  BSB  

Robert Morris, what year were those pictures taken?

MojaveBill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As someone who rode those old coaches I can't see
> how times were "happier" than new and modern
> equipment. Should we all be living in caves?

Second photobob. Definitely happier times, as I remember the waning days of SP running these commuter trains.

Newer and "better" doesn't mean happier. I "trespassed" onto Newhall Yard in Santa Clara as a kid and I'm sure the personnel in the tower saw me, but left me alone because I wasn't doing anything stupid. I'd use my allowance to joyride the SP commute trains by myself. Still remember the GP40P-2 painted in Bicentennial colors, and even the Amtrak P30CH "Pooches." Happier times, when even a kid was treated with some respect.

Society today is definitely more neurotic. To avoid the crazies, we might need to go back into the caves.