Steam & Excursion > American Freedom Train In SF, Dec. 1975, Part Two.

When the #4449 with the American Freedom Train in tow came to SF in December of 1975, the consisst along with the #4449 entered the SF Belt railroad at 2nd street a block way from what is now Oracle Park. The engine cut-off from the train on the Embarcadero opposite where the High Dive beanery remains today. The Belt R.R. #23 ( Alco1941?) coupled onto the train to take it to Crissy Field in the Marina. The 4449 was supposed to go to Crissy Field for display but Belt Line folks thought the #4449 could not go around the 16 degree curve at the Ft. Mason tunnel  (Hopefully Wes Camp, Hot Water Jack or SR the Boiling-man can weigh in on this.) The #23 pulled the AFT train thru Fisherman's Wharf, passed Aquatic Park and onto Crissy Field for a three day stay.  I was trying to figure out where I could get the entire train in one shot.  If you have ever been to the Marina Dist. in SF, you will know what I am talking about. The other problem was the the heavy traffic on Marina Blvd. Knowing that i could not get ahead of it, I decided that the Ft. Mason Hill might work. So here is the shot, no telephoto lens, shot with KODAK Trix-400 ASA at 250th of a sec. at F-16.  It was a very hazy day, and the GG Bridge was almost obscured and i got a nice freighter in the shot to boot.  It would have been nice to have the #4449 on the point but given the fact that the #23 is still working at Pier 80 in San Francisco to this day, 46 years later is not a bag consolation.  After the train disappeared around the corner, the #4449 after being turned on the Mission Bay wye, backed down thru the Marina with the steam and parked at Aquatic Park. The second image is from the Pier looking back at the SF skyline.  With my foaming done, I went over to the engine and helped with crowd control. Later in the afternoon I got some dinner and then went into the Cab with Doyles Dad to stay warm while he manged the spot fire. Text and Photos by Mike Pechner, Copyright, 2019, "All Rights Reserved." 

---

---

Great pics. Photos of the AFT in SF seem to be rather rare.  Do you have any of the consist at the display site?  I don't think I've ever seen one.

      Tom

I dont Tom. I never had the time to get to Crissy Field.  Most of my time as a volunteer was helping Laurie MaCormack doing laundry for folks on the train or working security with the 4449 at Aquactic Park.

Understand.  I know those engine crew people were a needy bunch.   Lol

      Tom

The SP had some sort of safety meeting in the City that week and I was staying at a hotel at Fisherman's Wharf.
That was my first sight of the 4449.  At the time we were planning the visit to Southern CA including the design of the display track at Pomona so it was a reality check to see the AFT and 4449 were for real.
In visiting the cab one night they crew had about a six foot string line to a weight on the front of the tender.  They explained that the engine was gradually listing and was almost 2" out of level.  If it got too bad they would have to move it.  The tracks to Ft. Mason were technically in service but had been unused for some years.
I came back on a lunch break in nice sun for the attached photo.
Thanks to all the AFT crew who made it happen!
You might say "something to be Thankful for".

---

Many thanks for this color shot, yes I do have color for this day and will share it on anher post. I jjust realized that I didn't post the picture with #23, so here it is:

---

I recall the 4449 got a parking ticket for sitting in Aquatic Park.   Great fun that week in SF.   I shot the train arriving at south city and then returned to my office at One California.  Looking out my 40th floor perch in the afternoon I noticed the train being moved,  so that was the end of my work day as I went out to shoot the engine being moved.   Someone had put a Christmas tree on the tender.

Weather:

The information in this thread is really interesting.  Thank you for sharing.

When was Part One posted?  I looked for it using Trainorders' search function, but couldn't find it.

Awesome stuff guys, my favorite engine in my favorite city.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone