Nostalgia & History > S F Belt RR - Barge Interchange

Bay Area Trains 1971 – 2001

While I grew up in the Midwest and I have lived in the Pacific Northwest, most of my life has been spent in the San Francisco Bay Area. So, in a series of threads, I would like to share with you my favorite photos of Bay Area trains taken over a thirty year span. I don’t pretend to have anywhere near complete coverage of the Bay Area trains operating during my tenure. I am sure there is much more that I missed than what I captured. But hopefully, I have some worthwhile contributions in the way of scenic action from a great era. Many of the scenes can longer be done, let alone any sort of photo of the trains populating them. Eventually I will turn this stuff into a book, but for now I’d like to get share some amateur scans and get some feedback from the list. (Disclaimer: These are some of my earliest scans, and they could be improved upon considerably.)

Emulating the SP, we’ll start this Bay Area Trains show in San Francisco and radiate outwards.

San Francisco Belt Railroad – Barge Interchange

As containerization replaced break-bulk ocean shipping, and as intermodal replaced the boxcar, traffic handled by the S. F. Belt RR declined. But in the early 1970s there were still some industries in the northeastern part of the City receiving carload traffic. So the S. F. Belt was still active as a terminal switching company. At the time, the ATSF barge still docked at Pier 39 to interchange with the S. F. Belt.

1. On the afternoon of 10/17/71 the ATSF tug and barge have arrived at Pier 39. Passenger units were not the only power wearing ATSF Warbonnet paint in those days! I suppose the tugs were the first freight power to wear the Warbonnet scheme.

2. A small crowd has gathered to watch S-2 25 and its crew pull the ATSF interchange off the barge. If you ask me, this was an infinitely more interesting spectacle than the contemporary Pier 39 scene of seals grunting and wallowing on the docks. (10/17/71)

3. The S.F. Belt conductor supervises. (10/17/71)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/10 17:21 by rob_l.

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4. Engineer’s view as the idler flats are backed up the apron. The S. F. Belt field man will couple them to an SFRD reefer on the barge. I believe the reefer was loaded with film or photography chemicals and was headed to Kodak, which at the time still operated a lab in the vicinity of Fisherman’s Wharf. (10/17/71)

5. Traffic on the Embarcadero is stopped as the S-2 and four ancient idler flats and the reefer come across the street. Note the PRR forty-foot boxcar in the background. (10/17/71)

6. The reefer and two insulated box cars are shoved back the other apron track to couple up to a loaded gondola and a Southern boxcar still on the barge. The conductor passes hand signals to the engineer while the brakeman prepares to make the joint. (10/17/71)



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/10 17:22 by rob_l.

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7. Once again, the idlers cross the Embarcadero. (10/17/71)

8. And finally, the conductor and the equally-senior brakeman ride the complete consist off the barge. (10/17/71)

Hope you enjoyed this little show, and thanks for looking. I’ll continue coverage of the S. F. Belt tomorrow.

Best regards,

Rob L.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/10 17:22 by rob_l.

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Weren't these Belt crews?

WAF Wrote:
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> Weren't these Belt crews?

Could well be. Anyone know?

Thanks in advance,

Rob L.

I believe so. Belt engine and a ATSF train crew doesn't make any sense. Belt crews were union but on a lower scale

Great photos and story Rob. You can't beat photos that show the people that make a railroad successful.
Brian Stevens

And at last report, engine 25 is still around, and is probably still in service.

Looks like the tug had a Leslie S5 horn.

Regards, Jim Evans

Great stuff from a bygone time in The City.

Tom Y

rob_l Wrote:
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> WAF Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Weren't these Belt crews?
>
> No. In photos 1 and 4 you can see the S. F. Belt
> brakeman and foreman (conductor). Note one S. F.
> Belt man up on the boxcar releasing the hand brake
> and aother in front of the unit.
>
> The senior guys are the ATSF conductor and
> brakeman. The barge was their turf (so to speak),
> they called the shots for movements off their
> barge.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob L.
Okay, so once off the barge, it's Belt turf, right?

I find it interesting that the "daisy pickers" in the photo find the operation interesting. Was there another barge for people and their cars that loaded and unloaded at the same location?

This is a great thread and wonderful photos. I will renew my membership for stuff like this. Looking forward to more !

Only ferry / barge here was a rail barge. No pax allowed.

John Gezelius
Tustin, CA

Great photos, I use to work into Pier 26 [ 1960 / 61 ] when I was a young crewman on a New Zealand freighter [ SS Waitemata ] engaged in the lumber trade between the West Coast of Canada and the USA. Saw the Belt locos many a time but was to young to understand just what it was all about. In 62 I went Railroading here in NZ and spent the next 40 odd years at it as an Engineer.

Malcolm
New Zealand

Wonderful post! Thanks!

Cheers,
Jack

rob_l Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WAF Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Okay, so once off the barge, it's Belt turf,
> > right?
>
> Yep. The ATSF men hopped off once the cars were
> all off the apron, and they retreated to their
> waterborne turf.
>
> There are great stories about freight cars that
> went to the bottom of the Bay (during rough
> weather?). Some were salvaged, but I wonder if
> some are still down there.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob L.

Depending on the value of the cargo. More importantly, what the cargo was. Deep bay salvagers would go after beer and booze.

Great photos and story. I'm looking forward to your posts in the future.

Jim B

Amazing series of photos, right down to the bird turds on the Southern boxcar.

I'm standing in line right now waiting for this book. Great post!