Nostalgia & History > The Construction of KEY SYSTEM Articulated Bridge Units

Here is a detailed listing that can be added to your "record keeping" files or such... A lot of folks are either confused or simply don't know WHERE the 88- Articulated Bridge Units were constructed that the Key System operated in Transbay service from 1939 to 1958 or exactly WHO actually built them.
The subject of COST comes up when one studies the overall plan that the KEY had to build some more modern looking equipment.
For you younger members who don't know what the "modern" looking Bridge Units looked like, please see the attached photo..
Our local KEY guru, Sir STASH, has posted many photos of KEY equipment on here in the past. The following list is a breakdown of these units and their origin:

There were EIGHTY-EIGHT Articulated Bridge Units, numbered 100 thru
187...

In 1932, the KEY made up an experimental Unit consisting of STEEL cars
650 and 662...
This unit became Articulated Unit # 100 at a later time. Anyway,
according to official records from the State of California--Department
of Public Works--Bridge Railway :

1 Articulated Unit was remodeled to the newer version for $ 13,891 ..
(650//662 into the NEW # 100)

10 Articulated Units were built from 20 existing STEEL cars (650-type)
for $ 175,690 ..

14 Articulated Units were built from 14 existing STEEL cars AND 14 New
Bodies for a total
of $ 442,575 ..

40 Articulated Units were built from 80 existing WOODEN cars (500-type)
AND 80 New STEEL
bodies for a total of $ 1,307,640 ..

23 Articulated Units (NEW) were built COMPLETE, using existing
Pantographs and Automatic
Couplers for a total of $ 1,283,515 ...

Total Cost= $ 3,545,642 .. (includes Overhead and
Contingencies -- 10% )

Amount Financed by State of California: $ 2,470,000

Amount Financed by Key System: $ 1,075,642
---------------------------------------------------

Units 100--104: Rebuilt at Emeryville Shops during 1937--1938.. #100
was the former # 650, an experimental unit constructed in 1932 from cars
650 and 662. Units 101--104 were rebuilt each from a long and a short
650-series car. Air brakes were modified, but the electrical equipment
used was from the 650 's ; Automatic train control was newly installed
!

Units 105--110: Built by the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1937--1938;
These Units were entirely new except for the window sash, salvaged from
the 650 's !

Units 111--124: This group was built in 1937--1938, the new 'A'
sections by the Bethlehem Steel Company, the "B" sections by the St.
Louis Car Company from the frames of the 650-series, shipped East for
that purpose. Unit # 117 was the first to operate over the San
Francisco--Oakland Bay Bridge in regular train service !

Units 125--164: Built by the Bethlehem Steel Company during 1937--1938,
with electrical and brake equipment from the 500-series WOODEN cars.
Automatic train control was new. These Units can be distinguished by
wide windows and slanting sides.

Units 165--187: This series was built completely NEW by the Bethlehem
Steel Company in 1937 except for the Pantographs which came from the
500- and 650-series cars. Unit 165 was the first of the new articulated
units to go into service. Unit 179 was the first unit to operate over
the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in a TEST train. The California
State Toll Bridge Authority owned Units # 151--187 !

I truly hope that my efforts in providing this list to each of you this
evening will shed some light on the history of these historic interurban
cars!

I would like to thank and give credit at this time to the Archives of
the State of California--Public Works Department AND also to the late
Vernon J. Sappers, Author of "From Shore to Shore--The Key Route"
(Published by Peralta Associates--1948) for providing this historical
information.
Should any of you have further questions or comments, I graciously
solicit them at this time !

Cheers to each of you, as always,

"KEY ROUTE KEN" ...

---

I've run KSTL 167 at Orange Empire (current out of service with a bad motor)--the interesting thing from the motorman's point of view is that the controller is a GE C-6, a manual-acceleration type that was old before World War I. Our 1913 ex-IER PE "Blimps" 418 and 498 have automatic acceleration. Also, it has four GE type-240 motors, same as the PE 1100 class cars from the mid 1920s, but the Key units weigh about 20 tons more.

Ken,

Thanks for the Key unit information, now to end the story of disposition of the cars.
After abandonment, several cars were donated to museums. One went to Oregon, two to Rio Vista, one to Reno(?) one to R&LHS, and one to Orange Empire. Which ones were scrapped in Oakland and which cars went to South America? Memories are fading. Where are they all today?

As I remember . . .

Toll Bridge Authority sold the 167 to Orange Empire for $1. I don't remember who picked which cars for saving.

Trucks from the Oregon car are at Orange Empire. The SP would not move the 167 to Orange Empire account of the automatic couplers. So the coupler heads were cut off and two SP passenger car couplers were cut off at Terminal Island and hauled to Oakland in a VW bus. Heads and shank welded together in Oakland and the unit was moved on the SP-ATSF to Perris behind the caboose. A move like that couldn't be done today.

And we were all just kids back then. What fun.

Watts local

>Where are they all today?

According to Harre DeMoro, except for 136/137 which were given to the Toll Bridge Authority to compensate for wrecked 177/178, and those given to museums, all numbered above 151 and above were sold to the General Urziqua (Argentina). These were reited by mid-1974. All the rest were scrapped in 1958-1959. All the units numbered below 164 used various combinations of electrical gear salvaged from the 500s and 600s.

167 to Orange Empire
169 to Glenwood, Ore. (When I saw the unit, it was a mess.) Later scrapped.
175 to Carson City. Later scrapped.
182, 186, 187 reside at Western Railway Museum.

High numbered units (151-185) to Argentina, except as above. Key-owned units were scrapped in Emeryville and Oakland.
Calif. Toll Bridge Authority had title on non-Key owned units.
---jcs



wattslocal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> After abandonment, several cars were donated to
> museums. One went to Oregon, two to Rio Vista, one
> to Reno(?) one to R&LHS, and one to Orange Empire.
> Which ones were scrapped in Oakland and which cars
> went to South America? Memories are fading. Where
> are they all today?

OET subsequently acquired the electrical gear from 169 and 175.

I was always curious as to why the Oregon and Nevada groups even wanted a "Key Unit" to begin with.

KRK