Passenger Trains > Strange Caltrain move of gallery cars

At 3:20 today the Caltrain switcher brought about 6 gallery cars to the San Jose Depot today them on depot track 4 while I left on Caltrain 515 express. I do not know why they have done this. Perhaps some temporary staging if UP needed the yard tracks. There were still some gallery cars in the yard at Santa Clara.

Caltrain MP15 504 ran light up from San Jose and gathered up 6 of the remaining 7 galleries
stored in San Francisco.   One car remains: if it is the fire damaged car from the San Bruno 
collision there does not seem to be any visible damage on the ocean(west) side.  Unknown 
if it will leave on its own wheels.

End of the gallery era came at 13:00 today as the train departs San Francisco coming off the
Inside Lead to Main 3.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/25 16:18 by milepost20.

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Ducking under I-280 for the last time.  After being overtaken by Caltrain #134 at Bayshore
our gallery finale approaches South San Francisco.

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Thx for the info, but "end of an era",  really?   Waxing poetic about nothing, IMHO.    I just say this bc there are some ppl here who get way to emotional about trains.

 

Plenty of empty tracks among the non-electrified tracks at Caltrain's San Francisco
terminal.  All the tracks at the old SP 7th Street Diesel Terminal are now empty where
equipment was commonly stored.  A summary of what is left:

--F40PH 919 under a tarp
--AEM-7 929
--one gallery car
--two holiday train flatcars
--two ex-SP bay window cabooses

pdt Wrote:
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> Thx for the info, but "end of an era",  really? 
>  Waxing poetic about nothing, IMHO.    I just
> say this bc there are some ppl here who get way to
> emotional about trains.
>
>  


There is nothing wrong with getting deeply emotional about trains! Everyone has their own experience with trains, and people formed different bonds with different equipment, railroads, regions.... Its all part of the human experience , IMHO! :)

Tom Loftus
Omaha, NE

pdt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thx for the info, but "end of an era",  really? 
>  Waxing poetic about nothing, IMHO.    I just
> say this bc there are some ppl here who get way to
> emotional about trains.
>
>  

It is exactly as the poster said, the end of the gallery era.   Nothing wrong with that.


Just my opinion, I would much rather read someone "waxing poetic" than shorthand gibberish.   

Well, I never thought a straightforward term like "end of the gallery era" could be
consudered waxing poetic or emotional.  Just simple reporting on what I thoight to
be a significant event as yesterday's move will probably be the last all gallery 
train the Peninsula will ever see.

SP acquired their first galleries in 1955 with ten cars purchased from Pullman-Standard.
After being a fixture on the Peninsula for 70 years yesterday's train probably closed
a chapter

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Milepost 20 - We appreciate all of your posts and photos.  Keep them coming.

pdt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thx for the info, but "end of an era",  really? 
>  Waxing poetic about nothing, IMHO.    I just
> say this bc there are some ppl here who get way to
> emotional about trains.

That happens on railroad message boards. I am not sure why that would be strange.

Great job recording the final move. And thanks for the excellt coverage. 

milepost20 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I never thought a straightforward term like
> "end of the gallery era" could be
> consudered waxing poetic or emotional.  Just
> simple reporting on what I thoight to
> be a significant event as yesterday's move will
> probably be the last all gallery 
> train the Peninsula will ever see.
>
> SP acquired their first galleries in 1955 with ten
> cars purchased from Pullman-Standard.
> After being a fixture on the Peninsula for 70
> years yesterday's train probably closed
> a chapter

As of last Wednesday, there were still 36 or so Caltrain bilevels stored in the UP Santa Clara yard.  Someday they too will probably go to Stockton.
Thanks for the coverage of the cars from SF moving to SJ.  

Gerry