francisco

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  1. PCC 1063

    PCC 1063

    Profile shot of MUNI car 1063, representing Baltimore's interurban system.
  2. PCC 1051

    PCC 1051

    Profile shot of SF MUNI car 1051, painted in an early MUNI paint scheme.
  3. Transit the Way it Should Be

    Transit the Way it Should Be

    San Francisco is still one place where you can find classic PCC cars plying their routes. Here, cars representing Birmingham Electric and an early SF MUNI paint scheme head east on Market Street. Directly behind is one of MUNI's more modern vehicles. In the distance, a third PCC car representing...
  4. Goat Meets Goat

    Goat Meets Goat

    The San Francisco Belt Railroad employs two kinds of goats. One for kicking cars, the other kind for eating the weeds between the rails. They operate a waste transloading operation out of one of the piers and have a small yard on the southeast side of town. Built for the railroad in 1946, Alco...
  5. Road Warrior

    Road Warrior

    The brakeman on the South City Switcher doesn't bat an eye as he passes the bizarre mural on Carroll St. while riding the front porch of UP 589 to pick up a few empties at an industry farther down the street. This is in the heart of San Francisco's Bayview/Hunter's Point neighborhood, a gritty...
  6. Snaking Through the Street

    Snaking Through the Street

    The South City Switcher winds its way through the twisting street trackage of San Francisco's Bayview industrial district. Although the train comes through on a daily basis, many people assume the tracks are abandoned and park on the tracks. However, today there were no problems.
  7. The South City in the City

    The South City in the City

    The power on the South City Switcher roars with all its might up the 3% grade to the Caltrain main with 16 loads, while the conductor stands by. Iconic landmarks of San Francisco loom in the background: the Bay Bridge, I-280, and the downtown skyline.
  8. Rolling Through Junkyard Alley

    Rolling Through Junkyard Alley

    The South City Switcher runs through "Junkyard Alley," also known as Rankin Street, which is lined with scrap dealers. All of the vehicles off to the side were sitting on the tracks waiting to enter the junkyard just a minute prior. When the train arrived, there was a mad dash to pull...
  9. Living Dinosaur

    Living Dinosaur

    LB Railco, a waste hauler based out of the Port of San Francisco, owns two Alco S-2 switchers for shuttling cars around their facility. #25 is seen working today to make up a train for the outbound South City Switcher, the daily UP job that serves industries in San Francisco. The power for the...
  10. UP 1347 at Quint & Arthur

    UP 1347 at Quint & Arthur

    UP 1347 leads the South City Switcher through the tight curve off of Quint Street and onto Arthur Street.
  11. SP Bridge

    SP Bridge

    An afternoon Caltrain commute run speeds across the old bridge over Quint Street in San Francisco. The bridge is one of a dwindling number of bridges still lettered for the SP. It was built in 1907, just after the San Francisco earthquake.
  12. Speeding Bullets

    Speeding Bullets

    Caltrain "Baby Bullets" meet each other at the 22nd Street station in San Francisco. Baby Bullets are the hottest trains on the Peninsula. Making only a few limited stops between San Francisco and San Jose, they cut the commute time to just under an hour, much faster than driving...
  13. Accelerating out of 22nd Street

    Accelerating out of 22nd Street

    Southbound Caltrain commute run #276 powers its way out of 22nd Street station. It needs to get down to its next stop at Bayshore in a hurry because a Baby Bullet train is hot on its tail.
  14. Let's All Get Out and Push!

    Let's All Get Out and Push!

    This Saab was fouling the tracks ahead of the South City Switcher. They had to wait for a tow truck to show up to remove the car. With the tow truck driver at the wheel, the brakeman and a good samaritan shove the car out of harm's way.
  15. Running Down Quint Street

    Running Down Quint Street

    The South City Switcher winds its way down the twisting street trackage of Quint Street in San Francisco. If there's going to be a headache, this is where it will be, as many people don't realize that a freight train comes through here on a daily basis. Thinking the tracks are abandoned, many...
  16. ExSAABsperation

    ExSAABsperation

    The brakeman on the South City Switcher looks with resignation upon the obstruction that has brought his train to a standstill. Despite copious signage, this driver still failed to heed the warnings. As a result, several grade crossings were fouled for 20 minutes while a tow truck was called to...
  17. Mainline Freight on the Peninsula

    Mainline Freight on the Peninsula

    An especially lengthy South City Switcher puts on the appearance of a mainline freight as it roars up the Caltrain mainline at Bayshore at 50 mph with 5 engines and 30 cars.
  18. Back Alley Railroading

    Back Alley Railroading

    In a scene almost reminiscent of the third world, the South City Switcher gingerly picks its way down an alley lined with junkyards and scrap dealers. The tracks are barely visible amid the dirt. Just two minutes prior, you wouldn't even know a train could ever pass through here, as there were...
  19. I'm Coming Through!

    I'm Coming Through!

    The South City Switcher makes its presence known on Quint St. as it returns with 18 loads of contaminated dirt from the San Francisco landfill.
  20. Gritty Urban Railroading

    Gritty Urban Railroading

    The South City Switcher carefully picks its way down Rankin St. There are several scrap yards in this area which see a lot of truck traffic and there are frequently obstructions on this stretch of tracks, everything from trucks to forklifts, to dumpsters. Liberal use of the horn usually is...




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