Northern portion of the Belt Railroad 1937

Southern portion of the Belt Railroad 1937

The San Francisco Belt Railroad was a

short-line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that oper ...

along the Embarcadero in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It began as the State Belt Railroad in 1889, and was renamed when the city bought the

Port of San Francisco The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors. Th ...

in 1969. As a state owned enterprise, the railroad asserted several unsuccessful claims to immunity from federal regulation. The railroad ceased operation in 1993. The railroad connected the Port of San Francisco to many waterfront docks and to industries and warehouses which were adjacent to the waterfront. In its early years, it operated dual-gauged track to accommodate the

North Pacific Coast Railroad The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and which rebuilt the southern section into a standa ...

and

South Pacific Coast Railroad The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) was a narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California and Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco. The railroad was created as the Santa Clara Valley Railroad, founde ...

. It would eventually have 67 miles (108 km) of trackage and general offices in the Ferry Building. Its function was to switch

railroad cars A railroad car, railcar ( American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...

from four major railroads to points along its system and vice versa. At the southern portion of the line, a track along King Street (passing the location now occupied by

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

) connected with the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. A

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

slip at Pier 43 allowed interchange with the Northwestern Pacific, the Western Pacific, and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. To reach its northern terminus in the

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

, the line passed through Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, and

Fort Mason Tunnel Fort Mason Tunnel is an abandoned single-track railway tunnel in San Francisco which runs under a small hill upon which sits a portion of the old Fort Mason. The tunnel was constructed in 1913 and opened to rail traffic in 1914. The east portal ...

. The San Francisco Bay Railroad is the successor to the Belt Railroad and received approval to operate the remaining five miles of track in 2000. The line was largely paved over to form the current Embarcadero, with rails set in the median for streetcar and light rail services.

San Francisco Municipal Railway The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable ...

E Embarcadero The E Embarcadero is a historic streetcar line that is the San Francisco Municipal Railway's second heritage streetcar line in San Francisco, California. Trial service first ran during the Sunday Streets events on The Embarcadero in 2008. The ...

line now traverses the route between the Caltrain (former Southern Pacific) station and Fisherman's Wharf, with other lines covering portions of the route. The former roundhouse has been converted to commercial business but exists in a recognizable form on the Sansome St, Lombard St, The Embarcadero, and Chestnut St block.

Locomotives

During its years of operation the railroad had 12 steam locomotives and 6

ALCO The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

diesel engines:

Special trains

SP 4449, at 3rd and King Street, San Francisco

Over the years, the belt railroad's tracks hosted several noteworthy

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...

and trains. In 1948 the first Freedom Train made an appearance on the State Belt Railroad. In 1949, the ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...

'' was positioned near the Ferry Building for its inaugural ceremony. In 1951, the Maritime Museum brought an early

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...

steam locomotive and consist to the belt, as part of the museum’s grand opening. In 1971, the '' Flying Scotsman'' concluded its American tour by shuttling back and forth on a stretch of track adjacent to the Embarcadero and near Fisherman's Wharf. Owner Alan Peglar ran out of funds and the locomotive spent most of 1972 stored at an army base in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

. In 1975, the ''

American Freedom Train Two national Freedom Trains have toured the United States: the 1947–49 special exhibit Freedom Train and the 1975–76 American Freedom Train which celebrated the United States Bicentennial. Each train had its own special red, white and blue p ...

'' pulled by ex-

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

locomotive #4449 visited San Francisco. For public viewing, the train's cars were switched to the Presidio by the belt line. The locomotive itself remained on display at Aquatic Park near the foot of Hyde Street. In March of 1977, the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Royal Hudson The Royal Hudsons are a series of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 " Hudson" type steam locomotives owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The engines were built in 1937. In 1939, King George VI allowed the ...

#2860 visited the State Belt while heading down to Los Angeles. In 1987, the tracks along the Embarcadero just south of Sansome Street hosted Railfair ’87. Diesel locomotives and steam locomotives including V&T's ''J.W. Bowker'' ( 2-4-0 locomotive) were on display.

Steam Locomotive Number Four

Currently Locomotive #4 is being restored by the San Francisco Trains group, with larger plans to change the old Bayshore Roundhouse, originally owned by Southern Pacific, to a historic community destination. Due to work on the Roundhouse, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

External links

Abandoned tracks of the San Francisco Belt Railroad

* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Francisco Belt Railroad Defunct California railroads Transportation in San Francisco History of San Francisco Railway companies disestablished in 1993

Locomotives

Special trains

Steam Locomotive Number Four

See also

References

External links