We share the same memories, Nudge. Remember the sound the car's tires made crossing those bridges? I remember when the signal lights on the Detour wye were still lit, and SP still had a fair amount of freight to and from Saucelito. The 25 cent GG Bridge toll was to never go up when the bridge was paid for. And the "coin buckets" were a joke. My dad avoided it. Now you need to apply for a loan to cross the bridge.

Like you stated, as soon as the Bridge District expanded to buses and ferrys, the bridge toll suddenly went up. In the late 40s and 50s our family would drive from The City to Lagunitas, Ross, Point Reyes quite often. As a teenager in high school nothing was better than spending a day poolside at Marin Town & Country Club.

Nudge Wrote:
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> Well, I guess I would be an old timer as far as
> this bridge crap goes. I lived in Marin in the
> 50's when they still had the the draw bridges on
> 101 across Richardson Bay and the one in
> Greenbrae. There was a light at Alto, Corte Madera
> and Greenbrae. They had the bypass done and were
> putting in the other tunnel to drop down on the
> bridge. I remember seeing the signs going into the
> City, "Toll 45 cents." Then it was "35 cents" and
> then when I was driving, 25 cents. At that time
> they tried automatic toll takers. There was a
> hopper that you threw your money in, it counted it
> and you got a green light. As teenagers we always
> threw 25 pennies in, and drove away. The lights
> and bells would go off and then stop when the
> counter finished. One of the biggest souvenirs was
> a pylon from the lane markers. A lot of guys in HS
> had them in their bedrooms. I also had to run
> during PE, from Redwood HS, down where the old
> double track towards Detour was but there was only
> the one track left.
>
> Up to the time I went south with the SP, there was
> a "Bridge District." These people regulated tolls
> and ran the bridge, or so the public was told.
> From the opening of the bridge, (my grandfathers
> brother (E.D. Bullard) provided the safety
> equipment and his 2 daughters were the first twins
> to cross it when it opened) it was said that the
> bridge would be paid for by tolls. Greyhound made
> tons of money providing bus service to Marin for
> commuters for years. All of a sudden things
> changed.
>
> The "Bridge District" went into to the bus and
> boat business. The 25 cent toll was history. The
> cost went up & up with drivers paying for bus and
> boat service. The wages of the "Board District"
> went over the top and hasn't quit.
>
> I don't think the people at the time wanted to run
> a "company". They just wanted the bridge built and
> paid off as promised.
>
> Marin had a great Interurban rail system back
> then. The East Bay did too, but history shows
> where big business got rid of it all in order to
> replace it with rubber tire buses. Yes, the SP was
> up to its neck in doing this but also General
> Motors and other companies. Look at the waist of
> BART when there were 2 tracks on the bottom deck
> of the Bay Bridge in order to cross the bay.
>
> The rail end with freight continued on for years.
> As freight went south almost everything was
> abandoned. The right of ways are still there and
> they should be used to put that rail back without
> having to fight SMART at every turn.
>
> No, "You Can't Go Home Again" but I think some
> people have different agendas. NIMBY'S,
> Tree Huggers, big business looking for easy money,
> etc.
>
>
>
> Nudge