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Re: DOT Money funds reconstruction of SF Port lead.
Author: Dr Zarkoff
Date: 09-16-2011 - 10:11
>I only saw Espee switchers on this line; never any Santa Fe.
>This map lists the trackage in the Quint St. Stockyards area, coming down Illinois St. from China Basin & crossing the creek on 3 St., as joint SP / SFe trackage.
The track on Illinois St, the grain terminal, and Pier 96 is/was State Belt. The track on Quint St between the main lines and 3rd St is/was AT&SF. When the drawbridge on outer 3rd St was rebuilt, the rr track was left out, preventing direct Santa Fe and State Belt access between Illinois and Quint Sts., so afterwards the SP switched Quint St for the Santa Fe and Pier 96 for the State Belt. A similar odd trackage use arrangement arose after the WP's tunnel under Potrero Hill burned. To get around the hill, the WP started using the Santa Fe trackage to Jackson Square. Starting near 3rd and Army, it went around the hill, crossed directly over the west end of Tunnel 1, went up 16th St, through Jackson Square, and then to the WP's industrial trackage. When we took cars from Mission Bay to this area, we had to keep an eye peeled for both Santa Fe and WP switch engines.
When I first worked at Bayshore in 1969, the Santa Fe was rebuilding the track on Quint St with three bolt angle bars, which the SP didn't use. I thought this was odd until the old heads explained the trackage ownership. I also recall seeing an unused stock facility (2 tracks) on the south side of Quint, between Evans St and the main lines. There was a slaughterhouse near Evans and 3rd, and the odor would get so bad you couldn't breathe. There was also a pier across the creek from Circosta Metals which unloaded ships full of palm oil, and that could make the air pretty thick too. The pier on the Quint St side of the creek wasn't safe to walk on.
I understand a bridge was built several years ago extending the Illinois St track across the creek, parallel to 3rd St, but I haven't been in the area to verify this. If so, there was no bridge prior to this because the Illinois St tracks would have had to cross the apron leads to the WP pier, which wasn't the case.
>This map lists the trackage in the Quint St. Stockyards area, coming down Illinois St. from China Basin & crossing the creek on 3 St., as joint SP / SFe trackage.
The track on Illinois St, the grain terminal, and Pier 96 is/was State Belt. The track on Quint St between the main lines and 3rd St is/was AT&SF. When the drawbridge on outer 3rd St was rebuilt, the rr track was left out, preventing direct Santa Fe and State Belt access between Illinois and Quint Sts., so afterwards the SP switched Quint St for the Santa Fe and Pier 96 for the State Belt. A similar odd trackage use arrangement arose after the WP's tunnel under Potrero Hill burned. To get around the hill, the WP started using the Santa Fe trackage to Jackson Square. Starting near 3rd and Army, it went around the hill, crossed directly over the west end of Tunnel 1, went up 16th St, through Jackson Square, and then to the WP's industrial trackage. When we took cars from Mission Bay to this area, we had to keep an eye peeled for both Santa Fe and WP switch engines.
When I first worked at Bayshore in 1969, the Santa Fe was rebuilding the track on Quint St with three bolt angle bars, which the SP didn't use. I thought this was odd until the old heads explained the trackage ownership. I also recall seeing an unused stock facility (2 tracks) on the south side of Quint, between Evans St and the main lines. There was a slaughterhouse near Evans and 3rd, and the odor would get so bad you couldn't breathe. There was also a pier across the creek from Circosta Metals which unloaded ships full of palm oil, and that could make the air pretty thick too. The pier on the Quint St side of the creek wasn't safe to walk on.
I understand a bridge was built several years ago extending the Illinois St track across the creek, parallel to 3rd St, but I haven't been in the area to verify this. If so, there was no bridge prior to this because the Illinois St tracks would have had to cross the apron leads to the WP pier, which wasn't the case.
