George Andrews Wrote:
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> I always liked driving the Lower Deck Eastbound,
> looking up at the remains of the electric
> insulators above the middle lanes. I recall
> reading that the original construction allowed for
> a truck/bus lane in each direction, as well as the
> Key Route - IER tracks down the middle.

George:
That is not correct. When the Bay Bridge opened to
vehicular traffic (autos and trucks and buses) on
Nov. 12, 1936, the interuban tracks were not there.
The bridge was designed for asymmetrical live
loads, because the two tracks were on the south side.
The first interurban did not run until Jan., 1939.
South to north on the lower deck were: 2 interurban
tracks, one eastbound vehicle lane, one bi-directional
("suicide") lane, one westbound vehicle lane. All
big trucks and buses had to use the lower deck, but
autos and small pick-up trucks could also use the
lower deck. The bi-directional lane was between the 2
truck lanes, and you had to look up for green "X"s
hung from the underside of the upper deck to see when
it was OK to drive in that bi-directional lane.
Not a smart idea, IMNSHO.

Also: there were never any insulators for overhead
wires under the upper deck. All interurbans on the
Bay Bridge ran on third rail. Each car had a
"whisker" that would trip a relay when it was traveling
westbound, for instance, so its pantograph would
lower and a third-rail shoe would extend. When they
ran eastbound, the whisker would trip the relay and
the third-rail shoe would retract and the pantograph
would raise. At least this is what I always have
read about how the Bay Bridge interurbans were powered.
(I am open to corrections from knowledgeable sources.)
The 3 Key System Bridge Units at the Western Railway
Museum in Rio Vista Junction, CA, have these whiskers
still, I think.

the upper deck was for autos and small pick-up trucks
only, and had 3 lanes in each direction. There was
NO barrier between the directions, which allowed some
bad head-on collisions to occur. I am very sad there
are no longer any interurbans on the Bay Bridge, but
putting all westbound traffic on the upper deck and
all eastbound traffic on the lower deck is MUCH safer
for vehicular traffic than that bridge's original
configuration.

Then much, much later, on June 1, 2002, my railfan
son and I went on Ken Shattock's "Grand Key Tour".
The -group went by bus around the East Bay to find what
remained of the Key System. ("stash" also helped to
tu this great tour.) There was much more left of
that wonderful streetcar and interurban system than
you might imagine. :) We even got to ride through
the former Key System underpass under the former SP
main line! The tracks are long gone from that
underpass, but you could still see the the wooden
supports for the overhead wires for the interurbans.
That highway coach had a very hard time fitting between
the gatepost and the side of the underpass, but our
superb driver made it! :) More o this great trip later.

Margaret