Al, you are 100 percent correct. The Bridge Railway could never have handled the daily passenger loads that BART does at the speeds BART runs in the tube. The Bridge Railway is great nostalgia as is the Key System; no doubt about it. Nice memories of a slow, enjoyable ride.

The state PUC issued directives restricting Key trains to 15 mph on parts of their rail lines toward the end of service. Key's infrastructure was completely worn out with the company investing zero dollars in maintenance near the end. Cities wanted the rails off the city streets.

BART cost a lot of money, but it is the region's transportation backbone now. While Key rail patronage dropped every year (except during WW II), BART continues to attract riders. That says a lot.

Enjoy the Bridge Railway history and discussion of that workhorse known as the Bay Bridge. (Our "blue collar" bridge.) Photos of the Key trains are at www.keyrailpix.org and you can still ride them at the Western Railway Museum.





Al Stangenberger Wrote:
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> By abandoning the Bridge Railway and building an
> underwater tube we got a much faster train system
> and a much better bridge for vehicles. It may
> offend nostalgia but I think it is a better
> result. Other railfans may have different views.