BART 50 -- September 12, 2022

BART celebrated its 50th birthday over the weekend. I remember when the trains first started to run in the East Bay. I went to visit a friend who had moved there and saw them. We didn't walk through the transbay tube when they offered the opportunity and I have regretted it ever since. I remember when trains ran on both sides of the bay, but did not carry passengers through the tube. I remember when full service started.

I took a photo of this sign on the side of a train at Colma Station on 25-September-2012.

bart.gov

BART Closed -- September 5, 2015

There are signs and labels all over the BART stations advising riders that BART will be down again over Labor Day weekend, as it was on August 1-2.  They are replacing and repairing much of the 40 year old trackage.  I took this photo at Colma Station. 

I photographed this banner at Embarcadero Station. 

I photographed this sign by Gate B at the Ferry Building. 

BART Embarcadero Earthquake Safety Improvements -- August 24, 2015

Last week I found that the BART station entrances on both sides of Market between Davis and Drumm were fenced off for "Earthquake Safety Improvements," intended to reduce the possibility of injuries from falling objects. 

Winter Walk, SPCA Animals, Lefty O'Doul's -- December 30, 2014

I took the day off yesterday.  We drove downtown and parked at Fifth and Mission.  Walking up Fourth, we saw that Stockton Street looked different.  From Ellis to Geary, the street was covered with artificial grass and there were benches, a food truck and a coffee truck.  Signs said that this was WinterWalkSF.  Events included projections on the wall of the Macy's men store and Christmas carolers. 

We went to Macy's and looked at the SPCA animals in the windows. 

My wife particularly liked Latka, the puppy.  We hope she has found a good home. 

After some shopping, we went over to Powell Street to look at decorated cable cars.   I didn't hear the cable and didn't see any cable cars from Market to the top of the hill. We walked up towards Geary. When we got to Geary, my wife could hear the cable. I still didn't see any cars, so we went to lunch at Lefty O'Doul's.

I had corned beef on a sourdough roll and my wife had roast beef.  Very good. 

When we were finished, I saw a decorated car inbound at Geary. It was number 10, and we noticed that it carried a bunch of shopmen and no passengers. They were checking the track. They found an obstruction in the flangeway at O'Farrell. They turned around at Market and told people who waited in line that they were not picking up passengers.

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I had an interesting trip home today.  My one hour commute took two and a half hours.  It was cold and windy today.  When I got to the platform at Embarcadero Station, I noticed the next train was turning back at Montgomery.  An announcement said that there was no service between 24th and Mission and Daly City because a tree had fallen on the tracks.  There were similar problems in the East Bay.  They said we could get a bus from 24th to Daly City.  I got on a train that said it was going to the airport, but they threw us off at 24th.  A BART employee on the platform said it had been down for three hours.  I went to the street and tried to figure out what to do.  There were no BART employees giving directions.  I figured out that a 14 Mission would get me to Daly City.  I missed a limited.  Two locals were too crowded.  A limited came and I couldn't get on.  A Muni inspector said there was another limited right behind.  I pushed on and got a seat by Silver Avenue.  I saw Joe's Cable Car boarded up.  We eventually got to Daly City and turned down John Daly, passing a stream of people who had caught locals and had to hike down the hill.  They didn't look happy.  An airport train came just as I ran up the stairway.  It stopped just after the stretch along the freeway.  The operator said there was a routing problem and he would have to walk back through the train.  I didn't see him, so there must have been another operator.  The train ran backwards for a while, I suppose to get on a different track.  Then we went forward to the station.  Passing all those nice taquerias on Mission, I got an urge, so we went to La Playa for dinner. 

BART to OAK -- December 2, 2014

BART to OAK, the 3.2 mile automated people mover (APM) which shuttles passengers from the Coliseum/Oakland Airport BART Station to the Oakland Airport had a public preview on 21-November-2014 and opened for service the next day. The APM uses Doppelmayr's CABLE Liner Shuttle system. The CABLE Liner Shuttle uses an endless cable and an automatic grip in each car which allows the cars to stop and start at the stations. The Doolittle Maintenance Facility by the edge of the airport houses the powerhouse, which drives one cable to the Coliseum BART station and one to the airport station. The $6 one-way fare, coincidentally the same fare paid on San Francisco cable cars, is controversial.

BART -- August 10, 2014

I took this photo of a Daly City BART train at Embarcadero Station on 28-May-2014. 

Train Won't Stop -- January 10, 2014

For a change, the BART board negotiated seriously with the unions and came to a resolution about the item that the board's highly paid negotiator signed but apparently hadn't read.  One of the large unions has accepted the renegotiated contract and I hope the other will, too. 

I took the photo at the Colma BART station on 08-November-2013. 

BART Back in Service -- October 22, 2013

On the news last night, BART unions announced that they had settled and would return to work today.  A BART spokesperson said that they may be able to have trains rolling at 4am, but perhaps not full service.  I'm afraid the death of two people who were struck by a train over the weekend helped to spur the settlement.  The two men were inspecting track and were struck by a train running under computer control.  The operator was a "trainee," which must mean a manager being trained as a scab. 

I worked from home today. 

I took the photo on Friday in the Embarcadero Station.  During the first part of the strike, the station had hand-lettered signs. 

Pulp #48 -- October 18, 2013

With Halloween coming, I thought Terror Tales would be a good pulp to feature this month.

The image is from a wonderful site called Cover Browser:
http://www.coverbrowser.com/.

BART is on strike.  I drove to my mom's house in the Richmond and took and express bus downtown.  I took another express home and visited a bit.  Then my wife and I had dinner at the Moose Lodge.  

BART Strike Again -- October 17, 2013

After a 30-hour negotiating session the unions withdrew because BART management continues to fool around and not be serious.  Management won't address safety issues.  There is a very good chance that BART will shut down at midnight.  I'm very frustrated. 

On the 24th anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, we participated in the Great California ShakeOut.  I got under my table.  

BART Still Running So Far -- August 6, 2013

BART management failed to negotiate seriously during the 30-day delay.  In fact, the union-busting chief negotiator, who was paid $400,000 to negotiate, was on vacation during much of the period.  Sunday night we were watching the 10 O'Clock News, waiting for the announcement, when union leaders came out and announced that Governor Jerry Brown had ordered no strike or lockout for seven days while a panel investigates the matter.  When they report, he can order a cooling-off period of up to 60 days. 

BART is Back -- July 5, 2013

After a 4 1/2 day strike, BART resumed this afternoon.  The issue is not settled, but negotiations will continue for 30 days.  Management is not negotiating in good faith.  They appear to be trying to bust the unions.

I worked from home Monday through Wednesday.  Today my wife drove me to 19th and Holloway.  I caught a two-car M Oceanview train downtown.  I asked the guards in my building how things had been this week.  They said things were quiet.

I took BART back to Colma.  A nine car airport train came in and I found that the last two cars were closed off.  The car I rode on was well packed.

The Egyptian military deposed the democratically elected president.  A very complicated situation.

Today is the 75th anniversary of Herb Caen's first column in the Chronicle.

I took the photo in the Embarcadero Station this morning.  

The Lone Ranger -- June 28, 2013

Last night my wife came downtown to meet me after work.  Traffic was terrible as I walked up Market.  Officers were directing traffic at every corner.  At First, one was operating the traffic signals manually.  I met her at Fourth and we went to the San Francisco Center.  We had panini for dinner downstairs.  Then we walked around a bit before we went up to the movie theater. 

Visa was sponsoring a preview showing of The Lone Ranger.  The people at the podium got tired of being asked where to go.  After a while, they set up a line.  We were first.  The Visa people were late, so the theater manager gave us our tickets.  A security guy announced that they had to collect our cell phones.  We checked the phones going in, then a security guy scanned us for other electronic devices. 

I enjoyed the movie, but I thought it was a little long.  My wife thought they could have left out the framing story, which was set in San Francisco in 1933.  The background that showed the Golden Gate bridge seemed to show the deck too far along for 1933.  At the end, I thought the deck looked complete. 

Johnny Depp as Tonto and Silver the horse stole the show.  Armie Hammer was a big, good-looking Ranger, but he didn't have an authoritative voice. 

I liked the locations, but my wife thought everything was composed too much in the center of the frame, not using the whole vista that was available.  Perhaps it was framed for people who watch movies on smart phones. 

For the railroad scenes, Disney built a big loop in the desert and two reproduction locomotives, which were pushed by GPs at the ends of the trains.  Some of the passenger cars were obviously modeled on Virginia and Truckee cars.  I was disappointed that the first locomotive was a 4-6-0 rather than a 4-4-0.  The movie was set in 1869, but the trains had Janney couplers and air brakes.  Neither was in use in 1869.  The line being built was the TCRR (Transcontinental Railroad) through Texas, heading for Promontory Point.  Ugh. 

I couldn't figure out why they wanted to run the locomotive into the mine. 

My wife and I were laughing more than most of the audience, especially Johnny Depp performed Keaton-like bits. 

We took BART back to Daly City and drove home from there.

The BART unions gave 72-hour notice that they may strike on Monday. 

BART Adventures #2 -- June 14, 2013

Yesterday the BART board approved a 2014 budget that includes funding for the process of replacing the current fleet with the Fleet of the Future starting in 2017.  The new cars will be built by Bombardier Transit Corporation. The image is from the BART website (www.bart.gov). 

This afternoon I was on a conference call dealing with a production problem at work when my cell phone rang.  My wife wanted to let me know that BART was having big problems on this side of the bay.  I checked www.511.org and found a report of delays but no details.  The KCBS website said that this morning grass caught fire by the line between Balboa Park and Daly City and damaged the interlocking plant. 

After I got off the call, I left the office early.  I had to get home so I could work tonight.  The platform at Embarcadero station was crowded.  There were announcements about service delays, but I caught a 10-car Airport train seven minutes later and got a seat.  The train went to 24th and Mission and stopped.  The operator explained that we would be there for a while because they were single tracking ahead.  We stayed there and saw two trains go by the wrong way on the other track, then went on to Glen Park.  We had a shorter wait there, then we went on to Balboa Park, Daly City and Colma with no further delays.  I couldn't see the burned area. 

Madison Bumgarner and the Giants just shut out the Braves 6-0.  Last night Matt Cain shut out the Pirates. 

Playing Tourist #5 -- December 8, 2013

Today we played tourist. I had some one-day Muni passes that we needed to use by the end of the year.  We parked at Daly City BART and rode to the Embarcadero.  We stopped at the Hyatt Regency to look at the Christmas village in the central fountain.  We caught a California Street cable car whose decorations were sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony.  We got off at Taylor and found that a concert was about to start at Grace Cathedral, so we moved on.  Huntington Park was not decorated.  I guess it has not been since a friend retired.  We went to the lobby of the Fairmont and looked at the Christmas tree and the giant gingerbread house. 

We walked down Mason to the cable car barn.  This was the first time I had seen the new Chinatown Recreation Center completed.  It looks nice.  We liked the lions sitting in one window.  In the barn, we saw that the Powell Street cable was stopped.  A group of shopmen was splicing the cable.  It was interesting to watch.  We had a chat with Jose Godoy, who was excited about a new cable car book and a patch he had designed to celebrate Muni's centennial. 

We caught a Powell-Mason car out to Bay and Taylor, were I took this photo of car 16, whose decorations were sponsored by Ghirardelli Chocolate.  We had pumpkin pancakes at the IHOP.  We walked along Fishermans' Wharf, which was very crowded.  The crab smelled good. 

We got in line for a Powell-Hyde car at Hyde and Beach.  We waited about 45 minutes, but the view was nice.  We got on a car sponsored by the Buena Vista.  As we waited to leave, someone came on the radio to plead for traffic control around Union Square.  The Powell Street cable had been repaired, so we made it all the way to Post before traffic stopped completely.  We looked at the animals in the windows at Macy's, then got back on BART. 

Fleet Week -- October 6, 2012

This is a busy weekend in the city with Fleet Week, the Double 10 Parade, the Columbus Day Parade, the America's Cup World Series and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the Giants in the playoffs, the 49ers.  We parked at Colma and took BART downtown.  The train was crowded when it arrived at Colma.  Lots of people got off of our train and a Daly City train at the Embarcadero.  There was an F line shuttle bus to Fishermans' Wharf.  We saw Car One.

We went to the Ferry Building and bought some lunch.  We found a bench on the viewing area of the Golden Gate Ferry terminal and ate.  I took this photo of ferry Sonoma.

We walked through the Embarcadero Center and over to Union Square.  We visited Macy's.  We got on another busy BART train at Powell.

We stopped at the Metro Center on the way back and saw the Blue Angels fly past.  

At 5 o'clock mass, my wife and I took the census.

We had dinner at Guerrero's.

The Reds are leading the Giants in the first playoff game. 

Update:  The Giants went on to lose a sloppy game.  

BART 40 -- October 2, 2012

BART celebrated its 40th birthday last month.  I remember when the trains first started to run in the East Bay.  I went to visit a friend who had moved there and saw them.  We didn't walk through the transbay tube when they offered the opportunity and I have regretted it ever since.  I remember when trains ran on both sides of the bay, but did not carry passengers through the tube.  I remember when full service started.

I took a photo of this sign on the side of a train at Colma Station on 25-September-2012. 

It was very warm yesterday and today. 

BART Rail Grinder -- June 20, 2012

I was sitting on the southbound BART train Monday when it stopped before Daly City station.  I was able to get a photo of one of BART's rail grinders.  It cruises around the system at night, grinding down corrugations in the rails caused by braking.

US Open Shuttle Station -- June 16, 2012

We went by the Colma BART Station this morning and there was a long line of people waiting for a shuttle bus to the US Open.  Later, there were shuttle buses parked along Junipero Serra.  I took the photo on 11-June-2012 from the BART station garage, looking at the large white tent in the park and ride lot.

US Open Shuttle -- June 11, 2012

When I got to the Colma BART station this morning, I saw a sign pointing to the bridge to the park and ride lot.  I didn't see anyone heading to the US Open, but I saw lots of people coming back on the way home.  Note that the orange pieces of tape say "OUT OF SERVICE."  On my way home, I looked down from the parking garage and saw a big white tent in the park and ride area, and several buses.