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The Ocean View Branch was a railroad line between San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It was in use from 1863 to 1942, with some sections remaining until the 1970s. Its importance as a rail corridor was greatly reduced after the 1907 opening of the flatter and shorter Bayshore Cutoff. The right-of-way between Glen Park and San Bruno was reused for Interstate 280 and Bay Area Rapid Transit.
The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad opened south from San Francisco to San Francisquito Creek on October 23, 1863, and to San Jose in January 1864. It ran from a station at Temple (later 25th) and San Jose Street then wound southwest through the San Bruno hills of southern San Francisco. It turned south through Daly City and southeast at Colma, then paralleled El Camino Real through South San Francisco to San Bruno, California. [1] The largest earthworks on the line was the Bernal Cut, which was originally excavated at 2,700 feet (820 m) in length and a depth of 43 feet (13 m). [2] By March 1867, trains were being run up Valencia Street to a new depot at Market Street. [3] The company was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in 1868. The railroad was not very useful to local residents in San Francisco: high fares discouraged both passengers and freight, and street running in the Mission District made the ride slow. [4] Helper engines were required for the 3% grade at Oceanview in southern San Francisco. [5] In 1878, the SP surveyed an alternate route east of San Bruno Mountain to bypass the line's grades and curves. [6] The northern end was rerouted off of Valencia Street to Harrison, Division, and Townsend streets in the 1870s as the Southern Pacific had been granted land in the Mission Bay for a new terminal. [7] Residents rejected a plan to double-track the railroad around 1900. [5]
The United Railroads opened its San Mateo interurban between San Francisco and San Mateo in 1902. [8] It paralleled the SP for its whole length and ran directly alongside the railroad between South San Francisco and Burlingame. It competed with the railroad for passengers, especially for traffic to the Colma cemeteries for which the SP had numerous flag stops. [9]
On December 8, 1907, the SP opened its Bayshore Cutoff between San Francisco and San Bruno. [10] The new cutoff was straighter and flatter than the old route: it reduced the maximum grade from 3% to 0.3%, the maximum elevation from 292 feet (89 m) to 20 feet (6.1 m), and the San Francisco–San Bruno distance from 13.69 miles (22.03 km) to 11.04 miles (17.77 km). [11] With the cutoff thus saving 20 minutes in running time, most service switched to the new route. [10] The old mainline between though points became the Ocean View Branch, also called the San Bruno Branch or San Bruno line. By 1913, more that two dozen daily round trips used the cutoff, with just 3–4 round trips over the Ocean View Branch. [9] Some service was provided by McKeen Motor Cars. [12] The SP planned to electrify the Ocean View Branch as an extension of the Peninsular Railway to compete with the San Mateo interurban, but never did so. [13] [14]
In June 1919, passenger service over the line was reduced to a single daily round trip. [15] [16] The SP was allowed to temporarily discontinue passenger service on the branch in November 1928 when the Bernal Cut was widened to build San Jose Avenue. This became permanent in March 1930, though freight service continued. [17] [18] [19] [20] Plans were put forward in 1930 to integrate the line into a proposed rapid transit system with much of the route rebuilt as an elevated railway and a new segment north along Capp Street leading to Mission Street. [21] The tracks were abandoned north of Ocean Avenue to 23rd Street on August 10, 1942, and south of Ocean Avenue to at least Daly City after a 1956 excursion train. [15] [22] Tracks had been taken up for scrap metal in World War II. [1] The Southern Freeway (Interstate 280) was constructed partially on the abandoned right-of-way between Glen Park and Daly City in the 1960s. [23] [24] Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) opened its San Francisco line in 1973, paralleling I-280 between Glen Park and Daly City. [25]
Further southward extensions of BART were proposed to use more of the branch alignment. [26] [27] Freight service on the Daly City–South San Francisco segment ended in 1978. [28] From 1984 to 1988, BART constructed an extension south from Daly City to a new yard at Colma, partially along the former right-of-way. [25] The Muni Metro J Church light rail line would be extended down San Jose Avenue through the Bernal Cut beginning in 1991. [20] Colma station was added to the BART system in 1996. [25] The 2003-opened extension to San Francisco International Airport and Millbrae was built in a tunnel under the abandoned right-of-way from Colma to San Bruno. [29] : 3.13–42 Some rails remained in place until construction began on the extension, while other sections had been sold to adjacent cemeteries. [30] The Centennial Way Trail opened in 2008 between South San Francisco station and San Bruno station. It uses the right-of-way of the Ocean View Branch and the parallel interurban. [31]
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, in Santa Clara County, south of Palo Alto and north of Sunnyvale. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by San Mateo County, between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Granada, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, West Menlo Park and Woodside.
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.
Daly City is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco, it is named for businessman and landowner John Donald Daly.
Balboa Park station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station and Muni Metro complex in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco, California, located near the eponymous Balboa Park. It is an intermodal hub served by four BART routes, three Muni Metro lines, and a number of Muni bus routes. The station complex also includes two rail yards, Cameron Beach Yard and Green Light Rail Center, where Muni maintains Muni Metro trains and heritage streetcars. BART uses a below-grade island platform on the west side of the complex; Muni Metro routes use several smaller side platforms located on surface-level rail loops around the yards.
Daly City station is an elevated Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Daly City, California, just south of the city limits of San Francisco. It is adjacent to Interstate 280 and California Route 1, which it serves as a park-and-ride station. The station is served by the Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue lines; it is the western terminus of the Green and Blue lines.
Colma station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in unincorporated northern San Mateo County, California adjacent to the incorporated town of Colma and city of Daly City. The station is served by the Red and Yellow lines. Colma station is situated in a small valley shared with BART's Daly City Yard and a large parking garage. The station has three tracks, with an island platform between the two eastern tracks and a side platform next to the western track. Only the two eastern tracks are used for revenue service.
Millbrae station is an intermodal transit station serving Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Caltrain, located in Millbrae, California. The station is the terminal station for BART on the San Francisco Peninsula, served by two lines: The Red Line before 9 pm and the Yellow Line during the early morning and evening. It is served by all Caltrain services. The station is also served by SamTrans bus service, Commute.org and Caltrain shuttle buses, and other shuttles.
Richmond station is an Amtrak intercity rail and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in downtown Richmond, California. Richmond is the north terminus of BART service on the Orange Line and Red Line; it is a stop for Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, and California Zephyr routes. The accessible station has one island platform for the two BART tracks, with a second island platform serving two of the three tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision for Amtrak trains. It is one of two transfer points between BART and Amtrak, along with Oakland Coliseum station.
Downtown Berkeley station is an underground Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in the Downtown Berkeley section of Berkeley, California. It is served by the Orange and Red lines.
San Bruno Mountain is a fault-block horst in northern San Mateo County, California. Rising to a quarter-mile high peak directly out of San Francisco Bay, it also includes a smaller ridge in San Francisco. Viewed from downtown San Francisco, the mountain occupies the southern horizon. It is surrounded as well by the cities of Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, and South San Francisco, and has an important role in the history and life of these communities.
Emeryville station is an Amtrak station in Emeryville, California, United States. The station is served by the California Zephyr, Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, and San Joaquins. The station is the primary connection point for Amtrak Thruway buses serving San Francisco.
The Coast Line is a railroad line between Burbank, California and the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly along the Pacific Coast. It is the shortest rail route between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Though not as busy as the Surf Line, the continuation of the Coast Line southbound to San Diego, it still sees freight movements and lots of passenger trains. The Pacific Surfliner, which runs from the San Diego Santa Fe Depot to San Luis Obispo via Union Station in Los Angeles, is the third busiest Amtrak route, and the busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston.
The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ) was a railroad which linked the communities of San Francisco and San Jose, California, running the length of the San Francisco Peninsula. The company incorporated in 1860 and was one of the first railroads to employ Chinese laborers in its construction. It opened the first portion of its route in 1863, completing the entire 49.5-mile (80 km) route in 1864. The company was consolidated with the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1870. Today, Caltrain and the Union Pacific Railroad continue to operate trains over part of the company's original route.
The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose and San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula. This service ran as a private, for-profit enterprise beginning in 1863. Due to operating losses, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) petitioned to discontinue the service in 1977. Subsidies were provided through the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 1980 to continue service, and it was renamed Caltrain in 1985.
The Peninsular Railway was an interurban electrified railway in the U.S. State of California in the United States of America. It served the area between San Jose, Los Gatos, and Palo Alto, comprising much of what is today known as "Silicon Valley". For much of its existence it was a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The station complex of Amtrak's Oakland Coliseum station and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)'s Coliseum station is located in the East Oakland area of Oakland, California, United States. The two stations, located about 600 feet (180 m) apart, are connected to each other and to the Oakland Coliseum/Oakland Arena sports complex with an accessible pedestrian bridge. The BART station is served by the Orange, Green, and Blue lines; the Amtrak station is served by the Capitol Corridor service.
The San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway (SF&SM) was the first electric streetcar company in San Francisco, California. The company was only in business for ten years, starting from 1892 until it was merged into the United Railroads of San Francisco (URR) in 1902.
The Portal, also known as the Downtown Rail Extension (DTX), is a planned second phase of the Salesforce Transit Center. When complete, it will extend the Caltrain Peninsula Corridor commuter rail line from its current northern terminus at 4th and King via a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) tunnel. The new terminus will be near the Financial District and will provide intermodal connections to BART, Muni, Transbay AC Transit buses, and long-distance buses. In addition, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) plans to use DTX and the Caltrain-owned Peninsula Corridor for service on the CHSRA San Francisco–San Jose segment. The Caltrain Modernization Program (CalMod), which included electrification of the line and acquisition of electrified rolling stock, was a prerequisite, since the former diesel locomotives were not suitable for use in a tunnel.
The Bayshore Cutoff is the rail line between San Francisco and San Bruno along the eastern shore of the San Francisco Peninsula. It was completed by Southern Pacific (SP) in 1907 at a cost of $7 million, and included five tunnels, four of which are still used by Caltrain, the successor to Southern Pacific's Peninsula Commute service. Fill from the five tunnels was used to build the Visitacion or Bayshore Yard, the main SP classification yard near the city of Brisbane. The Del Monte was similarly rerouted over the line at some point in its operational history.
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