Kaufman, William H. (Author)
Kaufman, Michelle S. (Author)
This offers a history of the railroad that served San Francisco's waterfront for over a century. The entire waterfront was owned by the State of California, and therefore so was the railroad. It served all the waterfront piers, from Fisherman's Wharf in the north, to China Basin in the south, and had track beyond Fisherman's Wharf, through a tunnel, to Army facilities at Fort Mason and the Presidio. But switching the piers was only part of the State Belt's duties. It also served many dozens of industries and warehouses adjoining the waterfront. Interchange with the rest of the United States took place by car float (with the Santa Fe, Northwestern Pacific and Western Pacific) and on land with the Southern Pacific near China Basin. Until 1946, the Belt used steam switch engines, but then in rapid succession acquired six Alco S-2 switchers, being among the first American railroads to achieve complete dieselization. A number of major events in San Francisco history, from the Earthquake of 1906, to the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915, World Wars I and II, and the Great Depression, all affected the State Belt and in a number of cases, gave the Belt a role to play as well. In 1969, the City of San Francisco finally acquired title to its Port and to the State Belt; they soon contracted with Kyle Railways in 1973 to operate the railroad. This lasted until 1993. But many remnants of the Belt and its operation remain to be seen in San Francisco. Extensive research was required to locate photographs and history of a railroad that did a lot of its work at night. It is richly documented with 242 photos, most never before published, with informative maps and an index. This definitely is a book for rail historians and for anyone interested in rail-marine connections and in the operation of freight railroads.
...MoreReview Justin M. Spivey (Fall/Winter 2014) Review of "The State Belt: San Francisco's Waterfront Railroad". Railroad History (pp. 104-105).
Article
J.W. Swanberg;
(Fall/Winter 2014)
Short Takes: True to Taunton, Mass.: Impressions from the Railroad Town of Charles Fisher's Youth
(/isis/citation/CBB887119766/)
Book
Chuck Blardone;
Prophet, John M., III;
(2009)
Prophet's Pennsy
(/isis/citation/CBB041457134/)
Book
Brasher, Larry E.;
(2006)
Santa Fe Locomotive Development: The Journey to Supreme Steam and Pioneer Diesels
(/isis/citation/CBB291156817/)
Book
Edward S. Kaminski;
(2007)
Pullman-Standard freight cars, 1900-1960
(/isis/citation/CBB965488297/)
Book
J.Parker Lamb;
(2012)
Railroads of Meridian
(/isis/citation/CBB147508280/)
Book
David Plowden;
(2010)
Requiem for steam: The railroad photographs of David Plowden
(/isis/citation/CBB484863927/)
Book
Bernstein, David M.;
(2015)
Southern Pacific's Eastern lines 1946-1996
(/isis/citation/CBB099972443/)
Book
Jennifer B. Bodine;
(2018)
Trains: Photography of A. Aubrey Bodine
(/isis/citation/CBB085428479/)
Book
Michael M. Bartels;
James J. Riesdorff;
J. Pete Hedgpeth;
Paul R. Boslaugh;
(2013)
Burlington Northern Railroad branch lines: The Nebraska experience
(/isis/citation/CBB581789544/)
Book
Brian Solomon;
(2011)
Electro-Motive E-Units and F-Units: The Illustrated History of North America's Favorite Locomotives
(/isis/citation/CBB571051628/)
Book
John E. Bush;
(2013)
Building Union Pacific 844: The Birth of the FEF-3 Steam Class
(/isis/citation/CBB822206868/)
Book
Bruce C. Nelson;
(2015)
Chicago & North Western: The 400 Club, A History of the Presidential F Units
(/isis/citation/CBB000880371/)
Article
Ehernberger, James L.;
(Spring-Summer 2007)
Giants and Dwarfs
(/isis/citation/CBB479530051/)
Book
David Houston;
(2021)
Southern Pacific 1930s to 1950s: Los Angeles to Bakersfield - The story behind the pictures
(/isis/citation/CBB690378371/)
Article
John Gruber;
(Spring-Summer 2017)
Gordon S. Crowell
(/isis/citation/CBB966956989/)
Book
Howard Serig;
(2016)
Along the Railroad: North American Rail Journey, 1958-1979
(/isis/citation/CBB844242528/)
Book
Brian Solomon;
(2011)
Caboose
(/isis/citation/CBB089947090/)
Book
John E. Gruber;
(2009)
Classic steam: Timeless photographs of North American steam railroading
(/isis/citation/CBB305940691/)
Article
Tony Reevy;
(Fall/Winter 2009)
Jack Delano: Artist of the Rails
(/isis/citation/CBB320092775/)
Book
Scott Lothes;
(2015)
Significant Images of Railroading: From the Collections of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art
(/isis/citation/CBB462041951/)
Be the first to comment!