San Francisco's Lost Belt Railroad

Today, we will explore the history of the Belt Railway, an abandoned rail line that was once crucial to American industry. From its construction and peak to its eventual decline, we uncover how this route connected communities and facilitated trade. Today, its rusted rails and deserted stations are silent witnesses to a vibrant past.

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

» CONTACT

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Ryan Socash,
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[timfross]

My grandfather was chief electrician for the Port of San Francisco. When I was a kid he took my down to one of the piers and they let me drive one of the locomotives (heavy supervised, of course). Got to use one of those hand powered carts like you used to see in cartoons.

There's an avocado tree behind the roundhouse that my grandfather planted.

The tracks for light rail aren't the old belt railroad tracks. The whole roadway was reconfigured after Loma Prieta and the Embarcadero freeway demolition. I guess you could argue that Muni uses the right of way, but it's 100% new trackage.

When they tore up the tracks to re-do the Embarcadero after the freeway came down, we took a few dozen of the old railroad ties and built retaining walls in my father's yard with them. They stunk of creosote for years, but are still standing in San Rafael. Thanks for this one. Brought back some memories.

[stevens]

Born and raised in SF and I had no idea about this. However, I do remember in the 1990s, their was a lot more industry in San Francisco. Also, I remember the piers and the waterfront had an old industrial feeling to them, before a lot of them got remodeled and repurposed as other things.

[greenchevy]

I’m a native San Franciscan. The Municipal railway never used any of the old Belt Railroad tracks. However… in 1987, Muni Car 578 a former Market St Railway Streetcar built by the J. Hammond car company in 1896 was hooked up to a small generator car and operated up and down the old abandoned state belt rails as a demonstration for the future E and F line. Car 578 still operates as a part of Muni’s fleet today and is a personal favorite of mine being one of the oldest operating electric streetcars in the world 😊

[babyj]

Love videos of old San Francisco. But I love correct information too! The current tracks on the Embarcadero are brand new, built for the Trolley line in the 90’s, & are not part of the original SF Beltway Line. But were laid during the reworking of the Embarcadero after the removal of the double decker Embarcadero Freeway after the ‘89 Loma Prieta earthquake.

[rdlehmer]

Also didn’t mention the San Francisco Bay Railroad, which operates the last bit of the of the Belt Railway that is still functional. They operate a trans load facility off Cargo Way. Their locomotives don’t leave the facility. The Union Pacific comes over from the Caltrain line and delivers and picks up cars. They also have two State Belt locomotives, #23 and #25, stored for possible future display.

[dzymslizzy]

Born & raised in SF: I remember this line very well. Although by the time I came along, it was already pretty much abandoned, but parts were still functioning in the 1950s and early 60s. My dad had lived in SF since 1907, and very well remembered the active period. We'd often go for rides along the embarcadero when he got home from work (in summer during DST) and watch trains maneuvering among the slips and onto barges down at Mission Bay.

[WentakFurenti]

One of the vulcan ironworks buildings still stands in wilkes barre and I drive by it on the regular. It's a shame to see so much of our train heritage dissapearing. Love the content btw! Keep up the great work.

[RaymondHng]

I was a programmer analyst at the Port of San Francisco in the '80s. There were only three SF Belt Railroad employees on the payroll. They were paid semi-monthly while the former state employees and the city employees were paid bi-weekly.

[robh.]

My dad started as a Teamster in the late ‘50s and one of his jobs as a lumper was to unload these freight cars. He wound up with a full time job at the foot of Potrero Hill and he said they didn’t use the tracks much past the ‘60s. I unloaded freight cars for 3 days once in Oakland.
They were filled with 50 pound sacks of coal dust. That’s why I remember the job so well.

[williamwilliam]

I recall seeing (in the 1970s) locomotives moving freight cars to and from the wharfs along the Embarcadero and the former industrial area around King Street.
Also, the development of the Port Oakland, with its container freight capabilities and its location next to the rail yards (no need for rail car ferries), had as much if not larger impact than the Port of Long Beach / Port of Los Angeles.

[history_leisure]

There is interest in reusing the Presidio segment for the Muni F line (Market-Warfs/Castro Streetcar)

[robbmanchester]

Grew up in DT SF … In about 1983 they had a Train Fair close to what is now Pier 39 … my Dad took me there on a sunny Saturday afternoon and we saw many circa 1959 Western Pacific Santa Fe and SP locomotives and toured a new complete Amtrak Zephyr train set … a lot of the tracks were finally cleared and repurposed after the 1998 earthquake …

[metalstorm]

I worked on Pier 45 for a few years, you could see some rails still embedded in the asphalt next to the shed doors.

[KentBunn]

At 3 minutes, it's fort Mason.

Not Manson.

[DeadBaron]

Portland Maine had a similar railroad that cut right through the middle of the city. The passenger station was in the perfect place and everything.

They tore out the tracks and demolished the beautiful stone building with a massive clocktower for a strip mall. Now that mall is run down and a total shthole.

[jaggedben]

Tracks are still visible in Aquatic Park and in the Fort Mason parking lot. Even if the flangeways are full of asphalt, and in some places curbs go right across them. Someone at the city and or national park service has been making sure those pieces of history don't get completely paved over.

[freedomforever]

Interesting history of the railroad's influence in San Francisco and beyond.

[jimmelka]

Hello Mr. Socash,
Cicero-Berwyn Boomer here. As always, great video. The U.S. Navy communication ship I was serving on in 1969 spent a few weeks at Hunters Point while offloading classified material and equipment. This was the U, S.S. Arlington AGMr2, and it was on it's way to be decommissioned at Long Beach, and ultimately San Diego. I remember tracks running a block or so off the pier. Could they have been from the Belt Railway?
As you probably already know, Chicago has it's own Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Back in the day I used to dodge their trains as they made the curve at 47th St. in McCook. This was just slightly north of the (now gone) giant, main GM Electromotive plant. Thank You for really good content.

[TheWhatnought]

Rad. I've done a ton of shows at the Ft. Mason piers. And I love rail systems too. So that tunnel under Ft. Mason has always been a curiosity for me. You just know there's a secret station under there somewhere. How could there not? Why would you dig under that hill when a level route around would be much more efficient? I wish they'd restore some of those lines for like a tour shuttle or something. It would make a lot of sense. Get on at the ferry building and then go see all the attractions from there to Ft. Point. That would be way cool.

[sniperjdp]

That was a really good review of the rail road lines there.