Shipyard Railway

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Shipyard Railway
standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 600 V DC
Route map

Legend
 Yard No. 3
Yard No. 4
4th & Cutting (Yard No. 1)
10th & Potrero
14th & Potrero (Yard No. 2)
23rd & Potrero
30th & Potrero
Access & Potrero
Stege
Southern Pacific Railroad
 Buchanan St.
Camelia & 9th
University & 9th
Dwight & 9th
Ashby Ave.
Stanford Ave.
40th and San Pablo
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Key System
 40th and Louise
Key System

The Shipyard Railway was an electric

Southern Pacific Railroad
mainline.

The Maritime Commission authorized the line in June 1942 over two competing proposals and construction began that August. It was built quickly with available materials, including rails reused from other lines and a bridge constructed from old turntables. The line operated with former elevated railway cars from New York City, which were rebuilt for use on the Shipyard Railway. Service began to Shipyard #2 on January 18, 1943, with two extensions to the other shipyards over the following month. It closed on September 30, 1945, after the conclusion of the war. Most of the 90 cars were later scrapped, but two are preserved at the Western Railway Museum.

Route

Electric railway cars, some with pantographs, at a wooden platform in an urban area
The station at 40th Street and San Pablo

The southern terminus of the line was at Yerba Buena Avenue (40th Street)

fare controlled platform was built for the Shipyard trains. Connections could be made there with Key System routes A and B, which turned south on Louise Street, outside of fare control. The line ran east on 40th Street (on the south side of the Key System mainline) to San Pablo Avenue, where a pair of fare controlled platforms were located; connections could be made there with other Key System routes outside of fare control.[1][b]

Route and stations overlaid on modern street map

The line ran north on San Pablo Avenue, turned west for two blocks on Grayson Street

Eastshore Highway and the Southern Pacific tracks.[1] Wigwags were used at grade crossings on this segment.[4]
: 100 

The line turned west along Potrero Avenue in Richmond, reaching Shipyard #2 at 14th Street.[1] After the stop at the Pre-fab Yard (10th Street), it turned north on 8th Street to Cutting Boulevard. It ran west on Cutting Boulevard with a stop at Shipyard #1 at 5th Street.[5] Near Canal Boulevard, the line turned south onto private right-of-way, with stops at Shipyard #4 and Shipyard #3.[6]

The line was fully double track except for Grayson Street and two short sections in Richmond.[7] Express trains at shift changes served only the shipyard stops and the Key System transfer points at 40th Avenue. Local trains ran every 35–40 minutes and served additional local stops in Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, and Richmond.[8][1] Running time was about 45 minutes for local trains and several minutes faster for express trains.[8]

History

Construction of a bridge with wooden trestles and a long metal span over a railway line
Construction of the bridge over the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1942

As the

Santa Fe Railway tracks.[9] On June 6, 1942, the United States Maritime Commission authorized the Key System to construct and operate a line connecting the Richmond Shipyards to existing mass transit lines in Oakland. The "belt line" proposals were rejected at that time.[3]

The line was built from scrap and available materials, as the war made regular construction materials unavailable. The portion on San Pablo Avenue shared the tracks of the #2 streetcar line of Key System subsidiary Oakland Traction Company, while the Ninth Avenue portion reused part of a 1941-abandoned IER line.

Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles.[11] A new quarry was opened in Albany to provide track ballast, as existing quarries were at capacity.[11]

Overhead lines were reused from Key System streetcar lines and from the

turntables from Bayshore and Tracy.[11] Timbers were reused from the Key System mole (pier), which had been abandoned after the completion of the Bay Bridge.[7]

A logo reading "Shipyard Special" over a stylized United States flag. The logo of the United States Marine Commission, with an anchor on a shield against a similar flag background, occupies the upper half of the logo.
Logo used on station signs[12]

The line was constructed by the Key System under a $1.65 million contract (equivalent to $24 million in 2023) from the Marine Commission.[13] Around-the-clock construction began on August 3, 1942.[14] Testing of trains on Ninth Avenue began on December 1, 1942.[15] The line opened as far as Shipyard #2 on January 18, 1943.[1][16] It was extended to Shipyard #1 on February 1, and to Shipyard #3 on February 22.[5][6][17] This completion allowed most bus service to the shipyards – which used scarce gasoline and tire rubber – to be discontinued.[6]

Built for 50,000 passengers a day, the Shipyard Railway only operated at 20% capacity; it was heavily used at shift changes but poorly used at other times.[15][18][12] Although it was planned to primarily serve riders from Oakland and San Francisco, the fare structure discouraged ridership from those points[d], and the highest ridership was within Richmond.[18] A 1945 government report noted that "The shipyard management actually went out of its way to propagandize against the railway almost as soon as it started service and criticized Key for schedules which were specified by the shipyard's own staff."[18]

The line was "half a century out of date the day it opened"; the old wooden cars rode roughly and had uncomfortable seating.[12] Because construction was done cheaply with available materials, the track quality deteriorated quickly. By early 1945, most curves were no longer smooth, and two had significant kinks.[18] Shipbuilding continued even after the war ended in August 1945, but many workers switched to private automobiles as gasoline rationing ended. The Shipyard Railway was offered to the Key System, but the Key declined, viewing the line as unprofitable. It would have required substantial reconstruction for continued service, as well as new trackage to serve downtown Richmond.[12] Service ended on September 30, 1945, and the line was quickly dismantled.[12][4]: 85 

Rolling stock

Interior of a railway car with two rows of seats
Interior of a Shipyard Railway car

For unknown reasons, the Maritime Commission did not acquire rolling stock from the IER or the

maritime gray paint for the cars.[21]

The elevated cars had been built for high-level platforms in New York. Wooden platforms were installed at the express stops.

pantograph, which replaced the third rail equipment used in New York.[21][2] Typical train lengths were four to six cars.[21][12]

After the line's closure, most of the cars were scrapped or sold off for use as sheds or bunkhouses.[21][4]: 101  Married pair #561 and #563 were purchased by the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. They remained at the Key System yard in Emeryville until 1960, when they were moved to the Western Railway Museum for preservation.[4]: 100 [20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "New Richmond Shipyard Railway Starts Operation Monday!". Oakland Tribune. January 17, 1943. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com. (Map detail)
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-916374-27-0
    .
  3. ^ a b "Key Shipyard Rail Plan O.K.'d". Oakland Tribune. June 6, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780738547220
    .
  5. ^ a b "Shipyard Railway Extends Service". Oakland Tribune. January 30, 1943. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c "Shipyard Rail Runs Extended". Oakland Tribune. February 21, 1943. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Road Cost $1,600,000". Oakland Tribune. January 17, 1943. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "[Untitled timetable]" (PDF). Key System. May 27, 1945.
  9. ^ a b "Traffic Plan Muddle Put Before U.S." Oakland Tribune. May 16, 1942. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bay Belt Line To Richmond Under Study". Oakland Tribune. May 11, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d "Shipyard Railway Monument to Ingenuity of Key Engineers". Oakland Tribune. January 17, 1943. pp. 16, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^
    ISBN 0870951165
    .
  13. ^ Fernhout, D.W. (January 17, 1943). "Rail Line to Open Jan. 18". Oakland Tribune. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Shipyard Trains To Run Dec. 1". Oakland Tribune. August 1, 1942. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Richmond Shipyard Railway Makes Test Run Of 'El' Cars". Oakland Tribune. December 2, 1942. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "New Transportation Will Commence Operation Tomorrow". Oakland Tribune. January 17, 1943. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  17. ^ "Shipyard Railway Now Complete". Oakland Tribune. February 20, 1943. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b c d Report on Key System, Oakland, California. United States Office of Defense Transportation. February 1945. p. 15 – via Google Books.
  19. ^ a b "Shipyard Line Starts Monday". Oakland Tribune. January 17, 1943. pp. 15, 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b "Key System 561". Western Railway Museum. Bay Area Electric Railroad Association.
  21. ^
    ISBN 0913548472
    .
  22. ^ "Shipyard Rails Rushed". Oakland Tribune. September 13, 1942. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.

Notes

  1. ^ Now part of Mandela Parkway. The modern 40th Street is on a different alignment to the north.
  2. ^ Some sources incorrectly give 40th Street and San Pablo as the terminus.[2]
  3. ^ Some secondary sources incorrectly place the jog on Heinz Street, one block to the south, which was the original planned route.[2][3]
  4. ^ Fare was one token or ten cents within Richmond, versus two tokens or twenty cents from points further south. Tokens cost 50 cents for 7 at that time.[1][19]

Further reading

External links

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