by theseaandalifesaver
Does the BART system in San Fran have any physical connections to the railroad network?
Railroad Forums
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theseaandalifesaver wrote:Does the BART system in San Fran have any physical connections to the railroad network?They can't because:
electricron wrote:That doesn't preclude them from having a connection to the national rail network. In fact, such connections are common among rapid transit systems, in order to facilitate deliveries of new rolling stock, among other reasons.theseaandalifesaver wrote:Does the BART system in San Fran have any physical connections to the railroad network?They can't because:
A) they are regulated by the FTA, while the railroad network is regulated by the FRA.
Western Railroader June 1965 Vol 2806 Issue 305: “Clara (the test car) arrived at Concord from Sacramento in a special Sacramento Northern train. She rode on a WP flat car instead of on the rails since she has a 5′ 6″ gauge, nearly a foot wide than the 4' 8.5″ standard gauge used by most existing transit systems and all the nation's railroads. Parsons Brinckerhoff-Tudor Bechtel, the district's consulting engineers, said that exhaustive studies show the wide gauge provides greater stability and smoother riding qualities for the rapid transit trains.”Even at the time some railroaders scoffed at this and said the design consultants were basically "reinventing the wheel."
deathtopumpkins wrote:What he said. Quite a few rapid transits have connections to freight railroads, including CTA and NYCTA. That does not make it FRA-regulated. The only rapid transit that comes to mind as FRA-regulated is PATH, and I think that has more to do with the Pennsy ownership legacy and the fact that PATH trains once shared mains with PRR mainlines trains. You've also got SIRT, which although is not FRA-regulated, has FRA-compliant signals on account of the B&O ownership legacy. Now if you want to really confuse things, you've got Skokie Swift that has FTA oversight and signals despite CNSM legacy, and the north end of the red/purple line in Chicago that was once MILW trackage, and has no FRA regulation ever.electricron wrote:That doesn't preclude them from having a connection to the national rail network. In fact, such connections are common among rapid transit systems, in order to facilitate deliveries of new rolling stock, among other reasons.theseaandalifesaver wrote:Does the BART system in San Fran have any physical connections to the railroad network?They can't because:
A) they are regulated by the FTA, while the railroad network is regulated by the FRA.
Of course this is a moot point given the gauge difference though.
BART2PV wrote:Hi! I worked @ BART for over 26 years. YES, there is ONE connection to the National Railway Network. It is located at Hayward Yard, and it has NEVER been used. Way back when the system was still being built, the original idea was that the original BART passenger cars would be delivered using the connection. The trucks would be standard gauge trucks for the journey from ROHR in San Diego, and the undercar equipment would be installed along with BART gauge motorized trucks at the Hayward Yard. The cars in transport would be hooked to a consist of regular railcars while in transit from San Diego. NEVER happened for reasons I don't know.I believe this is what you are referring to...
When the time came to deliver - was all done by TRUCK, each car was configured as a trailer, along with the BART trucks (wheels) and pulled by a rig from San Diego up I-5, every BART car was done this way; and all cars purchased later - C1, C2, as well as the rebuilds -A1, A2 - were done the same way. The Bombardier cars will be delivered by truck as well.
I am not sure if the connection is still visible on the road after the parking lots by Hayward Yard,as it may be paved over now, but looking through the gate you can see an "extra rail on the inside of the track nearest the fence by the front entrance which would have been the track set used for delivery. Of course once the car would have been detrucked and rechecked Bart gauge, that spur was irrelevant to all moves in/out of the shop and it still is!!
theseaandalifesaver wrote:What was the reason for the different gauges?The reason that I recall is improved stability when crossing the Golden Gate Bridge -- they were hoping to build the system out to Marin County.