What is/was the most # of tracks in street running?

So I had a dream the other day, and among other things there was a 'remote observation scene' watching several people running across an urban area - including running across a street with 4 tracks embedded in the street.

OK, back in reality, on a US-centric basis, I could only think of a few places (past and present) with 2 thru tracks embedded in the street:
1) Jack London Square, Oakland, CA (only 2 blocks of Embercardero W) - Bing View - this had 3 tracks at one time it seems, although one track seems to have been disconnected for years.
2) (Kind of weak) - the most northern block of N American St. in Philadelphia, PA - Bing View (shame this branch didn't seem to pan out, it would have been interesting to see it in action).
3) (Kind of long ago) - 10th/11th Avenue in Manhattan, NY, before the West Side improvements - time to call out the Shorpy archive - looks like those are 2 NYC "Steam Railroad" tracks, and one trolley track. If so, Jack London Square is still the winner w/ 3 tracks at one time...

And, then I hit a roadblock - I could find a decent number of single track street running examples. I know that in many areas (e.g. American St mentioned above, 1st Ave Brooklyn, NY - NYNJ) there's sidings/spurs that parallel the 'main' line for a short distance, so there's 2/3 tracks in the street at that point, but I'm asking about maximum thru tracks embedded in the street, and used for 'Heavy Rail' (not street-cars or LRT - unless they were shared w/ heavy rail frieght or passenger).

Fourth Avenue in NYC maybe?
That is the part that is now Park Avenue north of Grand Central station.

I know it was passenger main line then as now, but not how many tracks.

Passenger wrote:Fourth Avenue in NYC maybe?
That is the part that is now Park Avenue north of Grand Central station.

I know it was passenger main line then as now, but not how many tracks.

I was thinking about that too when I wrote the OP, but I could not find any good images on-line of the old Grand Central Terminal (or was it a station - I do remember seeing images in books that show one track exiting the building thru an archway and continuing south on Park/Fourth Ave - Edit - Yup, it was Grand Central Station until the new Terminal building was built in 1913 - and before that, it was Grand Central Depot; however, wiki shows no good images of the tracks for those periods - the Park Avenue Tunnel held the line running south from GC Station I mentioned) . I also have no idea how they handled the passenger yard North of the station - actually, did they even have the tracks in the street, or did the street run on either side? (or was it like 11th Ave in the Shopy image I linked too?)

IIRC, the yards for Grand Central Station/Depot were just that, no streets, then where they 'yoked down' at around 48th st., they ran in a trench in the middle of Park Ave below grade with the cross streets on bridges overhead.

Ray, is this railroad only that we're talking about ? Market Street, San Francisco had four parallel lines of track, two each for competing Market Street Railway Company and the San Francisco Municipal Railway - "The Roar of the Four" it was called. If we're just talking RR, numerous streets in Boston had multiple through tracks. West 1st near B St. in Southie had twelve tracks crossing belonging to the New Haven RR.

3rdrail wrote:Ray, is this railroad only that we're talking about ?

Yes, heavy-rail (or 'steam-railroad' as it was once called) trackage only - freight and/or passenger. I realize that there was some incredibly complex street-car/interurban ttrackage around the early part of last century, so I am (perhaps wrongfully) discounting that - I mean, it does have 'street' running as part of its name. And I also meant public streets open to all traffic, so paved intermodal yards or factory/mill trackage wouldn't count either.

If we're just talking RR, numerous streets in Boston had multiple through tracks. West 1st near B St. in Southie had twelve tracks crossing belonging to the New Haven RR.

Now that would have been increadibly interesting to see, 12 thru tracks - was vehicle traffic allowed to travel along these tracks for a block or more? Could say 12 vehicles side-by-side travel down the street along these tracks? I realize the Union Freight Railroad was up there in Boston, but I thought it only had 2 thru tracks/maybe 3 max?

In the overseas category, yesterday I stumbled across info about the Alexandra Road Tramway, a two-track street running route by the port in Dublin, Ireland (over which a fair percentage of the rather anemic remaining Irish Rail freight tonnage travels, and which is actually being extended to connect w/ more of the Dublin port facilities, ensuring more freight travelling over it) - so, two street tracks for Ireland!

Sir Ray wrote:Now that would have been increadibly interesting to see, 12 thru tracks - was vehicle traffic allowed to travel along these tracks for a block or more? Could say 12 vehicles side-by-side travel down the street along these tracks? I realize the Union Freight Railroad was up there in Boston, but I thought it only had 2 thru tracks/maybe 3 max?

B/1st were mainly crossings. Around the "Grape Yard" (so-called because of the practice of "unofficial" sales to local Italians of grapes by the railroad men for wine making), now known as "Fan Pier", the location of the Federal Courthouse, Northern Ave. had thirteen tracks going in all different directions, some in line, some crossing, and diagonally, all within 1,000 feet. In fact, the Southie Waterfront had numerous locations where multiple tracks were street-running, due to the numerous adjacent yards, shops, and industries.

Sir Ray wrote:So I had a dream the other day, and among other things there was a 'remote observation scene' watching several people running across an urban area - including running across a street with 4 tracks embedded in the street.

OK, back in reality, on a US-centric basis, I could only think of a few places (past and present) with 2 thru tracks embedded in the street:
1) Jack London Square, Oakland, CA (only 2 blocks of Embercardero W) - Bing View - this had 3 tracks at one time it seems, although one track seems to have been disconnected for years.
2) (Kind of weak) - the most northern block of N American St. in Philadelphia, PA - Bing View (shame this branch didn't seem to pan out, it would have been interesting to see it in action).
3) (Kind of long ago) - 10th/11th Avenue in Manhattan, NY, before the West Side improvements - time to call out the Shorpy archive - looks like those are 2 NYC "Steam Railroad" tracks, and one trolley track. If so, Jack London Square is still the winner w/ 3 tracks at one time...

And, then I hit a roadblock - I could find a decent number of single track street running examples. I know that in many areas (e.g. American St mentioned above, 1st Ave Brooklyn, NY - NYNJ) there's sidings/spurs that parallel the 'main' line for a short distance, so there's 2/3 tracks in the street at that point, but I'm asking about maximum thru tracks embedded in the street, and used for 'Heavy Rail' (not street-cars or LRT - unless they were shared w/ heavy rail frieght or passenger).

Note the trainman on horseback ahead of the train in the New York pic (just in front of the wagon with the casks). Job was to warn folks of the approaching train, required by City ordinance I believe.

They used "steam dummies" so as to not frighten the horses.

I think I may have belatedly found a winner. The Weymouth Harbor Tramway in Britain featured three tracks down city streets near the end of its operating life, as it ran to cross-Channel ferries. (Ah, the things you find while researching Thomas Hardy...)

Interestingly, the Inuyama Bridge in Japan once featured two tracks plus two lanes of traffic on a lengthy highway bridge.

Erie, Pennsylvania would probably in the running, at least for a Top Twenty spot here. Ten blocks of trackage of Norfolk Southern, former NKP trackage for the mainline between Cleveland and Buffalo.

http://www.trainweb.org/eastpenn/erie.html

Gone now, removed in 2002; but it lasted through the video age... for example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlAe9bNKWeg

(Hey, I don't think he stopped for the Stop Sign!)

There is a Pentrex video called "Street Running" which would be of interest. I have it around here somewhere in glorious VHS format, haven't watched it for years. I think it's been made available on DVD also.

Syracuse had NYC mainline of 2 tracks going through downtown during the heydays...

Here's where there was one too many ! Atlantic/Northern-Boston.