freight on the SF San Jose route

[kevikens]

I only visit the Bay Area about once a year. In reviewing my pictures of last years's visit I have noticed that the only place I see freight on the Caltrains route is in the vicinity of South San Francisco and Santa Clara. What I'd like to know is how the freight gets into South SF. I never see anything on the line anywhere else so how and when does freight move on that line. Can you get daytime shots of UP on that line ? I know the Newark bridge is out of service so I guess it has to come north from Sanata Clara but I never see it. Does this stuff move only at night ?

[Stephen]

When I left San Francisco, in 1997, the only freight movements on that line were late night. Since Cal-Train has further expaned its service, I would assume it is still that way.
- Stephen

[Alloy]

Tonight I was in Burlingame at 11:00pm, and the gates came down while I was several blocks from the tracks. What went by were two locomotives and three hopper cars. I had never seen freight move on that line before tonight. It was too dark to see any markings on the engines--I would have liked to have seen whether they were old Southern Pacific units.