Trolley Tuesday 7/20/21 - Peninsular Railway of San Jose

Over the past half year, we at Twice Weekly Trolley History have discussed the Southern Pacific Railroads's interurban holdings in excruciating detail, and it seemed like we covered everything. After all, their holdings ranged from legendary Southern California streetcars to the burning trolley-fire that was the East Bay and Marin County interurbans. However, in our discussions there's always been one company that usually avoids being mentioned when SP's trolleys are brought up. Nowadays, San Jose's own Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (or VTA) operates a rather-wide light rail system in Silicon Valley, but one hundred years ago the VTA's job was actually done by the Peninsular Railway, or "the Pin" to locals. Despite only lasting 30 years and being outshone by SP's other interurbans and being prematurely cut short by weather and war, the Pin remained an important asset to the SP and the South Bay and deserves appreciation on today's Trolley Tuesday.

Trolley Tuesday 7/13/21 - A Brief History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit, Part 2

If you look at the entire timeline of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), one might be inclined to think that this world-famous transit system might not work on paper. After all, it shrank from its planned service coverage of nine counties to three, was entirely insular due to its unique gauge and prototype operations, and had enough neglectful management and accidents to turn the average person into a motorist (or at the very least, a bicyclist). Even after becoming the heroes of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, many people assumed that the BART would fade into memory like so many of its predecessors. And yet, as of 2021, those iconic, space-age silver trains continue to roll into the future whether it, or its passengers, want it to or not. On Today's Trolley Tuesday, we finish our brief history of the Bay Area Rapid Transit by examining its recent history and how it's continued to maintain its relevance to the average Bay Area commuter.

Trolley Thursday 7/8/21 - A Brief History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit, Part 1

When the name, "Bay Area Rapid Transit", or its acronym, "BART", is mentioned to the average layperson, they immediately conjure up images of an outdated, incompatible and filthy system that anti-transit lobbyists love to use as a punchline or a warning. However, the BART is more than merely a punching bag, as it was originally one of the most forward-thinking and ambitious plans for a new American rapid transit system in the wake of National City Lines doing away with the Bay Area's streetcars as well as the best solution to the long-suffering problem of getting across the San Francisco Bay. On today's Trolley Thursday, consider this humble and passionate defense of this maligned and mischaracterized mass transit system as we look at the factors, figures, and fuck-ups foibles that make up today's Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Trolley Tuesday 5/25/21 - The San Francisco Transbay Terminal

Hello, dear readers and passengers! If you are reading this post, chances are I'm suffering the side-effects of my second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. As always, I want to tell you all to please remain healthy and safe as the country returns to normal, and be smart with your health.

Now with that out of the way... San Francisco's Salesforce Transit Center is a rather polarizing building in the city's history. Despite being designed as an ultramodern multi-modal hub for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Muni's bus system, and the northern terminal of the eventual California High Speed Rail (CAHSR), the building has had a shaky construction and opening as it spent most of its first year in operation closed due to structural concerns. While many new transit advocates both support the Salesforce Transit Center, or denigrate its organic architecture, almost all old San Franciscan souls lament the loss of what was there before, the original San Francisco Transbay Terminal. Despite being one of the most modern buildings in the city when it opened in 1939, the loss of its three major commuter rail tenants rendered the building redundant in only 20 years and limping into the 21st Century. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's look at the history of a building way ahead of its time, but quickly left behind once the trolleys stopped running.