Also known as the (Board of State Harbor Commissioners’) Belt Line Railroad, and as the San Francisco Belt after direct state control ceased in 1969, the State Belt served San Francisco’s waterfront from 1889 to 1993. At the railroad’s height, its tracks extended along the entire Embarcadero and to the Presidio, but the final years would see the railroad (along with nearly all port activity in the City) recede to Piers 80 and 96. After remaining idle for most of the Nineties, this remnant found new life serving various local industries under LB Railco and today operates as the San Francisco Bay Railroad.
External Links
Bill Kaufmann’s State Belt pages.
Contains an article on the Belt, originally published in May 22, 1935’s San Francisco Chronicle.
Robert Morris’ collection of State Belt photos.
Railfan.net forum thread showing a picture of State Belt #7 by the roundhouse.
Photos of ALCO #25 switching the Freedom Train and the roundhouse.
U.S. Supreme Court ruling about the SBRR regarding the “hauling over the road a car equipped with defective coupling apparatus.”
Landmark 86000207 – Beltline Railroad Roundhouse.
Exactly what it says on the tin.
Several closeup shots of the track detail at Fort Mason, as well as a photo of the tunnel.
Photos of #49 and #25.
Recent photographs of still-extant (though abandoned) trackage by Dan Furtado.
History of Fort Mason.
Information about the State Belt’s dual-gauge trackage.
2010 photos of the San Francisco Bay Railroad at night.