BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

(SEE PREVIOUS POST)

Also..........

The KEY SYSTEM's handsome orange ferryboats were indeed the most advanced on the Bay, using modern propellers instead of sidewheels, and turbo-electric engines (QUITE advanced for the day!) instead of the usual coal/oil fired engines.

The last ferry to cross from Oakland Pier to the Ferry Building in 1958 was the SP's "SAN LEANDRO", which originally had been a KEY boat, prior to 1940...........

'NYO"

["FULL ASTERN"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

How the mighty hath fallen..........

Into the late 1930s, the ESPEE boasted the largest fleet of ferries in the world.

By the time the last crossing from Oakland Pier to the Ferry Building was made in 1958, the once-vast fleet was down to but two boats (the two boats operated together only during peak periods; the remainder of the time service was provided by only one boat)

A far cry from the multiple boats that were operated during the days when the ESPEE's "Red Electrics" deposited thousands of commuters at Oakland, crowding the huge vessels to capacity.............

"NYO"

["TO ELECTRIC TRAINS"]

[Cyberider]

An interesting topic well-covered in books on each of these once great systems. What a fascinating way to commute back when society was more sane.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's an interesting bit of "KEY" trivia..........

Prior to the massive 1933 blaze that destroyed the Key Ferry Pier terminal (as well as one of the ferryboats and a number of MU cars), the railway boasted of having the only offshore "yard" in the world.

Before the 1933 fire, a stub of the original trestle alignment was then being used as a storage pier for trains laying over between rush hours. just beyond the trainsheds.

After the fire, this "stub yard" was removed, and a new train storage yard was constructed, this time located on the long causeway connected the trestle/terminal to the mainland.

Obviously, it was deemed safer to store OOS trains nearer to the shore, than out in the middle of the Bay.

Compare views of the terminal (in books and also online), depicting the ferry terminal area prior to 1933, and after 1933..............

"NYO"

["SAN LEANDRO"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here is an excellent page (great photos!) of the historic ferryboat "EUREKA", which once operated for both the NWP and the SP......a MAGNIFICENT restoration of a majestic, historical ferryboat!

"NYO"

https://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/eureka-history.htm

["ALL AHEAD SLOW"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The end of the Ferry Building's heyday......

In 1939, the ESPEE and KEY ferries no longer carried commuters (this was when the new Bridge Railway began operation); the ESPEE boats now carried only through/long-distance passengers, and the KEY boats went on to other careers, a few later being purchased by the ESPEE.

After the NWP abandoned its ferry and electric commuter train operations in 1941, the upper level waiting rooms (and their connecting Y-shaped gangways) were closed.

The former waiting room areas became a combination of exhibition space and offices.

The Y-shaped ganways to the upper decks of the boats were either closed off or removed.

ESPEE passengers now could only board/leave the boats via the main decks at the Ferry Building.

At Oakland Pier, however, upper level loading continued until the end of all ferry service in 1958.

Compare online photos of the Ferry Building from the air, taken in the 1920s and 1930s, with those taken in the later 1940s and 1950s.

By that time, several slips had been removed entirely; none survive today............

"NYO"

["WATCH YOUR STEP"]

['TO ELECTRIC TRAINS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"In the 'nooze' ".......

Interesting when you think that, back in the heyday of ferryboats in New York Harbor, only the Staten Island boats (beginning in the 1950s) had snack bars, while many SF Bay boats were furnished with restuarants/lunch counters (the "KEY" boats were well-noted for their famous hash, apple pies, and special-brewed coffee)

Too, one might think that the New York boats would also have newsstands aboard; oddly enough, they never did, but many SF Bay boats had well-stocked (and busy!) newsstands that sold everything from newspapers and comic books, to candy and souvenirs............

"NYO"

["THE CALL-BULLETIN"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Appearances are deceiving, indeed..........

By the later 1940s and 1950s, SF's iconic Ferry Building was far more an office/exhibition building than a transportation hub.

After the NWP boats stopped running from Marin in 1941, the upper level waiting rooms were converted into office and exhibition spaces.

The "Y"-shaped passageways which led to the upper decks of the boats were closed off.

ESPEE passengers heading to Oakland Pier could now only load/unload from the main decks; after the War, several slips were also removed entirely.

At Oakland, passengers debarking the ferry straight off the bow were headed for the main-line trains.

Those leaving the boats from the sides of the lower and upper decks were headed to the electric commuter trains (this was, of course, prior to the opening of the "Bridge Railway" in 1939)

Upper deck loading, however, lasted at Oakland until all ferry operations to San Francisco shut down in 1958..............

"NYO"

["TO ELECTRIC TRAINS"]

["Watch Your Step"]

[Cyberider]

NYO,

From what I've read, the commute on the Key System Ferries sounded like a rather pleasant way to make one's trip.

Thanks for the info on the Ferry Building as time went on. I never gave it much thought but it was part of the experience, I'm sure.

The Oakland pier with all those trains waiting must have been quite a sight from the photos I've seen.

Missed the boat on that one!

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

Check out these links (a lot to see AND read here......FASCINATING transportation history!)...............

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Ferry_Building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Long_Wharf

["OAKLAND PIER"]

[Cyberider]

NYO,

Thanks for posting this interesting information. Sometimes I forget that these systems started long before my beloved electric trains arrived on the scene.