Santa Fe operated a ferry service on San Francisco Bay, I assume from the look of the pier in Pt Richmond it loaded the RR cars onto a barge for the trip to SF. I am interested in the Pt Richmond operation, the tug and barge and the facilities needed to keep them going. Not having much luck with the google search

thanks for any help

Mike

Ted Miles can tell you more; but I am pretty sure they used steam ferryboats for the service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferries_of ... ncisco_Bay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Ferry_Terminal

http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/

http://cprr.org/Museum/Solano/index.html

Or, Ted Miles who runs the San Francisco Martitime Museum and frequently posts here can answer your questions. They have a wonderful walking beam engine railroad heritage ferry in their collection.

dave

If you can find a source, "Pacific News" magazine covered Santa Fe bay area operations including the maritime operations... the July 1971 cover story was "Santa Fe... the railroad that also goes to sea"

As I recall (from 40 years ago) the Santa Fe used car floats and diesel-powered tugboats. At least one of the tugs had a "seagoing" version of the Santa Fe "Warbonnet" paint job. The radio technician for the Richmond comm shop had to have a "radar endorsement" on his FCC license--a requirement unique to that location. The only active car ferry on the Bay in recent times (last 50 years) was Las Plumas, the Western Pacific Ferry that I rode in 1967. When WP discontinued navigation, the boat was reportedly relocated to Puget Sound.

Tugbitts, the magazine of the Tugboat Enthusiasts Society, had an article on the Santa Fe tugs in Issue 19-3, Autumn/Winter 2009.

http://www.tugboatenthusiastsociety.org ... -vol19.htm

PC

I would be glad to talk to you about the Santa Fe tugs or their ferry operations.

In addition to the sources mentioned above; I would look at San Francisco Bay Ferryboats by George Harlan. There is a chapter on the three Santa Fe ferries.

You will be glad to hear that there is a book in the works on the Sante Fe's marine operations. We had a guy from the Sante Fe Historical Society in a while back.

There is a new book called Southern Pacific Water Lines by David Myrick on the SP's marine operations.

Also from a few years ago; Where Rails Meet Sea by Michael Krieger is the first national look at the rail/ marine operations.

Ted Miles, Reference Librarian Telephone (415) 561- 7009
J. Porter Shaw Library
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Thanks all. Ted, I've ordered Harlan's book. Will look into the others when they get published

While I have interest in CA shortlines, and to a lesser extent, SP, the Santa Fe has never really caught my attention. This aspect interests me because I sail out past the ruins of the ferry terminal, I think it is called Ford Point, though it is a fair distance from the Ford Plant.

I keep my boat at the end of the Santa Fe Channel, and no one in the club can do anything except point at the neighboring rail yard where auto's are unloaded from the rail cars when I ask "why is this stretch of water called Santa Fe Channel".

We have a building known as an old radio room used by our treasurer now, one member said it was for the railroad, others say not so.

I've walked the are that used to be the yards, have been told of the old brickyard and how noisy the night trains were for the Brickyard Cove residents, I'd just like to get an understanding of that bit of rail and maritime history that I sail past these days.

Thanks again

Mike
San Rafael

I'm not familiar with the Santa Fe Richmond yard layout, but if the building with the "old radio room" is ex Santa Fe, it could have been the radio shop. I worked in the San Bernardino Radio Shop, which was in one end of the former firebrick shed. After I left, the shop moved to a nicer building under the Mt. Vernon Viaduct; today there's nothing left of either building. What this item indicates is that in many locations, the radio shop might be located in whatever building happened to be vacant when 2-way radios came into use.