Off-topic, but interesting San Francisco street freight trackage

[TBurke]

Off-topic by about 2000 miles west, but I thought it was interesting.  Active UP freight branch that travels for several city blocks towards the harbor which crosses a light rail line at grade.  I am not aware of another location where an active freight line crosses a streetcar or light rail line at grade-and in the middle of a street intersection. 

I noticed a picture in the NY Times from last week showing a picture of what appeared to be street trackage in the background.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/realestate/commercial/revived-project-lifts-bayview-a-blighted-san-francisco-area.html?_r=1&sq=a%20san%20francisco%20district&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1332364264-d81kwBzuGW96TINF4QZjhA

I used Google Maps Satellite View and Bing Maps (Birds-eye View) and found this branch line that runs for a number of city blocks and which serves at least one industry-a warehouse-with reefers parking on a spur.  There's an interesting configuration of tracks at the eastern end near the harbor. 

Type in the intersection of the street names Ingalls Street and Carroll Avenue in San Francisco and you will see a three way split at the end of the line into three spurs.  Then follow the line west to its connection to where it crosses the light rail line at grade and into connection to the UP (ex-SP) main shared with Caltrain.

Not far to the north is the trackage of the shortline San Francisco Bay Railroad (http://www.sfbayrail.com/) which also operates some street trackage.  The UP/Caltrain line goes through a tunnel from where the tracks run down the street and where it connects to SFBR.

[Suedehead]

Looks like an interesting area where the branch crosses the light rail.   Talk about a rush hour nightmare.  It looks as though the industries at the end of that branch are no longer rail served.  Much of the track has been paved over or abandoned.  What a shame!

[TBurke]

You are right, it does appear that the industries at the far eastern end of Carroll Avenue are no longer rail served judging from the asphalt in the flangeways.  The switch appears to have been lined for the spur that goes into that fenced area with the trucks, through what appears to be a gate.

My guess is that UP uses the street trackage opposite that warehouse as a tail track in swapping out empty reefers for loads much as Chicago Terminal/CP/MILW did with the street track on Lakewood in Chicago when working Peerless.

It would be priceless to see traffic, including a streetcar, stopped for a freight train.

[Suedehead]

I spent a little more time looking closer at this area with Google satellite. It looks like there may be a few more industries on this line between the light rail and the east end of the branch.  There are at least two more switches that have tracks diverging south.  The spur at Keith and Carroll may in fact go inside of the large warehouse on the side of the street.  Maybe there is some traffic on this line after all!

Also it looks as if this line ran North all the way to Crisp road and beyond.  Looks abandoned though! 

[TBurke]

Good catch on the tracks that weave northward to Crisp Road then go east towards the harbor.  I missed it.  Quite a bit of trackage is still in the area, including an abandoned yard. 

If you use Google streetview or Bing Birds-eye you can see several white reefer freight cars on the spur alongside that warehouse the south side of Carroll Street so there still is at least one rail-served customer still on this line.