D car 3042 was the 103rd Fleet of the Future car built and entered service in November 2019. For those first few months of service, it was a mostly unremarkable run-of-the-mill D car.
 
During 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, BART reduced service and emphasized social distancing at stations and on trains. The District laid out 15 steps to encourage ridership recovery and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Step 4 was “The newer BART cars may have some seats rearranged to make it easier for riders to spread out and harder to transmit the virus.”
 
To test out this idea, D car 3042 became the pilot car with all sideways (all longitudinal) seats.

BART picture of 3042 in the shop before entering service. To note, the seating configuration changed a few times.

D car 3042 reentered service in summer 2020 with the new seating mod. It was in service on the opening day of Milpitas and Berryessa stations in June 2020.

It appears there were about 39 seats in the 2020/2021 configuration, which were later reduced to about 36 seats due to the replacement of the bike rack and installation of a second one in 2022.

The car was in regular revenue service through part of 2024 and as of 2025 appears to be relegated to non-revenue activities, assisting in the testing of new train control equipment.

BART’s first electrically powered railcars were fluted metal boxes, and hardly the awaited streamlined revenue cars. These 3 cars, named A, B, and C, were rolling labs to evaluate different types of technology to be used on the BART system. The first one was lab car C, sometimes called “Clara” or “Claire” and was the most conventional car, using equipment most similar to other rapid transit cars of the day. It was delivered March 24, 1965 and started rolling on April 7th, followed by further tests including automatic operation on May 12, 1965.
 
The car was rebuilt to test the Westinghouse ATC system ahead of the delivery of Rohr revenue cars. Once deliveries picked up in 1972, the car was stored and finally decommissioned in December 1982.

Here is a picture of Old Clara taken 60 years ago.

BART records record the date receipt of the final Rohr A/B car a half century ago, on July 31, 1975. The car with the honors was 276, built as part of the final order for 26 A (#251-276) cars and 74 B (#701-774) cars bringing the fleet size to about 450 cars as outlined in the 1962 composite report.

The fourth, final order of Rohr cars were built during a time of significant unreliably with the fleet, and as such the A cars were delivered without ATO equipment. The Board of Directors even rejected a Westinghouse contract to supply the 26 cars with ATO equipment and the cars were stored after delivery. With A to B conversions (800 series), the cars eventually entered service in the latter half of the 1970s with the last A car being 253 in August 1979.

Here is a BART photo of 276 in the yard in the latter half of the 1990s/very early 2000s.

The 276 lasted until 2001, in which it was rebuilt by ADtranz into A2 car 1276.  After about 22 more years of service, it was retired in November 2023 and scrapped, making it the 558th Legacy Car to meet the end of the line.

The Western Railway Museum’s BART Legacy Fleet has reached its milestone of the first car available for public inside viewing – C1 car 329 is now available and open to the public during guided Carbarn 3 Tours.
 
Since its arrival at the Museum in October 2024, the car has received a host of TLC. Work on the car includes:

• Upgrading car auxiliary electrical systems to run off Carbarn power (instead of 1000 volt third rail power and the car’s inverter)
• Replacing burnt out light bulbs (exterior trouble light and headlights)
• Replacing graffitied mylar window film with new film
• Replacing selected ads with ads from the 1980s/1990s (when the car first entered service)
• Cleaning the car, including replacing dozens of heavily tagged and etched seats, stained doors, ceilings, and more.
• Modifying doors to prevent visitors from falling out the non-walkway side, and from getting locked out/in from the walkway side.
• Replacing broken parts and currently working on replacing and crafting replacement pieces.

 
However, the car will always be a work in progress, so please understand not everything has been repaired and replaced. The car is cleaner than when it exited service in May 2023, so it’s still worthy of a visit.
 
The car is available under a docent-led tour of Carbarn 3 at the Western Railway Museum. I can’t guarantee there will be a docent available for this tour every day the museum is open. However, please feel free to contact me and I will tell you when I will be at the museum next.
 
Currently, I will be at the museum on June 29th (Sunday).

And of course, I want to cordially thank everyone who has helped out at the museum, especially those that have worked on prepping the cars for delivery and that recent stretch to making them accessible. It has been an excellent example of teamwork and dedication, leveraging many different talents from several people to complete numerous key items, such as crafting custom dollies to deliver the cars, upgraded car electrical systems to ensure decades of reliable performance, and cleaned and repaired the car to ensure the 329 is the finest remaining example of a fully-complete BART C car.
 
In addition, I want to thank the BART employees that have helped the museum preserve these cars, extending an unparalleled level of support in ensuring that the legacy fleet is preserved in full, not just through three cars, but an extensive collection of parts, tools, equipment, signage, and many other things, that help the museum maintain the fleet and capture the overall world that the legacy fleet ran in.

Progress Made and Work Remains with the BART Legacy Fleet preserved at the Western Railway Museum.

Today marks 2 years after the C cars were officially removed from service, as per the 5/15/2023 internal schedule. The final dozen or so cars were removed from revenue service and in the following months were sent to the scrapyard. And of course, one of the final cars, the 329, was preserved.

Dear friends,
Today, April 20, 2025, we reach the one-year anniversary of the Final Run of the Legacy Fleet. This post will take a look back at the year behind us and a brief glimpse of what lies ahead. This is an exclusive look at the final months of the legacy fleet, available only here and in the upcoming book, Legacy Fleet: The Story of BART’s Old Cars.

Decommissioning in late 2023/early 2024
After the final scheduled run on 9/10/2023, the legacy fleet was retired from “scheduled” service. A steady flow of B cars had been scrapped in the months prior, alongside some wrecked A cars (e.g. 1204).
With their removal from scheduled service and the impending roll-out of a new radio, destined for only a handful of cars, the decommissioning program continued now with a mixture of A and B cars. The first of the A cars to be scrapped as end-of-life without a career-ending incident was 1233 on October 4, 2024. For a period of time, car decommissioning was almost random, outside of a radio mod or other restricting holding the car back (e.g. 1164 was slated for preservation).
 
A total of 9 A2 cars were decommissioned in October, followed by 17 in November, 11 in December, 2 in January 2024, and 3 in February 2024 – a total of 42 cars. These were the “great months of the A car scrapping.” After the decommissioning of the 1742 on February 16, 2024, the decision was made to hold on to the remaining fleet of 13 A cars and 22 B cars (and of course the C car for WRM) until after the final ceremonial run of the legacy fleet.

Unscheduled legacy trains in service
By and large, at least one legacy train was out in service almost every day to every other day, from September 11, 2023 to March 2, 2024 – serving as the ready reserve train pressed into service. The last legacy fleet train I rode was on the Blue Line on February 22, 2024 - 1235, 1584, 1759, 1760, 1817, 1164
Of historical note, 1235 was the final legacy car sent to the scrapyard (that was not previously selected for any post-BART use), 1759 is used as an Earthquake shake testing car in a lab in Richmond, 1760 was used as a fire department training car after decommissioning, and 1164 is of course preserved by the Western Railway Museum. Fittingly, 1164 was the final legacy car I rode in true revenue service.
The week after, on the 2/23, 2/24, and 2/27, I saw: 1257, 1587, 1580, 1897 (Zoho), 1605, 1259 on the Transfer Tracks at Hayward Yard.

Final Run on 4/20/2024
April 20, 2024, was the final day of the Legacy Fleet in service, the final ceremonial run. It was a whole event, with some 3,000 people in attendance. Trains were as follows:
The first train to depart was train 104 with the following cars:
1212, 1897, 1607, 1738, 1259 (Bay Fair end)
 
The second legacy train to depart MacArthur was train 100 with the following cars:
1203, 1760, 1759, 1584, 1834, 1890, 1515, 1580, 1911, 1269 (Fremont end)
 
The third and final legacy train to depart MacArthur was train 102 with the following cars:
1260, 1587, 1548, 1721, 1501, 1857, 1596, 1512, 1869, 1241 (Fremont end).
 
More details are available on the page: Final Run

Home Stretch of Scrapping
After the joyful sendoff, the final work was left in decommissioning the last cars of the fleet – those final 13 A cars and 22 B cars (and of course the C car).
A total of 27 cars were sent to the scrapyard – 1605 and 1817 were sent over on April 26, 2024, and a steady flow continued until 1235 and 1587 were sent over on May 21, 2024.
 
Here is a picture of an entire train’s worth of cars being scrapped (left to right): 1219, 1512, 1596, 1878, 1241. And to boot, 1257 and 1760 are laying in the back behind these cars.
 
The final BART legacy cars to reach end-of-life decommissioning were a group of 5 cars on the week of May 20, 2024 – one month after the final run. The last car to be decommissioned was #1235.

Not all cars were scrapped
The Legacy Fleet was aptly named. No other rapid transit system in the world used aluminum bodied cars for frontline service for over 50 continuous years, and, arguably, no other rapid transit cars represented such a forward-looking concept of post-WWII public transportation. It was only fitting that a few select cars lived on, in one form or another.
The full page of the legacy fleet after BART is available on this website too, with details on each car and its intended use. As of April 20, 2025, the following cars have been sent out for new lives:

The 1759 was sent out for earthquake shake tests on August 2, 2024. This car is being used to test ballast stability and aerial structures and the stability of the car.

Western Railway Museum
1164, 1834, 329
 
The Western Railway Museum preserves the history of electric railways throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. These innovative cars have earned a place in the museum – representing the Bay Area’s bold attempt to bring public transit back to everyday life.
The WRM is the only place to have a complete legacy train, with full trainline. The 1164 arrived on August 9, 2024, the 1834 on September 11, and the 329 on October 4. Oddly enough, September 11, 1972 was BART’s opening day and October 4 is 10-4 (“message received”).
The exterior of the cars is viewable as part of Carbarn 3 tours at the WRM. Currently, we are working on the interior with modifications to car electrical systems to have them lit up without 1000v third rail power. Progress is in full swing and the cars are not currently accessible for the public. Stay tuned though, because they may have a BART preview day where everyone can check out the cars in September 2025.

Sierra Train House, a short-term rental house with a BART car, received their 1234 on March 14, 2025. This car has a new home in Jamestown in the foothill of the Sierras and their project is also underway with an opening sometime late this year or into 2026.

The Oakland Ballers received their car earlier this week. The 1253 was initially set up for the Oakland A’s but they abandoned that plan just like they abandoned Oakland. This new hometown team will convert their 1253 into a concessions stand at their field in West Oakland.

Of course, 323 was the first BART car in this century to be sent somewhere other than the scrapyard, a partially complete C car in Hayward sent out in December 2022. It is being used as a fire training prop.

A few more A cars are awaiting their fate. Stay tuned for those updates as the months continue.

Have a wonderful Easter.
-ATP

Today the WRM BART car crew continued progress on the preserved BART cars by adding an original Hughes Airwest ad from the 1970s (amazingly one was found for sale, and purchased for the display), cleaning the car, and a few other mods.

Additional work focused on the LED lighting conversion and cleaning A car 1164.

As a reminder, the car interiors are not yet ready for public display. We are currently working on car electrical systems and cleaning the cars. The plan is to have a preview day sometime in September, depending on progress. Stay tuned for more information on the "BART Preview Day" at the Western Railway Museum over the coming months.

Today, April 7, was the first time I've seen a 4600 in revenue service. Here is a pic of 4604 on a yellow line train, complete with "new car smell" and it's pretty much as new as you can get.

Not to be forgotten, after all this is the BARTchives, was 4001 also seen today on a Yellow Line train, the oldest E car of the fleet.

Today the folks at the Sierra Train + House, a future vacation rental house in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, received their BART Legacy Car - perhaps a new type of gold I think.

A2 Car 1234, after about 6 million miles and over 50 years of service, has earned a retirement out in Tuolumne County and departed Hayward Shop yesterday, March 13 and overnighted at the transportation contractor’s yard in Stockton. It arrived late this morning, March 14 and was placed on a dedicated BART-gauge trackway at the Sierra Train House Site.

A very special thanks for the invitation to watch the delivery, and stay tuned for more updates throughout the year!

Today, February 22, 2025, WRM BART Project Volunteers delivered and installed an authentic BART third rail adjacent to preserved A car 1164. The third rail and related parts including coverboard and insulators, were donated by BART to WRM for display with the Legacy Fleet.

In a fine example of teamwork, the volunteers installed the assembly in manner allowing everyone to see and understand the key components – the coverboard is staggered to allow viewing of the third rail, and the #4 collector paddle of the A car is contacting the third rail. Back when the car was in service, the third rail provided nominal 1000 v DC power which was picked up by the 4 collector shoes on the car to power the car systems (propulsion, auxiliaries, etc).

To note, labels will be crafted and applied in the coming weeks.

The black strip below is the wiggle wire mounted on the coverboard at stations and other parts of the system. It will be mounted to the coverboard at a later date.

This is the newer design of the coverboard and includes the “DANGER ELECTRIC THIRD RAIL KEEP AWAY” decals along the top and side.

The equipment mounted above the rail is a fastener and clips used on direct fixation portions of the BART system such as aerials, which was also donated by BART for display. The rail mounted on it has a white line showing the difference between 115 lb per yard rail vs BART’s custom 119 lb per yard rail.

Additional activity included the replacement of bearings on doors 6 and 8 of 1164, which will be used for public access into the cars. The old, worn out bearings have been replaced by new ones and the movement is now “smooth as silk” – and will be for decades to come. The cars are not yet ready for public display inside - the interior is best described as a workshop given all these activities, but will be open sometime later this year.