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Building Hayward Yard - Part 1

4/28/2024

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Construction of Hayward Yard, 11/29/1968. WRM Archives, Walt Vielbaum slides
Looking south, towards the transfer tracks, wash rack, and Whipple Road yard. Note old Dravo contractor locomotive - post to come on those soon.
Picture
Picture
Looking north, towards storage tracks and shop

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A Car Scrappings Resume

10/20/2023

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A2 car scrappings resumed this month (October), with 4 such examples thus far: 1218, 1233, 1258, 1270.

With some scrapping earlier this year and last year due to crashes, alongside the 1208 of 2020, this leaves 51 A2 cars left (total count was 59 A2 cars).

1218

Built 1973 as A car 218. Rebuilt in 2000 as A2 car 1218.

Only A car with single seats.
Picture
Picture

1233

Built 1973 as A car 233. Rebuilt in 2002 as A2 car 1233.
Picture
Picture

1258

Built 1975 as A car 258. Final acceptance on 9/11/1975 (Day 1 + 3 years). Rebuilt in 2002.
Patch below left cab side window.
Picture
Picture

1270

Built 1975 as A car 270. Rebuilt in May 2001.
Picture
Picture
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One of BART's Oldest Cars: B2 Car 1806 (Day One Car)

7/5/2023

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B2 Car 1806 is, on first look, just any old B car. It runs in the middle of trains, and seats 53 people. It has a few smells and a few bulbs are out.

Underneath all that, B2 car 1806 is one of many historic BART cars.
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The 1806 was originally built by Rohr as A car 117. It was among the first two dozen BART legacy cars built. It was built in Chula Vista, CA, and delivered to BART's Hayward Yard on 5/16/1972. It was used for pre-revenue testing of the BART system, and entered service on BART's opening day, Septmeber 11, 1972.
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Picture
By the 1980s, many A cars were worn out and/or damaged. BART was a new railroad and in some ways, still learning the ropes - there are accounts of runaway cars, collisions, and fire damage during these early days.

Car 117, alongside 34 other A cars, were destined to become B cars. The unique design of the A cars facilitated such conversion (which was miles cheaper and faster than building new B cars). A car 117 became B car 806 in about late 1980. The "new" 806 rolled in service until its midlife refurbishment in 2001.
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As a product of the refurbishment, B car 806 became B2 car 1806. The 1806 is still in service, far beyond the original intention of its designers. This old car will probably be scrapped this year or next year, but if anything, it has carried the millions through thick and thin for over 50 years.
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A car 101 - First of the Fleet

12/1/2022

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The first car delivered by Rohr was A car 101, a prototype car used to identify and resolve various bugs with the new cars' construction and simulated operation.
Picture
The 101 rolled out of Chula Vista (on a trailer) and was delivered to Hayward Shops on 8/27/1970. Unique among the fleet, the cab of 101 was painted grey/silver - other protoype cars had different colors of cabs. For about a month, A car 101 was the only Rohr car delivered, so there are a few pics of this single car rolling down the A line (attached).
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Like most of the protoype cars, the 101 was returned to Rohr (c. 6/1972) and scrapped. From what I recall reading, Rohr decided it was not worth the effort to rebuild these A cars, and replaced them with new A cars (A car 101 II -> B car 821 -> B2 car 1821 in this case).
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The First B Car – BART car 501/1501

10/7/2022

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The oldest remaining car of the legacy fleet is a B2 car numbered 1501. It was built 52 years ago as B car 501, and third legacy fleet car ever built (see note 1), delivered in December 1970.

Picture
The 501 in Spring 1971, almost brand new. Squier collection.
Picture
The 1501 in 2019, after many decades of sun and service. My photo

The first 10 cars of the fleet were prototype cars, meant to identify and resolve planned and unplanned “bugs” – from their construction, to their troubleshooting, in a similar vein to prototype aircraft. The 501 was no exception, and one such example of the car’s early assignments includes truck equalization testing. See note 2 for remarks about line numbers.
It was returned to Rohr during the summer of 1972 and redelivered for revenue service later in the year.

Picture
The 501 under construction. BART Progress Report photo, Western Railway Museum Archives

As part of the midlife rebuilding of the A and B cars (awarded to ADtranz/Bombardier), B car 501 was rebuilt and renumbered into B2 1501 (See note 3). As of summer 2022, the 1501 is assigned to Daly City Yard and can be found in the middle of Blue line trains (alongside others) from time to time.
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Would love to have this plate, if the car is scrapped. Hopefully it is preserved.
Picture
Interior of 1501. Standard B2 car.
Notes:
Note 1: A cars 101 and 102 were the first and second cars built, respectively. They were both replaced and scrapped following the conclusion of the prototype car testing.
Note 2: Three B cars (501-503) and one A car (107) were kept following prototype car testing. The line numbers are as follows: 501-3; 502-5; 503-6; 107-10
Note 3: The original A and B cars were built in Chula Vista, CA, and rebuilt in Pittsburg, CA. Most of the cars have never left California (outside A cars 111, 191 and 246).

Sources:
BART Progress Reports (1970) via Western Railway Museum Archives
Pacific News (August 1978)
Modern Heavy Rail by Andre K.
BART Fleet List v. 5.6.7
Comments and corrections welcome.
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    About

    "The Two Bagger" is meant to be a place to store more "blog" style posts on various cars, pictures, and random tidbits/trivia. At BART, a "two bagger" is a rather informal name for a two car train. Two car trains rolled in revenue service back in 1972.

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  • Home
  • The Fleet
    • Photo Roster
    • Legacy Fleet
      • A Cars
      • A2 Cars
        • All A2 Cars
      • B Cars
      • B2 Cars
      • C1 Cars
        • Final C1 Cars
      • C2 Cars
      • CB Cars
      • Post-Retirement
        • BART Cars at WRM
      • Reference Pics
        • A-B Reference Pics
        • C Car Reference Pics
      • Car Plates
    • Fleet of the Future
      • FOTF Production
      • D Cars
      • E Cars
    • eBART
    • OAC
    • Laboratory Cars
    • BART Express
    • The Two Bagger
  • History
    • A History of the Legacy Fleet
    • 1962-1971
      • Design
        • Railway Age Weekly 8-2-65
      • Rohr Background on BART Car
    • 1972 - 1982
      • Orders and Deliveries
      • Day One 9-11-1972
      • A to B Conversion
      • Mail on BART
    • 1983 - 1992
      • History in the Making
    • 1993-2002
      • Rebuilding
    • 2003-2012
    • 2013-2024
      • Ad Wraps
      • Shop Stickers
      • Final Scheduled Run
      • Final Run
    • Fact Sheets
      • Art in BART
    • BART Times
      • 1980s
      • 1990s
      • 2000s
    • Car Ads
  • The Lines
    • Color Lines
      • Green Line
      • Orange Line
      • Purple Line
    • Track and Station Lines
      • Golden Gate Bridge
      • Oakland Wye
      • A Line
      • E Line
      • K Line
        • KE Track
        • MacArthur Platform Usage
      • L Line
  • Other BART Things
    • Automatic Train Control
      • AATC
    • George and Gracie
    • Tickets and Fare Media
    • Schedules
    • Quality of Life Issues
  • Other Transit
    • Ferries
      • Golden Gate Ferry
      • SF Bay Ferry
      • Treasure Island
    • Airports
      • SFO AirTrain
  • FAQ
    • Wide Gauge
    • Harassment
  • About
    • BART Model Railroad
    • Legacy Fleet - The Story of BART's Old Cars