Book

Author:	Walt Vielbaum
Co-authors:	Robert Townley, Walter Rice, Emiliano Echeverria, Don Holmgrem
Title:	San Francisco's Interurban To San Mateo
Subtitle:	Images Of Rail
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing
Country:	USA
Date:	26 Sep 2005
Format:	Paperback
Genre:	Transport, History, Photography
ISBN-10:	0738530085
ISBN-13:	9780738530086
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Notes

It's strange to think that an electric commuter rail line rivaling BART in efficiency, speed, and comfort ran over 100 years ago between San Francisco and San Mateo, but run it did. The 40 Line, or San Mateo Interurban, began in 1892 with an initial segment operating between Market and Steuart Streets out to the county limits on San Jose Avenue. Three years later, the line reached Baden in present-day South San Francisco, and by 1903 service was opened all the way to downtown San Mateo. During the line's heyday, there was talk of extending it down the peninsula from San Mateo to Palo Alto to connect with the Peninsular Railway to San Jose. The 1906 earthquake put this plan on hold. Following much the same route as today's Mission Street, El Camino Real, and Caltrain, the San Mateo Interurban carried over four million passengers a year along its main and spur lines until 1949, when the system was shut down amidst much fanfare.

Comments and Reviews


WPLives 16th Jul 2021		One of the fondest memories of older residents of Millbrae and San Bruno was a trip on the Interurban Trolley called the #40 Line. Most of them used the trolley as a means of getting to and from the San Mateo and Burlingame high schools as cars were scarce and this was the main form of transportation available to them. It was an exciting and much anticipated journey before and after school as it afforded young men and women an opportunity to get acquainted. Not all of these encounters resulted in dates, but the minds of youth allowed them to play out their dreams and fantasies from the brief time they boarded until he or she exited the trolley. Youth does not always allow us to be bold enough to pursue fleeting love, but a few romances did end up gaining partners for life. Most had to be content to wonder just who that person was they met that day on the #40 Line. The #40 ran parallel to the SP railroad line through South San Francisco, San Bruno and Millbrae, but at the Burlingame train station it was diverted to and ran down the middle of California Drive – North San Mateo Drive on its way to the San Mateo High School and San Mateo. In 1890, the San Francisco and San Mateo Railroad Company was granted the first franchise to operate a line between San Francisco and San Mateo — the first rapid transit of the Peninsula. The line was completed to Baden Station in South San Francisco, running down Mission St., before it was sold and renamed the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway. The interurban #40 streetcar right-of-way land ran parallel to and west of the Southern Pacific Railroad through most of the cities in San Mateo County. The new owners resold the line in 1901 and it was renamed the United Railroads of San Francisco. To fulfill the terms of the franchise, a single track was opened to San Mateo on Dec. 31, 1902. A power station to supply electricity for the line was built near the SP tracks at Millbrae Avenue. Two-line service finally replaced the single-track service. In 1907, the anticipation and prospect of extending the line to San Jose prompted purchase of 12 large interurban cars (known as the ‘Big Subs’) which had been built originally for the Philadelphia and Western Company. These cars, larger and more comfortable than the earlier ones, are still remembered fondly by many riders of the line. During the early and middle 20th century, the #40 Line was a major form of public transportation along the Peninsula. Fares ran a nickel or dime, depending on your destination. Automobiles were still not as prevalent as they are now, so this was the main means of getting to the beach or downtown San Francisco. The creation of the Peninsula Rapid Transit bus line in 1915 and the additions of the jitney service the following year resulted in transit reorganization. The Market Street Railway began to operate the #40 Line. As the fare increased, the SP railroad commuter service’s very low fares (a 40-cent round-trip fare to San Francisco) began claiming the #40 Line’s customers as it reduced the travel time considerably to downtown San Francisco. In 1944 the city of San Francisco purchased the Market Street Railway, including the #40 Line. Decreased revenues and loss of the Mission Street right-of-way caused the line to cease operations on January 16, 1949. This lack of transportation for the school kids prompted the building of Capuchino High School. The tracks were either ripped up or paved over. On El Camino Real in Daly City, the center divider occasionally exposes some of the old rails that were not covered with cement or blacktop. This is the only visible reminder of the Peninsula’s once widely-used form of public transportation. In San Bruno much of the right-of-way is being used for parking lots and the alignment of the BART transportation system. I am greatly indebted to a San Mateo attorney, Francis A. Guido, editor and publisher of the Western Railroader and the Western Railfan magazine for almost all the information supplied here. He published this periodic magazine for nearly 50 years, mainly at his own expense, before he passed away a few years ago. His dedication to recording the #40 and railroads in general leaves a great legacy for future history enthusiasts.



WPLives 3rd Jul 2021		About the Author Authors and San Francisco Market Street Railway members Walter Vielbaum, Robert Townley, Walter Rice, Emiliano Echeverria, and Don Holmgren present here a fantastic collection of images and ephemera to tell the San Mateo Interurban's story. Stops along the way include details about the line's richly appointed cars, the rebuilding after the 1906 quake, th e that ferried entire wakes to cemeteries in Colma, the introduction and demise of the giganti c cars, the competition with the greyhound bus line, and the line's eventual abandonment due to the rising popularity of automobiles. It's a fun ride, and a tale of adversity, ingenuity, and creative financing that resulted in San Francisco's first trolley line to the outlying suburbs.

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