Author: Tara

Photo: Courtesy Richard Brandi, Bernal Cut Southbound 1907. S-P Trainline, official publication of the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society, Winter 2005. No. 82

This feels like some far-off land to me, but it’s San Francisco circa 1907.

At a recent Glen Park Neighborhood Association meeting, architectural historian and native San Franciscan Richard Brandi enlightened the group about this old train route on the south side of town. This Southern Pacific Railroad line connected San Francisco and San Jose. Part of the route went through Glen Park and the Mission District around Dolores and 28th. In the photo, this very prototypical train is zipping through the Bernal Cut: today’s San Jose Avenue.

From the neighborhood association write-up:

Brandi traced a fascinating journey along the old route, finding remnants and reminders of the tracks, with houses and other structures placed strategically and sometimes awkwardly to make way for the trains to pass.

With the rise of the auto and truck and the decline of the train, there were large lots of land vacated by the train car barns. This is where many of our present-day supermarkets are located, such as the Safeway on Mission near 30th Street.

Thanks, Beth, for sending this nifty glimpse of transit in the southeast parts of town.