QUOTE: Originally posted by harpwolf I'm unclear -- will you have the car, or will you not? First, no offense but forget about Feather River or Donner, they are much too far away. So is Stockton. Bay Area traffic is nasty and Sacramento is worse. You could lose your whole day stuck in traffic. No need anyway -- plenty to see, even in this rail-sparse town.
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
QUOTE: Originally posted by dldance You may also want to visit the CalTrans station next to the new baseball stadium in SF. Lots of commute trains.
QUOTE: Originally posted by Noah Hofrichter My family will be traveling to San Francisco to visit relatives over my Spring break from school in about 2 weeks. We are getting a rental car, and my Dad promised that I could have at least half a day to railfan in the imediate area, Oakland, San Fran, ect.. I have Kalmbach's Guide to North American Railroad Hotspots, and they recomend Pinole California, about 13 miles to the South of Oakland. But I was still wondering, does anyone else know of any good spots with in 20 miles of San Francisco and Oakland? If you could provide exact directions or a Mapquest map to the area it would greatly help me, We know the basic area but not alot about it. I would prefer just the lines that have at least 3 or 4 trains an hour, so I can see the most in the time that I'll have(a few hours). I appreciate any answers that you can give, I want to make the best out of the situation. Noah
Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub
QUOTE: Originally posted by RudyRockvilleMD You might consider Martinez. You can reach it by taking BART from Oakland to Concord, and taking a bus from Concord to Martinez. There is a wharf next to the ex SP station in Martinez where you can photograph trains. You can also see trains crossing the Carquinnez Strats about 1-1/2 miles away. Also there is some street running in the vicinity of Jack London Square.
Originally posted by Noah Hofrichter TrummyandElla, your right, the location part means that Oakland is South, I read it as the other way around. Thanks for pointing that out. It's good to know that this is a fairly good spot. But I do have one question. Under the directions, it says to go 1.5 miles off of I-80 on Appian Way till the road ends at the tracks. Under saftey considerations it mentions that you should watch approaching individuals and keep aware of things happening around you. Is this area any sort of a "Bad part of town" or anything? Is there any reason I'd have to be worried? Noah: Thanks for including the directions -- now I know where they are talking about.. If you are coming from Oakland or San Francisco on I-80, take the Appian way exit and turn left (crossing over the Interstate). In about a mile or so you would come to a stoplight at the bottom of a hill. The cross street is San Pablo Avenue. Continue straight through the intersection (the street name changes to Pinion Avenue) and in about a half-mile or so the road dead-ends at the old Santa Fe tracks -- beyond are the old Southern Pacific tracks. By way of a disclaimer, while my parents still live in Pinole, I haven't lived there since leaving for grad school in 1985. While the area wasn't the fanciest part of town, I don't recall it as being a particularly bad part of town or anything like that. I think the safety considerations are just good advice anywhere. Since you spoke of Spring Break, I'm assuming that you are probably at the oldest a high school student, and that most likely at least your Dad will probably be with you. With the two of you there during the daylight hours you should be just fine. Another location in Pinole would be to follow the directions above and turn right when you get to San Pablo Avenue. Follow San Pablo Avenue about a mile or so and turn left on Tennant Avenue, then follow the road to the end at the bay front and the old SP tracks. In doing so you will go under the old Santa Fe as well. To get back to the Interstate from there, just reverse your course but stay on Tennant instead of turning on San Pablo Avenue -- while it will turn into Pinole Valley Road it will run you right back to the Interstate (and take you right past my old elementary school [swg]). Also, dldance and rudyrockville have some good suggestions, but as far as Martinez is concerned taking BART to Concord and then taking the bus to Martinez (and back) is going to eat up a lot of your day. Have Fun! Hope this was of some help. TrummyandElla Reply Edit dldance Member sinceAugust 2003 From: Near Promentory UT 1,590 posts Posted by dldance on Monday, March 7, 2005 10:41 PM You may also want to visit the CalTrans station next to the new baseball stadium in SF. Lots of commute trains. Also take the F Line trolley on Market Street. dd Reply RudyRockvilleMD Member sinceSeptember 2001 From: US 1,015 posts Posted by RudyRockvilleMD on Monday, March 7, 2005 9:36 PM You might consider Martinez. You can reach it by taking BART from Oakland to Concord, and taking a bus from Concord to Martinez. There is a wharf next to the ex SP station in Martinez where you can photograph trains. You can also see trains crossing the Carquinnez Straits about 1-1/2 miles away. Also there is some street running in the vicinity of Jack London Square. Reply chad thomas Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Ely, Nv. 6,312 posts Posted by chad thomas on Monday, March 7, 2005 8:36 PM I would say Jack London Square is as good a place as you will find without driving too far. Following the ex-sp line a few blocks north will lead you to the yard. There used to be quite a bit of activity in that area, but I havn't been there for many years. And be forewarned some of the neighborhoods in this area are not the safest. good luck. Reply Noah Hofrichter Member sinceJanuary 2004 From: Reedsburg WI (near Wisconsin Dells) 3,370 posts Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Monday, March 7, 2005 8:36 PM TrummyandElla, your right, the location part means that Oakland is South, I read it as the other way around. Thanks for pointing that out. It's good to know that this is a fairly good spot. But I do have one question. Under the directions, it says to go 1.5 miles off of I-80 on Appian Way till the road ends at the tracks. Under saftey considerations it mentions that you should watch approaching individuals and keep aware of things happening around you. Is this area any sort of a "Bad part of town" or anything? Is there any reason I'd have to be worried? Noah Click the image above to visit my website, Badger Rails. My Model Railroad Club's website: http://sandhousecrew.webng.com Reply 12 Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. 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