From Elkton to Green, the Evolution of Muni’s Oldest Rail Yard

From Elkton to Green, the Evolution of Muni’s Oldest Rail Yard
By Jeremy Menzies

In part two of our two-part series on one of the city’s oldest transit properties, we bring you the history of Muni’s Green Division. Green Division, also known as Muni Metro Center, has served as the primary maintenance and repair facility for our rail fleet for over 40 years.

Construction began on Green Division in 1975. This new rail facility would replace Elkton Shops, which was built in 1907. The new shops were built in two phases, first the shop building then the rail yard.

This 1976 photo shows major excavation and concrete work underway for the main shops building of Green Division. At far left is Elkton Shops built in 1907 by the United Railroads Company.

In phase one of the project, crews demolished the bus yard occupying the eastern half of the property and built a massive new building that would house repair and maintenance shops for a new fleet of Muni rail vehicles. This phase took about two years to complete.

Construction progress on Muni Metro Center in November 1975 shows the main structure of the building taking shape.

Construction progress on Muni Metro Center in November 1975 shows the main structure of the building taking shape.

By May 27, 1977, the new shop building was completed and employees finished their last day of work in the 70-year-old Elkton Shops. Just a few days later, they moved into a brand-new building and demolition began on Elkton to make way for construction of a large rail yard in phase two of the project.

This staff group photo was taken on opening day of Muni Metro Center on June 1, 1977.

Work on the rail yard progressed quickly as Muni was anticipating the arrival of the first light rail vehicles or LRVs, a modernized version of the electric streetcars of the past. The new LRVs were designed and built by the Boeing Vertol company in a joint venture between Muni and Boston’s MBTA. The new vehicles would run in the Muni Metro, which combined Muni’s surviving streetcar lines with a subway underneath Market Street to create a more integrated rail system.

Aerial photo of construction on the rail yard where Elkton Shops once stood from August 1977

Work progresses on the rail yard where Elkton Shops once stood in this August 1977 photo.

The arrival of Boeing LRVs came in October 1977 while the rail yard was still under construction. A small crowd of city officials, staff and press celebrated the arrival of the first two cars outside Green Division. In a short time over 100 LRVs would come to form the backbone of all Muni rail lines.

This October 24, 1977 photo shows Muni’s first two LRVs on display after arrival from the factory.

This October 24, 1977 photo shows Muni’s first two LRVs on display after arrival from the factory.

On July 11, 1979, Muni Metro Center was dedicated and a new fleet of LRVs waited in the yard to start serving the city. Just one year later, the Muni Metro system and Market Street Subway would open and the railyard’s key role in maintaining the new fleet would come into full effect.

1979 aerial shot looking southwest near San Jose and Ocean Avenues shows a newly completed Muni Metro Center and surrounding area

This November 1979 aerial shot looking southwest near San Jose and Ocean Avenues shows a newly completed Muni Metro Center and surrounding area.

On May 12, 1987, Muni Metro Center was re-dedicated as the “Curtis E. Green Light Rail Center” in honor of former Muni General Manager Curtis E. Green, who worked his way up from a bus driver to become the first African American appointed head of Muni.

Green Division shop staff work on the truck from a Boeing LRV in this early 1980s photo.

Green Division shop staff work on the truck from a Boeing LRV in this early 1980s photo.

Today, staff at Green Division carry on an over 100-year-old tradition started in 1907 with the United Railroads’ Elkton Shops. Working daily performing every job from routine maintenance and inspections to overhauling major components, the shops are critical to moving San Francisco.

Published November 24, 2021 at 11:10PM
https://ift.tt/3FJQadR

Comments

New top story from Time: How Spirited Away Changed Animation Forever

https://ift.tt/3xVoGP5 Twenty years ago, on July 20, 2001, a film that would become one of the most celebrated animated movies of all time hit theaters in Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, titled Spirited Away in English, would leave an indelible mark on animation in the 21st century. The movie arrived at a time when animation was widely perceived as a genre solely for children, and when cultural differences often became barriers to the global distribution of animated works. Spirited Away shattered preconceived notions about the art form and also proved that, as a film created in Japanese with elements of Japanese folklore central to its core, it could resonate deeply with audiences around the world. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The story follows an ordinary 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, as she arrives at a deserted theme park that turns out to be a realm of gods and spirits. After an overeating incident ...

PM Modi remembers Major Dhyan Chand on National Sports Day https://ift.tt/3hFXX0y

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his tribute to hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on his 115th birth anniversary. The occasion is celebrated as National Sports Day in the country.

Amit Shah to visit West Bengal as BJP, TMC cross swords after attack on Nadda's convoy https://ift.tt/3gzz9Yq

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit West Bengal later this month. It will be Shah’s second visit to the poll-bound state within a month.

FOX NEWS: Olympic gymnasts sound off on the evolving leotard: 'Power and prestige goes with those leos' The world may have grown accustomed to seeing Olympic gymnasts wearing leotards as they compete for the highest honor in the sport, but these garments haven’t always been the first pick for women.

Olympic gymnasts sound off on the evolving leotard: 'Power and prestige goes with those leos' The world may have grown accustomed to seeing Olympic gymnasts wearing leotards as they compete for the highest honor in the sport, but these garments haven’t always been the first pick for women. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3BQEKE3

FOX NEWS: Mom accidentally walks by daughter’s Zoom call naked, recalls story in hilarious Facebook video: 'Humiliating'

Mom accidentally walks by daughter’s Zoom call naked, recalls story in hilarious Facebook video: 'Humiliating' This first-grade class got quite the eyeful. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/3gw5HCs

New top story from Time: The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in May 2021

https://ift.tt/2RRfMSR Finally: the sun is shining , the weather is warming, COVID-era regulations are relaxing as infection rates plummet and vaccination numbers (slowly) keep ticking upward. It may not be time to hang the “mission accomplished” banner—is it ever time to hang such a banner?—but as immunity sets in, May 2021 has seen America’s masked, distanced millions begin to venture out of our living rooms and back to some semblance of in-person social life. So, of course, this is the month that the TV gods chose to deliver the year’s biggest and best selection of new programming to date. Isn’t that always the way? [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It was a struggle to narrow down the list to just five highlights. I also suggest checking out Starz’s Run the World , Apple TV+’s 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything , Showtime’s Ziwe and HBO’s rebooted In Treatment . For even more recommendations, here are my favorite new and returning shows of the year so far. ...

New top story from Time: China Says It Will Provide COVID-19 Vaccines to Almost 40 African States

https://ift.tt/3f34nYP BEIJING — China said Thursday it is providing COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 40 African countries, describing its actions as purely altruistic in an apparent intensification of what has been described as “vaccine diplomacy.” The vaccines were donated or sold at “favorable prices,” Foreign Ministry official Wu Peng told reporters. Wu compared China’s outreach to the actions of “some countries that have said they have to wait for their own people to finish the vaccination before they could supply the vaccines to foreign countries,” in an apparent dig at the United States. “We believe that it is, of course, necessary to ensure that the Chinese people get vaccinated as soon as possible, but for other countries in need, we also try our best to provide vaccine help,” said Wu, who is director of the ministry’s Africa department. While the U.S. has been accused by some of hoarding vaccines, President Joe Biden on Monday pledged to share an additional 20 mi...

New top story from Time: 11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know

https://ift.tt/330kaRq More than 30 years after President George H.W. Bush signed a law that designated May 1990 as the first Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month , much of Asian American history remains unknown to many Americans—including many Asian Americans themselves. Often the Asian-American history taught in classrooms is limited to a few milestones like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the incarceration of people of Japanese descent during World War II, and that abridged version rarely includes the nearly 50 other ethnic groups that make up the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the U.S. in the first two decades of the 21st century . To many, the resulting lack of awareness was highlighted after the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings that left six women of Asian descent dead. The killings fit into a larger trend of violence against Asians failing to be seen or charged as a hate crime , even as leaders lamented that “racist attacks [are]… no...

New top story from Time: Maryland In-Custody Death Reports to Be Reviewed After Medical Examiner’s Testimony in Chauvin Trial

https://ift.tt/3vgA5r0 BALTIMORE — Maryland officials said they will review all in-custody death reports during the tenure of the state’s former chief medical examiner after he testified that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was not responsible for George Floyd’s death. Dr. David Fowler, Maryland’s chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, was a key defense witness for Chauvin, who was convicted Tuesday of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The announcement of the investigation came from Attorney General Brian Frosh and Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday, less than 24 hours after the attorney general’s office received a letter from D.C.’s former chief medical examiner Roger Mitchell, and signed by 431 doctors from around the country, saying Fowler’s conclusions were so far outside the bounds of accepted forensic practice that all his previous work could come into question. “Dr. Fowler’s stated opinion that George Floyd...

New top story from Time: Why the First Black Woman to Be a History Professor in the U.K. Sees Her New Book African Europeans as a ‘Call to Arms’

https://ift.tt/3vAXTFW Many academics don’t get much popular attention for their work, and historian Olivette Otele knows it. The Paris-raised, U.K.-based scholar was surprised to see her research draw widespread attention over the last year—but, given the global context into which her latest book arrived, perhaps she should not have been so shocked. “ I was very flattered that people think that what I do is not just staying in an ivory tower,” she says. “It has resonance for everybody.” African Europeans: An Untold History , which was published in the U.K. in October and in the U.S. on Tuesday, traces the presence of people of African descent in Europe from as early as the era of the Roman Empire up to the present day. In the U.K., the book has been shortlisted for the prestigious Orwell Prize for Political Writing , and received positive reviews from readers and academics alike. Otele, an expert on the history of colonialism and slavery, starts by looking at early encount...

My precise view

Search This Blog