Industrial past
Dec 10, 2019 13:10:15 #
In the long-ago days when cars were not the dominant life form on the planet, and there were no bridges across the San Francisco Bay, several railroads competed for San Francisco's trade. To get their carloads of passengers and freight to San Francisco, they only had a few options. Coming from the south, you could run a line up the peninsula to the city, but there was only room for one railroad. The others, coming from the east or north, had to use car ferries. The largest ferry terminal was in Oakland.
Another was a few miles north in Richmond. This is what it looks like today. The dock where the ferries moored floated on the tide, and this gantry kept the end of the railroad bridge level with the floating dock. The cars were pushed onto the ferry, taken to San Francisco, and rolled off without breaking bulk.
In those days, Richmond wasn't much more than a village, and much of it was tidal land. There is a famous exchange between brothers, one of whom had bought land sight unseen in Richmond. When his brother visited the Bay Area, he wrote to ask what his land looked like. The brother responded, "I'll let you know when the tide goes out."
Another was a few miles north in Richmond. This is what it looks like today. The dock where the ferries moored floated on the tide, and this gantry kept the end of the railroad bridge level with the floating dock. The cars were pushed onto the ferry, taken to San Francisco, and rolled off without breaking bulk.
In those days, Richmond wasn't much more than a village, and much of it was tidal land. There is a famous exchange between brothers, one of whom had bought land sight unseen in Richmond. When his brother visited the Bay Area, he wrote to ask what his land looked like. The brother responded, "I'll let you know when the tide goes out."
Dec 10, 2019 13:29:57 #
I like the diagonal of the tracks along with the lines of the other structures. You did a nice job on this shot.
The colors are good, too.
Interesting information and I really like that last line! It applies to some areas here in Florida, too.
The colors are good, too.
Interesting information and I really like that last line! It applies to some areas here in Florida, too.
Dec 11, 2019 07:47:19 #
Dec 11, 2019 11:05:06 #
jaymatt wrote:
Nice lines; first-rate composition.
Thanks! But this one almost composed itself.
Dec 11, 2019 11:20:51 #
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