🚀 go-pugleaf

spsffan  <spsffan@hotmail.com> wrote:

>There's a bit more to it, actually. Years ago the Oakland station was 
>the old SP 16th Street station. But this was damaged in the earthquake 
>in 1989 and was (IIRC) condemned. Amtrak subsequently built Emeryville 
>Station, with its location close to the freeways and bridge, but far 
>from most everything else.

>For a while, trains like the Coast Starlight still stopped on the tracks 
>opposite 16th Street for a crew change, but the passenger stop was moved 
>to Emeryville. There was no where near the amount of Capital Corridor 
>traffic in those days (perhaps none?). Just the Starlight, Zephyr and a 
>few (3-4?) San Joaquins.

>Later, the Jack London Square station was built close to downtown 
>Oakland, mostly to serve the Capital Corridor trains, but also a stop 
>for the Starlight, which ran through from San Jose just like the Capital 
>trains. Keep in mind that the car servicing yards are in West Oakland 
>(more or less) between Jack London and Emeryville. It made sense not to 
>have to do a backup move with the San Joaquins and Zephyr, so they 
>retained Emeryville as their origin/destination stop, while the through 
>trains stop at both.

It also seems to me that the current routing from Emeryville to
Jack London is somewhat shorter than the old routing through the
old main station in west Oakland.  Is this the case, or am I
imagining it?

Steve