🚀 go-pugleaf

Mayer Samuels wrote:
> On Jul 15, 10:29 pm, Trader Bob <books...@aol.com> wrote:
>> On Jul 13, 12:28 pm, nold...@msn.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>
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>>> To answer my own question, and to help anyone who happens to stumble
>>> across this thread (since I doubt that anyone is actually reading this
>>> group): the secret is Sacramento.
>>> Turns out that veterans of the rails going to SF only book to
>>> Sacramento, rent the car there since it's earlier in the day, and
>>> drive into the city that way. A couple whom we talked to on the train
>>> told us that they had been doing that for a few years and had no
>>> problems. It actually gets you into the city much earlier than the
>>> train.
>>> Though the ladies at Emeryville Avis were very helpful, patient and
>>> pleasant, the difficulties encountered by a train that arrives an hour
>>> and a half late and needs to board 15 minutes before the rental office
>>> opens in the morning, make this option an extremely iffy and tense
>>> proposition. If we go this route again we will get off in Sacramento
>>> and we will do the drive. Even leaving SF by 6:00 am on the highway
>>> gets us back in plenty of time to meet the train for the trip East.
>> What was the reason for them to make Emeryville the transfer point
>> instead of Oakland?- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
> 
> 
> Emeryville station is closer to the Bay Bridge then Oakland station.
> Amtrak Thruway buses will spend less time on the roads if they embark
> from Emeryville.


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.

If you are going to have a number of buses meeting the trains (which you 
DO, to serve San Francisco), there is a lot more room for parking, 
staging, etc. at Emeryville than at Jack London Square.

Does the Zephyr still stop in Richmond? The connection to BART in 
Richmond was always my preferred way to get into San Francisco, as the 
buses always take a long time to get underway. Of course it depends on 
how much baggage you have....lots of it makes BART not a good option.

Regards,

DAve