Key System ScrapBook Two

See the Key System from 1945 and the end of WWII that brought the National City Lines ‘buy-out’. See the last 13 years of a great transit line that struggled to maintain quality service in a world of change. We review the NCL and compare its new control of the Key System to the LA Railway and others. See the last few years of the Key’s subsidiary streetcar lines that were all ripped out after 1948. Visit the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco and ride the Bay Bridge.

Visit and ride through the Bridge Yard and recall the Key’s great fleet of Bridge Units connecting the greater East Bay with San Francisco. Run through the Emeryville Yard and watch trains spill past Tower Two. See great trains in a wealth of locations in a bygone era on all the Bridge Lines A through F. Don’t miss the action with freight trains down 40th Street from Sacramento Northern’s connection to the C Line and the Oakland Terminal Railway. The F Line’s “City Of Berkeley” Key train of former SN Ry cars is just one of the delights to see on the Berkeley Line. Watch the stunning B Line trains around Lake Merritt and on up to Underhill. The C Line to Piedmont and Oakland Avenue offers the beauty of the East Bay. Sixteen people shot film that made this video possible for you to see! Their efforts allow us to relive those wonderful days.

To quote Model Railroad News magazine, “This is a large helping of trains at 1 hour and 42 minutes. As usual, Charles Smiley gives us a lot to enjoy. He still operates the premiere video recovery system around and gives us footage that has been cleaned up, brightened, sharpened and smoothly edited.”