Caltrains
Unfinished History
Southern Pacific railyard crossing 4th Street when the terminal was at 3rd and Townsend, seen here from King Street, January 26, 1965.
Photo: Charles Ruiz collection
Caltrain, the publicly maintained commuter rail from San Jose to San Francisco, rolls south near the 22nd St. station.
Photo: Chris Carlsson
The 4th & Townsend Caltrain terminal, as it looked until its late 1990s makeover. (A block away at 3rd, there once stood a beautiful Spanish Mission style station, in the days when steaming locomotives brought thousands into the city every day.) Note too, the stump of Interstate-280 that dead-ended at 4th Street in the background of this photo.
Photo: Chris Carlsson
The Caltrain terminal in 2013, still an unimpressive concrete block, albeit with new signs and significantly new surroundings!
Photo: Chris Carlsson
3rd & Townsend, c. 1935, Southern Pacific railroad depot
Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA