50 Years of BART | The Transbay Tube

BART celebrates 50 years of service on September 11, 2022. Join us as we dive into the archives and look back at our history in a series of vintage films.
Learn more about BART's history at www.bart.gov/5...
#BART #50YearsOfBART #transit #trains

[@wblynch]

I was a laborer on the rail crew, laid rail through the trans bay tube and 70% of the original system.

[@Porsche996driver]

Thanks Bill! 💪🏼

[@josephthebobcat5085]

Yes, thank you for your contribution. Looks like one of the greatest architectural engineering achievements of all time. Awesome stuff. You should be very proud

[@yaboidre5672]

The future thanks you!

[@NickIggler1969]

@@Porsche996driverbill is kinda gay lol

[@NickIggler1969]

@@yaboidre5672gay

[@christianweagle6253]

These welders hit the motherlode of work. Fifty-seven identical huge structures, easy access, no war happening, San Francisco next door. What a time to be alive.

[@clydeholbrook]

no war ? i guess nam didnt happen

[@holyteejful]

@@andred3299 technically the US never stopped waging war since ww2. The military industrial complex took over as a consequence of WW2 (President Eisenhower warned us of this in his farewell speech) , didn’t even finish rebuilding before start of the Cold War and Korean War, into Vietnam and haven’t looked back militarily since !

[@shouryabose5943]

As a student in the Bay area, I see advanced microprocessors and “software” all the time. but the howling sound in when Bart passes the transbay tube is the icon of American engineering.

[@jermaineholmes1233]

I feel that way about all subway systems.

[@3henry214]

You can blame the howling on BART cost cutting measures. The trains originally had steel wheels with a rubber composite ring or "tire" on them... very quiet running. I remember when you could carry on a normal conversation going through the tube. Those quieter composite tires weren't lasting as long as conventional railroad steel "tires", so BART phased them out by replacing the rubber composite ones with conventional steel. The noise levels of the trains shot up dramatically, I remember being able to carry on a normal conversion going through the transbay tube without needing to yell. The way the system has turned to crap going through the Oakland and Embarcadero stations... you can't pay me enough to set foot on BART these days.

[@mithikx]

I suspect my old BART commute gave me tinnitus, or at least in part contributed to it. Those old trains get loud when they got up to speed, can't say anything about the new ones since I haven't been on one.

[@a_pullin]

The howling represents the death of American engineering. Everything in BART was custom-design, following aerospace principles. They INTENTIONALLY used minimally-tapered wheels, under the premise that track deflections would be tightly controlled. The "Wheel Geometry Change" is a mediocre workaround, because resetting/replacing all the tracks would be too hard or expensive.

[@boobsheriff5140]

@@mithikx the new trains are loud but they're not as loud as the old trains

[@Statimtek]

Gotta love these old school documentaries with the funky color cinematography, background music and narration. Takes me back to grade school days when teacher rolled out the TV set on the cart to show us some program.

[@jpg3702]

Ha, yes! The cart.

[@xiaoka]

You’re too young. Before that we had a film projector.

[@Statimtek]

@@xiaoka no Unfortunately I’m not too young. We had those too as well as overhead projectors. = )

[@d.bcooper7819]

TV set? All I recall were a projector and screen:)

[@Statimtek]

@@d.bcooper7819 we had both and a overhead projector

[@davidnoticiero6728]

Back when California was the undisputed best state in the union, with the best educational system, infrastructure, and heavy industry. We are now an uneven tech and service based economy, with disparities in earnings, education, and healthcare rotting away at the remnants of the once vibrant middle class

[@AlvaSudden]

The population of both the US and of the world has more than doubled since the transbay tube was built. NAFTA sent US manufacturing jobs overseas. Unions were busted. Profit margins for big businesses quadrupled. How to fix it? Bring back the jobs, respect workers, & make the rich & big business pay their taxes.

[@timdybala7127]

I agree

[@oh...hi.]

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation” - Gustavo Petro

[@AlvaSudden]

You hit the nail on the head. The automobile is the middle-class trap that Americans willingly walk right into.

[@floycewhite6991]

That's why you had to be rich as a king to have a horse in Europe -- to be a gentleman. In America, every man could have a horse or two. It's no different with cars. The elite jealously guard their advantages, and constantly seek ways to deprive the common man of his automobile.

[@4149stonepony]

And this idiotic quote is an elitist anti car myth.

[@oh...hi.]

:D

[@WildWildWeasel]

You're literally quoting a communist enabler

[@rcwilliams4959]

My grandfather designed the electrical for The Tube. I was very proud of it when I was a kid. When I lived in San Francisco back in the 90s I was even more proud when I was using it to commute to Berkeley for my job. Seriously the best part of my commute!

[@rcstann]

I was a Systems Technician for what is now United Technologies when we built the BART Cars for P.B.T.B. We manufactured primarily airliners and their components, so the design was essentially an airliner with no wings. I became the First person, to sit in the First seat, of the First BART Car. .

[@jimrossi7708]

Do you have my sympathies 😋

[@Tipman2OOO]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@jakemoeller7850]

That must have been exciting! I always got a kick out of traveling from SF to Oakland and emerging topside.

[@BHARGAV_GAJJAR]

No wings no rudders and no nose cone ! Incredible story

[@Iwilldestroyyoo]

Not something I would brag about or be proud of,BART is an abomination. A disgusting, filthy, gangbanger and bum riddled, abomination. Noisy pieces of junk too, I despise even looking at it.

[@NickC9545]

This might be the most wholesome thing I've watched this year on KZbin.

[@Porsche996driver]

👆🏼

[@JayboCorp.2014]

👆🏾

[@canondemons9496]

That exact barge you can still see if you catch a warriors game. It's right in the water to the right of chase center. Extremely cool now knowing something it was used for

[@gravityfuzz]

Awesome! I'm always amazed at our species when I see this stuff. And the BART is a great ride. I practice holding my breath when I travel under the bay from West Oakland to Embarcadero.. My best is three breaths from tunnel entrance to first light at Embarcadero.

[@a_pullin]

Remember, folks: It took the city of San Francisco 13+ years to add a single 2-mile long bus lane to an existing street.

[@notisac3149]

And it took 48 years to get a new BART station into Milpitas and San Jose :(

[@jakemoeller7850]

Having lived in SF for a few years, BART was always a trusted mode of transportation. Topside were buses and trolleys, but BART was perfect for a quick trip. I wish that an extension to Santa Rosa would be constructed.

[@bluegrip3007]

Currently bart is a shithole

[@spikespa5208]

Santa Rosa, and a route around the Southern end of the Bay are the missing portions , IMO.

[@joelanejo]

Fantastic documentary wow Been leaving in the bay area for 27 years & didnt know the proceess & hardword for many communters to enjoy today 1/4/23 wow awesome Thank you Humans!!

[@mrrolandlawrence]

when the US understood public transport & had the drive to do so. great times indeed!

[@sierranexi]

1972: Builds underwater metro 2022: "Due to light drizzle, BART is experiencing major delays"

[@Tipman2OOO]

Wow did that actually happen?

[@itsacorporatething]

@@Tipman2OOO I think some stations were flooded because of the largest single day of rain on record yesterday.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

When I visited SF with my partner for the first time in 1994 we took a BART train through the tube to Downtown Oakland and on to UC Berkley. Such a fast trip! Now hearing about commuter congestion issues I wish they had built a Geary Street Tunnel and a second Transbay Tube! 😭😭😭

[@Darkk6969]

Second transbay tube is being looked at. I wish they built this 20 years ago as it's badly needed.

[@tomscot7567]

Going with a girlfriend would have been better.

[@jhaymanmyles2226]

@@tomscot7567 🤫

[@frzferdinand72]

NIMBYs are gonna cry about it and won't let it happen

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@tomscot7567 I don't live my life to please bigoted professing straight people.

[@gregwilliams386]

A really big telecommunications company found they had a really small fiber optic cable crossing the Bay Bridge. The company approached BART and offered to lease or rent a raceway that existed in the tube. BART wanted so much money that the company paid to have a conduit trenched into the bay's bed. In the end it was cheaper until the Loma Prieta quake, when the bridge was replaced and the fiber updated.

[@sooryanarayan4148]

This is a marvel of American engineering

[@christopherbuckley94]

Fascinating video concerning this engineering achievement. I only rode it once from SFO after turning in my rental car and heading for Oakland to pickup an Amtrak train for Chicago at Emeryville the following day.

[@itsacorporatething]

The Bay Area no longer has any steel shipyards. Would be that much harder to do this today. :/

[@gavinnewscum]

The communist red China would supply tainted steel

[@leisti]

I believe that these days, we have the ability to move material from one place, using such modes of transportation as ships, trucks, and the railway.

[@itsacorporatething]

@@leisti haha fair enough. But 1) being able to build these in the bay, then drop them off directly in the bay, probably cuts transportation costs significantly, 2) also good luck transporting a 300 foot long, 800 ton tube by truck or rail.

[@silafakahua8187]

Currently watching this while riding thru the trans bay tube

[@normp3273]

30 minute commute time in peak time? Times have certainly changed.

[@jeanesingsjazz]

30 minutes from MacArthur station as long as all the door sensors close.

[@cecilia111081]

My Grandfather was an engineer on BART

[@stereolababy]

my grandfather invented the toilet

[@davidwesley2525]

​@@stereolababyHis Grandfather invented the Outhouse. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@big-edaniel5522]

I’m an old sole fo sure.. I’m a 70’s baby and born in the bay San Mateo and all 50’s.60’s.70’s video remind me of school projector time I never was in control of the projector lol… I worked on Yerba Buena island in late 90’s removing old diesel lines for a environmental company great times the bay is always amazed me . Thanks for the video

[@TheNotMeTube]

Now that I know how they did it, it seems miraculous that it ever worked.

[@BillThurman-cg7dl]

I been working in the Transbay Tube it is amazing, when the trains passes by there is no vibration or shaking what so ever. You can hear it as it zips by and fil the piston effect of the air movement, but you do not fil the train. And it was built with a slide rule.

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

How many countless times I've ridden through those tubes?? But never felt anything but just going. No up or down feeling. Was great to see this. Brings back a lot of memories. I've gotten on and off at every station who knows how many times. Especially the Embarcadaro (sp) station, first stop in San Francisco. Literally hundreds of times. Great video!

[@vivsevs1087]

I was shocked to learn through this video that the tracks go up and down. You definitely don't feel any elevation change when going through the tube.

[@proprietary1]

Rode Bart when my brother was going to uc Berkeley back 84. So much has changed since then.

[@jmhowlett]

Back in the good old days when they built things to last.

[@dogman15]

All of these videos should be listed! People should be able to find them browsing KZbin, not just the BART website. Anyway, what are the credits for this documentary? Who directed, filmed, edited, and narrated it?

[@MilkyCollective]

Incredible engineering!

[@bhatiavinod294]

when use to live in bay area daily use to communit to my office Market Street BART was beats of my Heart!! Big Thanks 😍😍

[@zzhou1557]

Such great engineering back then! Now SF only builds luxury condos that noone can afford.

[@alb12345672]

And they lean too!

[@GA-1st]

Few recall that "BART" used to be called "BARTS" or "BARTD"! They shortened the name early on. BTW, getting downtown via Market Street was quite the trip - especially when using the old green torpedo "street cars" (aka LRVs today). You could look down through the car window at the open trench and see the subway level over 70 feet below! Memories..

[@mdj.6179]

The old Eureka street station was the closest one to my house when I grew up. Now you can ride the same type of torpedo car down Market on the F line. They are vintage cars from other cities because SF let theirs get vandalized in storage. BART was going to go through the Twin Peaks tunnel before they scaled it back. The Muni Metro took over the connecting tunnel and the Castro, Church and Van Ness stations.

[@wblynch]

We workers used to eat lunch and look up at the city workers passing by, all clean and tidy 😁

[@SharpBalisong]

What’s that “S” and “D” stand for?

[@wblynch]

@@SharpBalisong system and district. Both were abandoned by 1964, when initial test track construction began.

[@SharpBalisong]

@@wblynch Thanks for the history lesson! That little bit of trivia will come in handy one day.

[@mgevirtz]

I really like what you guys are doing here. Thank you.

[@bencabebe1423]

Amazing

[@craigbrowning9448]

Don't FART around, Take BART around!

[@bobbymoss6160]

Used to ride BART daily for work and visiting family.

[@airfiero4772]

Amazing engineering

[@craigbrowning9448]

The music soundtrack to this film sounds more like the 1950s or early '60s than it does the 1970s.

[@erictaylor5462]

When I was a kid my home town had a bus service that linked the town into the BART system. I kid you not, it was the Fairfield Area Rapid Transit.

[@TheGor54]

F. A. R. T. ?

[@jpg3702]

HA.

[@craigbrowning9448]

The "Self-Service Fare Collection System" does not look like the one that was eventually installed in BART stations it has rotary turnstiles while the installed BART system had little sliding half-doors on a pneumatic system.

[@gafferin]

It took 4 years and roughly 100M USD to complete a world-level engineering miracle in 1969. Now, Muni is spending 2 billion USD for just 2 miles within the city, literally adding only 2 stops.

[@nicmart]

It's important to find new ways to justify wasting tax dollars.

[@enzomthethwa5861]

(inflation)

[@nicmart]

@@enzomthethwa5861 Data? How does the increase compare to inflation since earlier construction? Has technology not improved to offset inflation? Is the new construction similarly difficult? Your one word reveals nothing without good data.

[@JayboCorp.2014]

✨Inflation✨

[@Lillemmzzz]

Here bc I took the Bart for the first time today and when my ears kept popping and I felt intuitively afraid when it went dark in the tunnel I needed to know why and this video is what I found. 😭

[@PacoOtis]

Excellent!

[@85Meloyelo]

I used to hate every minute being in that tube. Its scary to know you’re in a tunnel under 100 ft of water in a earth quake prone area.

[@derek20la]

If constructed today, the entire tube would be built with Chinese steel. The US has no capability to replace any large structures on its own.

[@yodaphyomni3749]

Sad.

[@clydeholbrook]

thanks outsourcing and unregulated immigration

[@stevencramsie9172]

@@clydeholbrook lol, what do refugees coming to the US have ANYTHING to do with what country we get our steel from? Educate yourself sometime

[@motofunk1]

In the first few months of the tube opening my friends dad would carry a spare air canister in his briefcase. Just as they would enter the tube he would open his briefcase and leave it open. Some people got the joke, some were scared out of there wits. He would just look at them and say just in case.

[@marcusarline7135]

My mother knows about the Transbay Tube to where it is still standing today. Plus+ I heard about Friday's episode.

[@markrix]

The bart is pretty impressive, when i moved to ca for a year i bought a car, i soon realized i didnt need it!

[@Zakariah1971]

Genius.

[@pra3t0rian]

We were a proper country once.

[@timdybala7127]

yep

[@atumra7285]

For 50 years the mgmt has been eating BARTs money raising prices and barely making any upgrades. Now bart trains stop in a wet and cold weather and every other train is canceled 5 min before departure. Its pathetic how corrupt the system has become and how silent people are.

[@barbarakilpatrick3859]

Happy 52 years BART Foster City CA 94404 😷covid 19

[@rictech.]

I just cannot comprehend.

[@brandonhendrixson2372]

Awesome video

[@fly-over1517]

Back when BART was new, it was safe, and fun to travel.

[@jeanesingsjazz]

Back when the homeless didn’t live on the trains, Or camp out in the stations.

[@davidwesley2525]

​@@jeanesingsjazz Back when the Streets of San Francisco weren't an Open Toilet. 💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

[@Bdub1952]

"Tainted Love" wouldn't be the same without that BART horn.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

ive been to san fran a 1000 times,,ive even lived in the area.. never knew this

[@jimpikoulis6726]

Bethlehem Steel!!!!!

[@davegeisler7802]

You bet , nothing but the best. Don't forget Bethlehem Steel in the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge 👍

[@jimpikoulis6726]

@Dave Geisler Indeed it's their legacy even though it's been almost 20 years since the company went bankrupt.

[@Balthorium]

There’s a mysterious elevator that goes down underwater at the Ferry Building to the BART tunnel.

[@johnarbuckle6775]

Get a hi-vis vest and take a video of it

[@Balthorium]

@@johnarbuckle6775 it’s right by the ramps from the Marin ferry. Anyone can see it if you look around.

[@凯思]

@@Balthorium Thanks, I’ll just drop by-from Salem, Ore.

[@willslc]

The elevator is real old but It's better the using the stairs to get of the SFTS. It's been great working in the Transbay Tube.

[@JacobCanote]

BART makes the bay area accessible.

[@LightLivingEst80]

Another great European cultural attribute to our ppl ! The most progressive of them all!!

[@ryanb5189]

Ferryboats are practical again. Especially when the Bart workers are on strike or an earthquake shuts it down

[@jeanesingsjazz]

Ferrys Still run, leaving from Vallejo and Richmond to the City.

[@ryanb5189]

@@jeanesingsjazz and from oakland, alameda, SSF, Marin and Berkeley too.

[@timothyhoekstra2604]

too slow and infrequent. compared to nyc’s system if you’ve ever been there

[@andytang04]

The moment you're underwater in the tube everything turns dark but it's a pretty quick trip though

[@canondemons9496]

That's what happens in a tunnel lol

[@holyteejful]

Pretty amazing all of the original crafts that had to be designed and developed before they could even begin the physical construction ... and this was in the 70s... nowadays it takes 10 years to redesign and rebuild 5 miles of freeway lol

[@cobraracer46]

Bart looked so nice in the beginning with all of the sharp dressed passengers and missing homeless people.😆

[@wblynch]

Yeah, the days before Reaganomics

[@Kaythechampion]

Thank you Humans for Engineering..I just moved to the Bay Area been here two years now I live in Hayward and I’ve always wanted to know how the TransBay tube worked from the west oakland station to the embarcadero station.. im truly amazed how us humans built an underwater tunnel 🫡🤯!! I’ll always love the Bay❤❤❤ Area

[@walterwhite1]

Move back dude we are full

[@rubenmycox]

My beautiful San Francisco 🥰😍🥰

[@jaccohuisman]

I travelled with BART from Oakland to the airport of San Francisco. What a horrible experience, more then 100 dB in the tunnel. What a primitive design.

[@sanfranciscobay]

If you're going Oakland to San Francisco and it's daylight and you're in no hurry, take the Ferry for a better view. If it's night or you're in a hurry, take BART.

[@ralphw7454]

I love how he says ferry boats are no longer practical, but nowadays, riding the ferry from the East Bay to SF is way more practical than taking Bart.

[@tdkeyes1]

Last time I rode across the bay, about 10 years ago, the screeching of the wheels/rails was so loud I couldn't have a conversation.with the person seated next to me. Made me question the maintenance. Considering it's age, I doubt I'll ever ride it again.

[@lutomson3496]

Ferry boats are practical and are used in the bay area daily I used to come in from Sausalito every day

[@dgronzega8073]

Yes, and I remember after the LP earthquake, it was ferries to the rescue. As the Bay Bridge was damaged.

[@itsacorporatething]

My understanding is the ferries are unprofitable, subsidized and kept in operation because they are resilient to disaster and can be used as a backup system.

[@margaretphenicie4522]

Phenomenal flyer of my life. Thanks union Pacific.

[@dodgeyaussie]

Any videos detailing the joining of the tube on the landside at each end?

[@Doggeslife]

I rode BART for the first time in 1973 from the Fremont station in the east bay area north to Berkley. I was 13. I've ridden through the "tube" several times in the 1980s-90s. Today I'm nearly 63 and BART STILL has not circumvented the south bay, and probably never will. .

[@edwardmiessner6502]

It *will* connect to Caltrain in San Jose though

[@Doggeslife]

@@edwardmiessner6502 Long after I am dead and buried. I rode it from Fremont when I was 13 in the early 1970s. It took most of my life just to make the short extension to South San Jose. Hope you get to use it. ;-)

[@THE_BATLORD]

Food for thought: The BART system at its initial buildout back in the 70s cost $1.3 Billion which adjusted for inflation is $10.5 Billion. Compare that to the replaced bay bridge that completed in 2013 at $6.4 Billion which adjusted for inflation would have cost $8.2 Billion. a 75 mile grade separated track, its 450 cars, control system stations and all cost just 25% more than a 2 mile freeway bridge.

[@dogsense3773]

First time for me on bart was when I was 48 in 2004, it was the last time too

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@Doggeslife it goes to Berryessa now

[@StevenTorrey]

I think in 1972, Ferry service was terribly limited, if it even existed. With the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989, Ferry Service was recreated.

[@StevenTorrey]

@suspicionofdeceit No, it only passenger service.

[@tomqi90]

And yet 50 years later nothing changed

[@frankdenardo8684]

The Trans Bay tube was a big feat in civil engineering.

[@AkelaTalamasca]

Engineering is incredible.

[@ronaldmcdonald3965]

Notice the uncluttered SF skyline. Just a decade before there were very few very tall skyscrapers

[@donbill8913]

Hi, any updates on the Transbay Tube?

[@Mr.QuantumC0re]

Has a technician for 20 years we sure don’t make things as we used to. Especially with all this technology we have now.

[@efolson]

Great documentary! I’ve been curious about the tube for a long time. I’m curious about corrosion. What is the expected design life of the tube?

[@timothyhoekstra2604]

my guess is that the galvanic protection system has sacrificial anodes which can be replaced at regular service intervals. They rust, the tube doesn’t.

[@STREETFIGHTER50]

I was wondering this as well. All bare metal in that salt water

[@cpgf4721]

Just googled, September 16, 74.

[@BrendanMannix]

Now it’s just a ghetto tube.

[@reignofthedragon]

And a hobo tube!

[@timdybala7127]

sad but thats a democrat run city for you.

[@cpgf4721]

Seems like trans bay didn’t begin service until September 1974, right? Rode round trip from Hayward to work at SF Federal Reserve Bank when it was at Sansom st

[@Bungbungkitty]

The renderings showing the opulent interiors remind me of the mornings & evenings I spent over 5 years communting on BART from San Leandro to Civic Center. Packed in like sardines, sopping wet and sweltering hot. Homeless people smoking on board, throwing up directly on me, taking a dump on the ground during a busy commute. You'll see and smell it all on BART.

[@mono2go]

Scary to think that we can't seem to build infrastructure of this scale again in California. Everything get bogs down in debates over every little details. LA's Sepulvada subway comes to mind. Slam dunk corridor with rather straightforward construction (compared to the transbay tube anyway) and yet people still want monorail. This would be like instead of the transbay tube they decided to put Wuppertal under Bay bridge.

[@timdybala7127]

I agree

[@fourthgirl]

Great, but another tube is needed very soon.

[@Damian-ci1yj]

Crazy not seeing sales force tower in sf skyline

[@lh457725]

Wait a minute, so they submerged the tube sections with workers inside them? Am I understanding the part around 11 min - 12 min correctly? It sounds like they had workers inside the tube sections as they submerged them and then the workers cut the bulkheads away. Is that right?

[@timdybala7127]

good point

[@lowpost23]

30 minutes in rush hour 😂 sounds good to me.

[@johnpritchard5410]

My ship was at Bethlehem Steel at 3rd and 20th in Potrero Hill in '74. We heard that the tube segments were made there. The shipyard wasn't very good....

[@spunn_co]

was the longest .. thats needs to be updated

[@frizzby-x]

Why doesn't BART enforce fare?

[@timothyhoekstra2604]

cost

[@spunn_co]

Wow this video's made before transamerica I'm like where is it

[@Musistics]

What's Bart's Disaster Plan for an Earthquake/Tsunami?

[@spikespa5208]

Prayer?