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

@Porsche996driver

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Bill! 💪🏼

@josephthebobcat5085

Жыл бұрын

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

8 ай бұрын

The future thanks you!

@MiggerPlease

29 күн бұрын

@@Porsche996driverbill is kinda gay lol

@MiggerPlease

29 күн бұрын

@@yaboidre5672gay

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

Жыл бұрын

Ha, yes! The cart.

@xiaoka

Жыл бұрын

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

@Statimtek

Жыл бұрын

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

@d.bcooper7819

Жыл бұрын

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

@Statimtek

Жыл бұрын

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

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

Жыл бұрын

I feel that way about all subway systems.

@3henry214

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

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

Жыл бұрын

no war ? i guess nam didnt happen

@holyteejful

Жыл бұрын

@@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 !

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

Жыл бұрын

Do you have my sympathies 😋

@Tipman2OOO

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!!!

@jakemoeller7850

Жыл бұрын

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

@BHARGAV_GAJJAR

Жыл бұрын

No wings no rudders and no nose cone ! Incredible story

@rulerofomicronpersei8

Жыл бұрын

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.

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

Жыл бұрын

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.

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!

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

@AlvaSudden

Жыл бұрын

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

@floycewhite6991

6 ай бұрын

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.

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

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

@Porsche996driver

Жыл бұрын

👆🏼

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

Жыл бұрын

Currently bart is a shithole

@spikespa5208

Жыл бұрын

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

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.

My Grandfather was an engineer on BART

@stereolababy

Жыл бұрын

my grandfather invented the toilet

@davidwesley2525

7 ай бұрын

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

They definitely did a good job in preparing for earthquakes. In 89 a section of the bay bridge collapsed but bart didnt have any issues

@RS-ls7mm

Жыл бұрын

I remember the ride in the tunnel was not as smooth as before the earthquake but it was running.

@jeanesingsjazz

Жыл бұрын

They shut it down for 24 hours anyway just to make sure that they inspected everything.

@yaboidre5672

8 ай бұрын

Apparently passengers didn't even know anything happened. At least that's what I heard.

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

@jeanesingsjazz

Жыл бұрын

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

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

@gavinnewscum

Жыл бұрын

The communist red China would supply tainted steel

@leisti

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

@@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.

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

Жыл бұрын

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

@tomscot7567

Жыл бұрын

Going with a girlfriend would have been better.

@jhaymanmyles2226

Жыл бұрын

@@tomscot7567 🤫

@frzferdinand72

Жыл бұрын

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

@edwardmiessner6502

Жыл бұрын

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

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

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.

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

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

@SharpBalisong

Жыл бұрын

What’s that “S” and “D” stand for?

@wblynch

Жыл бұрын

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

@SharpBalisong

Жыл бұрын

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

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!!

This is a marvel of American engineering

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

Жыл бұрын

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Жыл бұрын

F. A. R. T. ?

@jpg3702

Жыл бұрын

HA.

@suspicionofdeceit

Жыл бұрын

There is a bus system in Switzerland of the same name

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

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

@alb12345672

Жыл бұрын

And they lean too!

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

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

9 ай бұрын

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

Incredible engineering!

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

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

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

Used to ride BART daily for work and visiting family.

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

Жыл бұрын

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

@enzomthethwa5861

Жыл бұрын

(inflation)

@nicmart

Жыл бұрын

@@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.

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

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

Amazing

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.

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.

Happy 52 years BART Foster City CA 94404 😷covid 19

Awesome video

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

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

Жыл бұрын

Sad.

@clydeholbrook

Жыл бұрын

thanks outsourcing and unregulated immigration

@stevencramsie9172

Жыл бұрын

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

Amazing engineering

Don't FART around, Take BART around!

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

I just cannot comprehend.

Bethlehem Steel!!!!!

@davegeisler7802

Жыл бұрын

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

@jimpikoulis6726

Жыл бұрын

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

Genius.

We were a proper country once.

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

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

@Tipman2OOO

Жыл бұрын

Wow did that actually happen?

@itsacorporatething

Жыл бұрын

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

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

14 күн бұрын

Move back dude we are full

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

@johnarbuckle6775

Жыл бұрын

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

@Balthorium

Жыл бұрын

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

@user-ql2ce5tx5c

Жыл бұрын

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

@willslc

Жыл бұрын

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.

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

@jeanesingsjazz

Жыл бұрын

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

@davidwesley2525

7 ай бұрын

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

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.

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

@canondemons9496

Жыл бұрын

That's what happens in a tunnel lol

My beautiful San Francisco 🥰😍🥰

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.

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

@jeanesingsjazz

Жыл бұрын

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

@ryanb5189

Жыл бұрын

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

@timothyhoekstra2604

Жыл бұрын

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

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

@dgronzega8073

Жыл бұрын

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

@itsacorporatething

Жыл бұрын

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.

Ah the good ol' Transtube to take you to the Transbay upon the Gayocean, away from the mountains and their rigid and unchanging heteronormative rock formations

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

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

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

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

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

Engineering is incredible.

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

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

@suspicionofdeceit

Жыл бұрын

Can you take your car?

@StevenTorrey

Жыл бұрын

@@suspicionofdeceit No, it only passenger service.

Phenomenal flyer of my life. Thanks union Pacific.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Жыл бұрын

It *will* connect to Caltrain in San Jose though

@Doggeslife

Жыл бұрын

@@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

Жыл бұрын

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

Жыл бұрын

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

@blue9multimediagroup

Жыл бұрын

@@Doggeslife it goes to Berryessa now

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....

Just googled, September 16, 74.

And yet 50 years later nothing changed

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?

BART makes the bay area accessible.

Crazy not seeing sales force tower in sf skyline

BART was designed and built by the best engineering firms. Compare it to the financial fiasco of California’s high speed rail.

@timothyhoekstra2604

Жыл бұрын

This tunnel cost over 1 billion dollars in today’s money, ran over budget, and was certainly controversial in its day. Their foresight and investment benefit us all, just as the high speed rail will for future generations. One thing that makes these projects more expensive is when we stop doing them for decades and lose all the expertise, labor, and built up industry that was generated during the last major project. Have to keep paying all the startup costs each time.

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

@wblynch

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, the days before Reaganomics

Great, but another tube is needed very soon.

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

was the longest .. thats needs to be updated

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

Old school welders breathing every last fume.

Frisco Area Rapid Transit!

@jeanesingsjazz

Жыл бұрын

No one in California calls it Frisco.

@craigbrowning9448

Жыл бұрын

@@jeanesingsjazz A few people who live in Castro Valley (hometown of Rachel maddow) do.

Hi, any updates on the Transbay Tube?

And now there is talk about a 2nd transbay tube… Which would mean 24 hour service!

Just curious, from a commuter's perspective, how has the experience been improved compared to that era? I can think of the Clipper Card. Anything else? Are the trains faster, for example? Or more on-time?

@imathreat209

Жыл бұрын

Bart helps tremendously, but the heart of commuters is from the valley to the bay via Altamont pass. So Bart being extended through the Altamont pass would make it 100% better considering almost 200,000 cars use that freeway daily

@tedthurgate

Жыл бұрын

The trains are slower. The plan was for trains to excelerate out of stations quickly and to stay at speed until just before the station slowing down quickly. Standing people were rolling down the aisle so they had to stop that. The trains were also supposed to be much more automated but they were crashing into each other and running off the end of the track.

@user-ql2ce5tx5c

Жыл бұрын

@@tedthurgate Tesla should take note.

@timothyhoekstra2604

Жыл бұрын

noise: new doors seal the noise out better. straightaways slightly worse since the tracks became corrugated with time, though they are grinding them smooth. curves slightly better since in 2021 they switched to a more tapered wheel shape.

@AlvaSudden

Жыл бұрын

The 4 original lines used to end at Richmond, Fremont, Concord and Daly CIty. There was no Dublin-Pleasanton line. 15 stations have been added, & you can go right into both SFO & Oakland airports now.

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

For better or worse I still take it in from Oakland when I come over from Sacramento. Don't want to park in the city, lesser of evils.

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.