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Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway train at Central (now Presidio) Avenue, before 1892. Calvary Cemetery is in the background. The cemeteries around Central Avenue were a major source of traffic for the line. (source: [group 5:50a], Jesse Brown Cook Scrapbooks Documenting San Francisco History and Law Enforcement, ca. 1895-1936, BANC PIC 1996.003--fALB, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley). Apr, 1998 Picture of the Month. |
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The terminal of the Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway, at Geary and Market, after 1891. October (Fall), 2000 Picture of the Month. |
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The terminal of the Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway, at Geary and Market, after 1891. Looking west. January, 2004 Picture of the Month. |
line: Geary Street
opened: 16-Feb-1880. Geary Street from Kearney to Central (now Presidio)
extended: 1892. Geary Street to 5th Avenue, 5th Avenue to Fulton (Golden Gate Park).
powerhouse: Geary and Buchannan
grip: Eppelsheimer bottom grip, lever-operated
grip: converted to Root single jaw side grip, lever-operated in 1892.
gauge: 5'0"
gauge: converted to 4'8 1/2", 1892
cars: single-ended dummy and trailer trains.
cars: converted to single-ended California cars, 1892.
turntables: single track turntable at Market/Kearney end. "Y" track switched by horse at 5th Avenue terminal.
crossings:
| Intersection | Company | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Geary/Powell | FCH | superior |
| Geary/Jones | CSC | superior |
| Geary/Larkin | SSR | inferior |
notes:Geary Street, like Sutter Street, did not have any major hills.
The San Francisco Chronicle once called
it a "low-grade cable line..." I was offended till I figured out what they meant The 1892 extension replaced a steam dummy line which ran on Point Lobos Boulevard
(now Geary) and First Avenue (now Arguello Boulevard) to the park. During the reconstruction,
the steam trains ran on Arguello to allow people to reach the cemeteries from the
Market Street Railway's McAllister Street cable car line.
Read about the company's steam dummy service in
"When Steam Ran on The Streets of San Francisco, Part III,"
by Walter Rice and Emiliano Echeverria.
GSPO was one of the most profitable transit companies in the city.
Truth in advertising: The company reached the park, but never came near the ocean.
The company was partially owned by the Market Street Railway,
which changed the gauge and converted the grip with a plan to run cars on Market to
the Ferry. This never happened.
The company built a carbarn at Geary and Arguello 1898; the building still stands.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway did not purchase the building
when it took over the company. The building had been used mostly as a car dealership.
The upstairs area was leased by Muni for use as a bus garage in the 1930's. In 1997, the
building became a large office supply store.
Cable car operations resumed within a few months after
the earthquake and fire in 1906.
The GSPO was the least damaged line in the city. Here are two San Francisco Chronicle
articles about the return of the cable cars:
San Francisco voters approved a Municipal Railway on Geary Street in
1909. The GSPO was taken over by city in 1912. The last cable cars ran
12-May-1912. Here are two San Francisco Chronicle articles about
the last of the cable cars:
The cable line was replaced by the first electric streetcar lines of the
San Francisco Municipal Railway -- the A and B.
The Geary streetcar lines still operating -- the B and C -- were in turn replaced in
December 1956 by the 38 Geary motor coach line.
Go to top of page.
P. 233
Geary Street, Park and Ocean (Cable)
R.R. Co. operates 5 miles of road, and owns 15 cars. Daniel
Meyer, Pres., R. F. Morrow, Vice-Pres., John M. Syne,
Sec., S. C. Bigelow, Treas., H. D. Morton, Supt.,
-- GENERAL OFFICE, San Francisco, Cal.
Here is the Geary Street Railroad Company's listing in the February, 1903
Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company San Francisco phone
directory:
Bush 117. Geary St. R. R. Co., Gen. Ofcs., Crocker Bldg.
Dedicated volunteers at
San Francisco Genealogy
typed in every page of the book.
Go to top of this page.
Go to SF cable car lines in detail.
Geary Street Park and Ocean Railway profile
(Source:
Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering
Record (LC-HABS/HAER) HAER,CAL,38-SANFRA,137-1)
Geary Street, Park and Ocean's original powerhouse at Geary and
Buchanan. Geary is at the left and Buchanan is at the top (Source:
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, San Francisco,
1893, Vol 4, Sheet 95a).
Geary Street, Park and Ocean's carbarn at Geary and
First (now Arguello). Geary is at the left and First is at the bottom (Source:
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, San Francisco,
1899, Vol 4, Sheet 413).
Former GSPO car barn at Geary and Arguello. November 2001. Photo by Joe Thompson.
Photograph of the intersection of Geary and Market Streets before 1892. A Geary Street
train is visible on the left. Several Market Street cars are visible. Lotta's Fountain was
donated to the city by actress Lotta Crabtree in 1875. It is the site of the yearly meeting
to commemorate the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.
(Source: The Barbary MUSH Photo Archive)
Geary Street cars run amid the ruins near Union Square in December, 1906.
(Source: [group 5:40], Roy D. Graves Pictorial Collection, ca. 1850-ca.
1968, BANC PIC 1905.17500--ALB, The Bancroft Library, University of
California, Berkeley). June, 2006 Picture of the Month.
Geary Street steam train with dummy locomotive 2 at Central and Geary,
where it connected with Geary Street cable cars.
Cemeteries in the background.
(Source: San Francisco
Public Library, San Francisco Historical Photograph
Collection, AAB-7891). February, 2005 Picture of the Month.
from Poor's Directory of Railway Officials, 1887
Hello Central, Give Me the GSP&O