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The Belt Line Roundhouse, Embarcadero
San Francisco's waterfront used to feature the six engine, 70-mile Belt Line Railroad. Completed in 1891, this terminal switching railroad was dedicated to moving boxcars directly alongside the ocean-going vessels on the waterfront. The railroad operated at its peak during World War II, hauling supplies and soldiers from the transport docks to the Presidio military base. Many of those operations were carried out during blackout conditions at night. The railroad's roundhouse shown above served as a car barn, repair shop, and turnaround. The Belt Way Railroad ceased operation in the late 1970s and the roundhouse was converted to office space in 1984. Today it still features the original train bay numbers and train tracks leading into it.
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