The San Francisco call., 1899-12-06
MAKING READY
FOR SANTA r
FREIGHT CARS
How They Will Reach
the City.

The busy life Of the water front will
receive another marked boom when the
Santa Fe freight traffic directly reaches
san Francisco early next year. There
VIII be big transformation in the ap-
pearance Of the front in the neighborhood
or Main-street wharf, where the Santa &c
freight terminus has been located, and
the life of a big freight depot will be
strung daily by scores OF trucks along
south-of-Market streets.
Ihe Santa Fe authorities and the Har-
Dor commissioners are driving the work
or getting the wharves and docks as
signed TO the company ready for use, and
for several days the work OF clearing the
depot block bounded by Bryant, Spear,
Main and Harrison streets of buildings,
grading for tracks and getting the
freight depot building into shape has
gone rapidly on.
brought from the bay terminus at Point
richmond TO tho city on big ferry-boats
ike the Thoroughfare and Transit Of the
SSoutnern Pacific system Instead, car
noatS, or big barges with cartracks laid
on them and hauled by strong tugboats
VIII be used. Such car floats are used
elsewhere, but will be new out here. TWO
noats and one tugboat will be ready for
work when the line is ready. The floats
will be long and narrow, with length Of
24O feet. Each will have three tracks, the
the center one OF five.
The work of remodeling the wharf and
building the slip for the floats is Well
along. The tugboat will shove a float
into a slip, where an apron loo feet long
will connect with the front end Of the
float and over which yard engine will
pass the cars. Two tracks will lead from
the slip across Bryant street to the depot
block.
On this block the old rookeries and
waterfront grog shops have all disap-
peared. The only building left standing
is big two-story brick warehouse 137 by
275 feet in size on the corner OF Harrison
and Spear streets, and out Of this the
freight depot building is now being made
Big doors are being broken into the sides,
where trucks will receive and deliver
freight. Four tracks will run the length
OF the ground floor. with a narrow plat
form along the center and a broad one
along each side.
1t has been supposed along the front
that the whole block would be rooted, but
for the present no buildings will be erected
and the rest of the space in the block,
which is 275 by $50 feet in size, will be
largely filled with sidetracks along which
team tracks will run and from which
much unloading and loading of cars will
be done. There will also be a derrick
track, where heavy goods may be handled
with a derrick.
This is the extent and style of the San
Ia Fe freight terminal now. The company
also owns fragment of the water front
block on the corner of Harrison and Spear
streets, Dut IL Will not De utilized until Oc-
casion requires. The Harbor Commits
sioners do not expect that the company
will ever utilize the China Basin conces-
sion. This one block looks small for a
transcontinental freight terminus when
compared with the Southern Pacific yards,
but whatever the Santa Fe people expect
to do in the future about more room when
IT is needed they are keeping TO them
selves.
The Santa Fe people now want TO make
Main street wharf their ocean steamship
terminal as we'll. They have asked the
Harbor Commission 10 roof the entire
wharf. which is $50 feet in length, and to
give them Its exclusive use. The matter
is still under consideration. but will prob
ably be done. The company wants to run
tracks from its depot grounds along the
length Of this wharf, which would be
bringing ship and car together in an ex-
ceptionally convenient way. This shows
that the Santa Fe. expects to do a large
/ trans Pacific business with its steamers
from this port. II ii gets the Main street
wharf its carloads of cotton can be
quickly placed at a steamers side and its
shiploads of tea and silk loaded directly
into ears,-which will be crossing the bay
after a few minutes switching.
When the Santa Fe starts it's freight
business in the city according to these
plans two long wharves and one dock and
half Of another, which are now daily
crowded with vessels. Will he subtracted
from the water front facilities. already
inadequate TO the general demand for
room.