History Repeated

HISTORIANS MOSTLY AGREE that the passenger rail service between San Rafael and Tiburon ended sometime before 1910, or roughly 104 years ago. But 52 years ago this month — July 28, 1962, to be exact — an aberration occurred when the Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society arranged an “excursion day.” According to the Landmark Society’s current archivist, David Gotz, “They had four Pullman cars barged over from San Francisco, then scheduled three passenger excursions to San Rafael and back that cost $3 for adults, $2 for students and $1.50 for children.” In the above photo, the special-for-the-day train is passing over Tiburon Boulevard utilizing a 752-foot-long wooden trestle built in 1884 when trains first came to Tiburon. In 1967, local rail service (at this point it was only freight service) ceased completely, and today only a few timbers remain on what was once the trestle’s berm above Blackie’s Pasture.