Editing Key System

{{Short description|Former local electric railway service in the East Bay}}
{{Other uses|Key system (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Public transit
| box_width       = 280px
| name            = Key System
| image           = Key System logo.svg
| imagesize       = 250px
| image2          = 
| imagesize2      = 
| caption2        = 
| owner           = 
| area served     = 
| locale          = [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]]
| transit_type    = [[Interurban]] [[Tram|Streetcar]]
| lines           = 
| stations        = 
| ridership       = 
| annual_ridership = 
| headquarters    = [[Security Bank and Trust Company Building|Key System Building]]<br />1100 Broadway<br />[[Oakland, California]]
| began_operation = 1903
| ended_operation = (streetcar service) 1948 (commuter train service) 1958 (bus service) 1960
| operator        = 
| character       = Mixed grade separated and at-grade [[street running]]
| vehicles        = 
| train_length    = 
| system_length   = {{convert|66|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| track_gauge     = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}<ref name="LRV Specs">{{Cite web |title=San Francisco LRV Specifications |url=http://www.ansaldobredainc.com/images/stories/san_francisco_light_rail.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923172341/http://www.ansaldobredainc.com/images/stories/san_francisco_light_rail.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |access-date=March 3, 2013 |publisher=Ansaldobreda }}</ref>
| el              = {{600 V DC|conductor=overhead}}<br />[[Third rail]] on Bay Bridge
| average_speed   = 
| top_speed       = 
| map             = 
| map_state       =
}}

The '''Key System''' (or '''Key Route''') was a privately owned company that provided [[mass transit]] in the cities of [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], [[Alameda, California|Alameda]],<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20030621/ai_n14551761 Old Alameda's transit system was less confusing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612165632/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20030621/ai_n14551761/ |date=June 12, 2009 }}</ref> [[Emeryville, California|Emeryville]], [[Piedmont, California|Piedmont]], [[San Leandro, California|San Leandro]], [[Richmond, California|Richmond]], [[Albany, California|Albany]], and [[El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California|El Cerrito]] in the [[East Bay (California)|eastern]] [[San Francisco Bay Area]] from 1903 until 1960, when it was sold to a newly formed public agency, [[AC Transit]]. The Key System consisted of local [[streetcar]] and [[bus]] lines in the East Bay, and commuter rail and bus lines connecting the East Bay to [[San Francisco]] by a ferry pier on [[San Francisco Bay]], later via the lower deck of the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge|Bay Bridge]]. At its height during the 1940s, the Key System had over {{convert|66|mi|km}} of track. The local streetcars were discontinued in 1948 and the commuter trains to San Francisco were discontinued in 1958. The Key System's territory is today served by [[BART]] and [[AC Transit]] bus service.

== History ==
=== Early years ===
[[File:Key Pier (cropped).jpg|thumb|Key Pier, 1909]]
The system began as a consolidation of several streetcar lines assembled in the late 1890s and early 1900s by [[Francis Marion Smith|Francis Marion "Borax" Smith]] and his business interests. After having made a fortune in Borax and gained his nickname, "Borax", the entrepreneur turned to real estate and electric traction for streetcars. The Key System was founded as the '''San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose Railway (SFOSJR)''', incorporated in 1902. After consolidating local lines under one company, Smith sought to compete with the [[Southern Pacific]] commuter ferry market as well as develop new [[streetcar suburb]]s in the [[East Bay]]. The troubled [[California & Nevada Railroad]] had begun construction of a ferry pier in Oakland, but its plans were never realized. Smith purchased the railroad in order to gain access to its right of way and waterfront operations, as well as use the abandoned pier as a starting point for [[Key System Mole|his own passenger mole]].<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=14}}</ref>

Transbay service began on October 26, 1903,<ref>{{cite news |title=Key Route is a great success |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-berkeley-gazette/135353152/ |access-date=17 November 2023 |newspaper=The Berkeley Gazette |via=Newspapers.com |date=October 28, 1903 |page=1}}</ref> with a four-car train carrying 250 passengers, departing [[Downtown Berkeley, California|downtown Berkeley]] for the [[Ferries of San Francisco Bay|ferry to San Francisco]].<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=17–21}}</ref> Before the end of 1903, [[Frank C. Havens]], the general manager of the SFOSJR, devised the idea of using a stylized map on which the system's routes resembled an old-fashioned key, with three "handle loops" that covered the cities of Berkeley, Piedmont (initially, "Claremont" shared the Piedmont loop) and Oakland, and a "shaft" in the form of the Key pier, the "teeth" representing the ferry berths at the end of the pier. The company touted its 'key route', which led to the adoption of the name "Key System".<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=12}}</ref>

In 1908, the SFOSJR changed its name to the '''San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Consolidated Railway'''; it changed to the '''San Francisco-Oakland Terminal Railway''' in 1912. Smith was ousted from the company in 1913.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=40–41}}</ref> After it went bankrupt in December 1923, it was re-organized as the '''Key System Transit Co.''', adopting a marketing concept as the name of the company.

[[File:1909 Key System, oakland (cropped).jpg|thumb|A Key System train in Emeryville, 1909, heading west to the Mole, entering the underpass ("subway") under the mainline of the Southern Pacific under construction.]]
Following the Great [[Crash of 1929]], a holding company called the '''Railway Equipment & Realty Co.''' was created, with the subsidiary Key System Ltd running the commuter trains. In 1938, the name became the '''Key System'''.

During [[World War II]], the Key System built and operated the [[Shipyard Railway]] between a transfer station in Emeryville and the [[Kaiser Shipyards]] in Richmond.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=112–117}}</ref>

[[File:Architect and engineer (1933) (14781438192).jpg|thumb|left|The new ferry terminal on the Key System Mole in 1933. The old ferry terminal and the end of the mole had been destroyed by a fire and explosion earlier in the year.]]

=== National City Lines era ===
{{See also|Great American Streetcar Scandal}}
[[National City Lines]] acquired 64% of the stock in the system in 1946.<ref name="ctc03">{{Cite web |title=Traffic Engineers vs. Transit Patrons |url=http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc03.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204194934/http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc03.html |archive-date=February 4, 2012}}</ref>

The same year E. Jay Quinby hand published a document exposing the ownership of National City Lines ([[General Motors]], [[Firestone Tire]], and [[Phillips Petroleum]]). He addressed the publication to ''The Mayors; The City Manager; The City Transit Engineer; The members of The Committee on Mass-Transportation and The Tax-Payers and The Riding Citizens of Your Community''. In it he wrote "This is an urgent warning to each and every one of you that there is a careful, deliberately planned campaign to swindle you out of your most important and valuable public utilities–your Electric Railway System".<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2003 |title=Paving the Way for Buses – The Great GM Streetcar Conspiracy Part II – The Plot Clots |url=http://www.baycrossings.com/dispnews.php?id=422 |website=Bay Crossings |quote=E. Jay Quinby, a mercurial rail fan, former electric traction employee, retired Lieutenant Commander in the Navy (World War II), and home builder of a battery-powered electric Volkswagen. His contribution to this story was to hand publish and expose the owners of National City Lines (GM, Firestone, and Phillips Petroleum) and he addressed it to "The Mayors; The City Manager; The City Transit Engineer; The members of The Committee on Mass-Transportation and The Tax-Payers and The Riding Citizens of Your Community." In 1946, he sent his 36-page analysis, which began: "This is an urgent warning to each and every one of you that there is a careful, deliberately planned campaign to swindle you out of your most important and valuable public utilities–your Electric Railway System."}}</ref>

The new owners made a number of rapid changes. In 1946 they cut back the A-1 train route and then the express trains in 1947. The company increased fares in 1946 and then in both January and November 1947. During the period there were many complaints of overcrowding.<ref name="ctc05">{{Cite web |title=The Desired Result: Drive People to Drive |url=http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc05.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204194906/http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc05.html |archive-date=February 4, 2012}}</ref>

On April{{nbsp}}9, 1947, nine corporations and seven individuals (constituting officers and directors of certain of the corporate defendants) were [[Indictment#United States|indicted]] in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of California|Federal District Court of Southern California]] on two counts: '[[Conspiracy (civil)|conspiring]] to acquire control of a number of transit companies, forming a transportation [[monopoly]]' and 'Conspiring to monopolize sales of buses and supplies to companies owned by National City Lines'.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1951 |title=United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit |url=http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/770576 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608012144/http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/770576 |archive-date=June 8, 2008 |quote=On April 9, 1947, nine corporations and seven individuals, constituting officers and directors of certain of the corporate defendants, were indicted on two counts, the second of which charged them with conspiring to monopolize certain portions of interstate commerce, in violation of Section 2 of the Anti-trust Act, 15 U.S.C.A. §&nbsp;2.}}</ref> They were convicted of conspiring to monopolize sales of buses and supplies. They were [[Acquittal|acquitted]] of conspiring to monopolize the ownership of these companies.

In 1948 National City Lines proposed a plan to convert all the streetcars to buses.<ref name="ctc04">{{Cite web |title=The Fight to Save the Streetcars and Electric Trains |url=http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc04.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204194855/http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ctc04.html |archive-date=February 4, 2012}}</ref> They placed an advertisement in the local papers explaining their plan to 'modernize' and 'motorize' Line 14.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Newspaper ad (reduced from actual size) |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=January 23, 1948 |url=http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ad.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314081615/http://www.moderntransit.org/ctc/ad.html |archive-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref> The Oakland City Council opposed the plan by 5–3.<ref name=ctc03 /> The [[California Public Utilities Commission|Public Utilities Commission]] (PUC) supported the plan which included large fare increases.<ref name="ctc04" /> In October 1948, 700 people signed a petition with the PUC "against the Key System, seeking restoration of the bus service on the #70 Chabot Bus line".<ref name=ctc05 /> The city councils of Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro opposed the removal of street cars. The traffic planners supported removal of the streetcar lines to facilitate movement of automobiles.<ref name=ctc03 /> Local governments in the East Bay attempted to purchase the Key System, but were unsuccessful.

Streetcars were converted to buses during November/December 1948.<ref name=ctc04 />

In 1949 National City Lines, [[General Motors]] and others were convicted of conspiring to monopolize the sale of buses and related products to their subsidiary transit companies throughout the U.S.<ref>See appeals court ruling: [http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/770576 Altlaw.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608012144/http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/770576 |date=June 8, 2008 }}</ref>

Between 1946 and 1954 transbay fares increased from 20¢ to 50¢ (${{inflation|US|.2|1946|r=2}} to ${{inflation|US|.5|1954|r=2}} adjusted for inflation). Fares in this period were used to operate and for 'motorisation' which included streetcar track removal, repaving, purchase of new buses and the construction of bus maintenance facilities. Transbay ridership fell from 22.2{{nbsp}}million in 1946 to 9.8{{nbsp}}million in 1952.<ref name=ctc05 />

The Key System's famed commuter train system was dismantled in 1958 after many years of declining ridership as well by the corrupt monopolistic efforts of National City Lines. The last run was on April{{nbsp}}20, 1958.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mackey |first1=William |title=Buses Take Over On Bay Bridge Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/135407334/ |access-date=18 November 2023 |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |via=Newspapers.com |date=April 20, 1958 |page=17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=East Shore & Suburban Railway & other El Cerrito Railroad Chronology |url=http://www.elcerritohistoricalsociety.org/ecprintfiles/railchron.pdf |access-date=October 18, 2020 |publisher=[[El Cerrito, California|El Cerrito]] Historical Society}}</ref> In 1960, the newly formed publicly owned AC Transit took over the Key System's facilities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Two-County Transit Hands Over $7.5 Million for Key |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/135220604/ |access-date=15 November 2023 |newspaper=Martinez News-Gazette |via=Newspapers.com |date=September 30, 1960 |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/135220604/ 1]–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/martinez-news-gazette/135220719/ 2]}}</ref>

Most of the rolling stock was scrapped, with some sold to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Several streetcars, interurbans and bridge units were salvaged for collections in the United States. Of the large bridge units, three are at the [[Western Railway Museum]] near Rio Vista, California<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wrm.org/equipment/equipment.htm |title=WRM equipment roster}}</ref> while another is at the [[Orange Empire Railway Museum]] in southern California.

== System details ==
[[File:1926 Key System map.jpg|thumb|left|1926 map of the lines prior to the construction of the Bay Bridge]]
The initial connection across the Bay to San Francisco was by ferryboat via a causeway and pier ("[[mole (architecture)|mole]]"), extending from the end of Yerba Buena Avenue in [[Oakland, California]], westward 16,000 feet (4,900&nbsp;m) to a ferry terminal near [[Yerba Buena Island]]. Filling for the causeway had been started by a short-lived narrow-gauge railroad company in the late 19th century, the [[California and Nevada Railroad]]. "Borax" Smith acquired the causeway from the California and Nevada upon its bankruptcy.

On December 4, 1924, six people were killed in a train collision on the mole. On May 6, 1933, a major fire erupted on the pier end of the mole, consuming the ferry terminal building as well as gutting the ferryboat [[Peralta (ferry)|''Peralta'']].  The pier was subsequently reconstructed further south and a new terminal building erected.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Chamings |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/landmark-bay-bridge-reveals-vanished-site-19257500.php |title=Mysterious Google Maps mark under Bay Bridge reveals site of Bay Area disaster |website=SFGate |date=March 19, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 }}</ref>

The Key System operated a fleet of ferries between the Key Route Pier<ref>[http://collections.museumca.org/gallery.jsp?user_id=25 Exhibit Name: Trains of Oakland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827091252/http://collections.museumca.org/gallery.jsp?user_id=25 |date=August 27, 2006 }}, Oakland Museum of California</ref> and the San Francisco Ferry Building until January 15, 1939, when a new dual track opened on the south side of the lower deck of the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]], bringing Key System trains to the then-new [[Transbay Terminal]] in San Francisco's downtown. The bridge railway and Transbay Terminal were shared with the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]]'s [[East Bay Electric Lines|Interurban Electric]] and the [[Western Pacific Railroad|Western Pacific]]'s [[Sacramento Northern]] railroads.

The Key System's first trains were composed of standard wooden railroad [[Passenger car (rail)|passenger cars]], complete with [[Clerestory#Transportation|clerestory]] roofs. Atop each of these, a pair of [[pantograph (rail)|pantographs]], invented and manufactured by the Key System's own shops, were installed to collect current from overhead wires to power a pair of electric motors on each car, one on each truck (bogie).<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=16–17}}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |url=https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00764224&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D0764224.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F0764224%2526RS%3DPN%2F0764224&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page |country=US |number=764,224 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://archive.org/stream/streetrailwayjo241904newy#page/116/mode/2up |title=Street Railway Patents |journal=The Street Railway Journal |volume=24 |number=3 |date=July 16, 1904 |page=116 |via=Archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sappers|2007|pp=369 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rice|Echeverria|2007|pp=13, 16}}</ref>

The design of rolling stock changed over the years. Wood gave way to steel, and, instead of doors at each end, center doors were adopted.

The later rolling stock consisted of specially designed "bridge units" for use on the new bridge, articulated cars sharing a common central truck and including central passenger entries in each car, a forerunner of the design of most light rail vehicles today. Several of these pairs were connected to make up a train. Power pickup was via [[Pantograph (rail)|pantograph]] from overhead catenary wires, except on the Bay Bridge where a third rail pickup was used. The Key's trains ran on [[600VDC|600 volt direct current]], compared to the 1200 volts used by the SP commuter trains. The cars had an enclosed operator's cab in the right front, with passenger seats extending to the very front of the vehicle, a favorite seat for many children, with dramatic views of the tracks ahead.

The exterior color of the cars was orange and silver. Interior upholstery was woven reed seat covers in one of the articulated sections, and leather in the other, the smoking section. The flooring was [[linoleum]]. During WWII, the roofs were painted gray for aerial camouflage.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=105}}</ref> After acquisition by National City Lines, all Key vehicles including the bridge units were re-painted in that company's standard colors, yellow and green.

=== Transbay rail lines ===
[[File:1941 Key System map.jpg|thumb|1941 Key System map with a detail of the Transbay Terminal]]
{{Key System|collapse=y}}
Until the Bay Bridge railway began operation, Key commuter trains had no letter designation.<ref name=Demoro189-190 /> They were generally referred to by the principal street or district they served, though the Key System did not have any formal naming scheme outside of letter designations.<ref name=Demoro189-190 />
{| class=wikitable
!Line
!Name
!Notes
|-
|style="text-align:center"|A
|[[Downtown Oakland]]
|Was extended to 105th Avenue [[East Oakland, Oakland, California|East Oakland]] to near the [[San Leandro, California|San Leandro]] border on the East Bay Transit Company tracks along 14th Street in March 1941. Less than two weeks later in early April, the line was rerouted on its outer end over former Interurban Electric Railway trackage along Bond Street to Havenscourt.<ref name=Demoro104 /> Cut back to 12th and Oak in Oakland on October 29, 1950.<ref name=Demoro126>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=126}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|[[B (AC Transit)|B]]
|Lakeshore and Trestle Glen
|Originally ran through a Key hotel, the [[Key Route Inn]] at Grand and Broadway in Oakland; the Inn burned down in the 1930s.
|-
|style="text-align:center"|[[C (AC Transit)|C]]
|Piedmont
|Via 40th Street and [[Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, California|Piedmont Avenue]]; alongside Pleasant Valley and Arroyo avenues; and between York Drive and Ricardo Avenue to terminus at Oakland Avenue. Originally terminated at Piedmont Avenue; extended to Oakland Avenue on November&nbsp;21, 1924.
|-
|style="text-align:center"|[[E (AC Transit)#History|E]]
|Claremont
|Ran directly to the [[Claremont Resort|Claremont Hotel]], terminating on a track between the two tennis courts; the tennis courts survive to this day
|-
|style="text-align:center"|[[F (AC Transit)|F]]
|Berkeley / Adeline Street
|Extended on former Southern Pacific interurban tracks on [[Shattuck Avenue]] beyond Dwight Way and through the SP's [[Northbrae Tunnel]], terminating at [[Solano Avenue]] and The Alameda
|-
|style="text-align:center"|G
|[[Westbrae, Berkeley, California|Westbrae]] Shuttle
|A streetcar shuttle providing a connection at University Avenue with the H transbay train. Replaced with bus service on July 26, 1941.<ref name=Demoro104>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=104}}</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:center"|H
|Monterey Avenue
|Originally known as the Sacramento Street Line, the original line ran up Hopkins, but was switched to the SP's old tracks up Monterey after 1933. Replaced with bus service on July 26, 1941.<ref name=Demoro104 />
|-
|style="text-align:center"|K
|College Avenue
|Streetcar shuttle providing a connection at Alcatraz Avenue and Adeline Street with the F transbay train. This line ran extra cars and was heavily used on football game days as its terminus was only a few blocks away from UC's Memorial Stadium. Replaced with bus service on September 30, 1946.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=122}}</ref>
|-
|}
D was reserved for a proposed line into [[Montclair, Oakland|Montclair]] alongside the [[Sacramento Northern]] interurban railway.<ref name=Demoro189-190>{{harvnb|Demoro2|1985|pp=189–190}}</ref> Shortly after opening of the Bay Bridge to train traffic, the Key System continued to use its pier for special service trains for ferry service to the 1939 [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] on Treasure Island{{nbsp}}— these were given the special designation "X". The service was discontinued at the end of the first year of the Exposition and not revived for the 1940 season.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro2|1985|pp=100–103}}</ref>

On September 13, 1942, a stop was opened at Yerba Buena Island to serve expanded wartime needs on adjacent Treasure Island.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|pp=111}}</ref>  It remained after the war until the end of all rail service on the Key System.

The A, B, C, E and F lines were the last Key System rail lines. Train service ended on April 20, 1958, replaced by buses using the same letter designations. AC Transit preserved the letter-designated routes when it took over the Key System two years later, and are still in use; AC Transit's B, C, E, F, G and H lines follow roughly the corresponding Key routes and neighborhoods.

=== East Bay Street Railways ===
[[File:1911 Key System map.jpg|thumb|left|1911 map showing the various streetcar and commuter train lines that would later become the Key System]]
The Key System's streetcars operated as a separate division under the name "{{visible anchor|Oakland Traction Company}}", later changed to "East Bay Street Railways. Ltd", and finally to "East Bay Transit Co.", reflecting the increasing use of buses. Initially a separate company, it was formed by the merger of six local street railroads.{{sfn|Walker|1978|p=7}}

The numbering of the streetcar lines changed several times over the years. The Key System's streetcars operated out of several carbarns. The Central Carhouse was on the east side of [[Lake Merritt]] on Third Avenue. The Western Carhouse was located at 51st and Telegraph Avenue in the [[Temescal, Oakland, California|Temescal]] District of Oakland. The Elmhurst Carhouse was in the east Oakland district of [[Elmhurst, Oakland, California|Elmhurst]], on East 14th (International Blvd.) between 94th and 96th Avenues. The Northern Carhouse was in [[Richmond, California|Richmond]] where today's [[AC Transit]] has a bus yard. In the early years of operation, these were supplemented by a number of smaller carbarns scattered throughout the East Bay area, many of them inherited from the pre-Key companies acquired by "Borax" Smith. The Key streetcars were originally painted dark green and cream white, then orange. They were re-painted in the green and yellow scheme of National City Lines after NCL acquired the Key System.<ref>{{harvnb|Sappers|2007}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref>

The Key System had ordered 40 [[Trolleybus|trolley coaches]] from [[ACF-Brill]] in 1945 to convert the East Bay trolley lines. The new NCL management canceled the Key's trackless program in 1946 before wire changes were made, and diverted the order (some units of which had already been painted for the Key and delivered to Oakland) to its own [[Los Angeles Railway|Los Angeles Transit Lines]], where they ran until 1963.<ref>{{harvnb|Walker|1977}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref> The last Key streetcars ran on November 28, 1948, replaced by buses.<ref>{{harvnb|Sappers|2007|pp=123–25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trolleys Go; Key Begins Zonal Fares |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-trolleys-go-key-begins/137159030/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=November 28, 1948 |location=Oakland, California |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune/137159252/ 8], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-trolleys-go-fares-raise/137159170/ 23]}}</ref>

====Lines====
{| class=wikitable
!Line
!Name
!Notes
|-
| 1 
| Oakland–105th Avenue
| Line south of Oakland established by the [[Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway]].
|-
| 2
| San Pablo
| Cut back to Ashby in 1933 with the start of the [[AC Transit Route 72|72 bus line]].<ref name=Bus1933>{{cite news |title=Bus Service To Richmond Will Start Tomorrow |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-bus-service-to-richmond/139070041/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=November 6, 1933 |location=Oakland, California |page=14}}</ref>
|-
| 3
| Grove
|-
| 4
| Shattuck
|-
| 5
| Telegraph
| Former [[Oakland Railroad Company]] route.
|-
| 6 
| College
| Abandoned September 30, 1946.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pylons on Broadway |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oakland-post-enquirer/135173568/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |newspaper=The Oakland Post Enquirer |date=September 13, 1946 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
|-
| 7
| Arlington
|
|-
| 8
| Elmhurst
| <ref name=Bus1933 />
|-
| 9
| 
| Discontinued 1933.<ref name=OT12041967>{{cite news |title='East End' Express Route Brings Rejoicing in Alameda |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-east-end-express-route/136687043/ |access-date=12 December 2023 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=December 4, 1967 |location=Oakland, California |page=23}}</ref>
|-
| 10
| Piedmont–Hopkins
| Designated as the A line before 1928.<ref name=Uniform1928>{{cite news |title=Key Adopts Uniform Car Line Marks |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-key-adopts-uniform-car-l/160879178/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=June 19, 1928 |location=Oakland, California |page=22}}</ref>
|-
| 11
| Oakland–38th Avenue
| Designated as the B line before 1928.<ref name=Uniform1928 />
|-
| 12
| Grand
| Designated as the C line before 1928.<ref name=Uniform1928 />
|-
| 14
| East 18th
| Designated as the H line before 1928.<ref>{{cite news |title=Key Changes Last Line to Numeral |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-key-changes-last-line-to/160879370/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=June 29, 1928 |location=Oakland, California |page=9}}</ref>
|- 
| 15
| 38th Avenue
| Abandoned March 31, 1946.<ref>{{cite news |title=Set 38th Ave. Motor Coaches |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oakland-post-enquirer/135173684/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |newspaper=The Oakland Post Enquirer |date=March 26, 1946 |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
|-
| 16
| Lakeshore-Park Boulevard
| Assigned the numeral 13 in 1928, but changed to 16 due to [[Triskaidekaphobia|backlash over the original number]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hoodoo No. '13' Banned as Key Symbol of Cars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-hoodoo-no-13-banned-a/160879045/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=July 5, 1928 |location=Oakland, California |page=21}}</ref>
|-
| 22
| Fruitvale Avenue
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked>{{cite news |title=10 Key Lines to be Marked by Numbers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oakland-post-enquirer-10-key-lines-t/160878898/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The Oakland Post Enquirer |date=January 1, 1929 |location=Oakland, California |page=9}}</ref>
|-
| 23
| 23rd Avenue
| Line established by the [[Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward Electric Railway]]. Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|-
| 24
| Dwight Way
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|-
| 25
| Park Avenue
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|-
| 26
| Ninetieth Avenue
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|-
| 27
| Cemetery
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|-
| 32
| 40th Street
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|- 
| 33
| Sacramento Street
| Given number designation in 1929.<ref name=10Marked />
|}

=== Related rail systems ===
*The Key System organized its freight business in 1929 as the Key Terminal Railway, Ltd. In 1938, the name was changed to the Oakland Terminal Rail''road'', Ltd. In 1943 the Oakland Terminal Railroad was jointly purchased by the [[Western Pacific Railroad]] and the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] and is now known as the [[Oakland Terminal Railway]].
*The [[East Shore and Suburban Railway]] (E&SR) was a formerly independent unit of the Key System which ran streetcar trains in [[Richmond, California|Richmond]], [[San Pablo, California|San Pablo]], and [[El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California|El Cerrito]]. Service to Oakland required a transfer to Oakland Traction Company trains at the County Line station and service to San Francisco required an additional transfer.
*See also the [[East Bay Electric Lines]]; another transbay commuter rail system operated by the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] in the East Bay until 1941.
*See also the [[Sacramento Northern]] Railroad, an interurban system running from Chico through Sacramento to Oakland which also used some of the Key System's trackage as well as the Key System's ferry pier, and later ran to the Transbay Terminal until 1941.

=== Other properties ===
From the beginning, the Key System had been conceived as a dual real estate and transportation system. [["Borax" Smith]] and his partner [[Frank C. Havens]] first established a company called the "Realty Syndicate" which acquired large tracts of undeveloped land throughout the East Bay. The Realty Syndicate also built two large hotels, each served by a San Francisco-bound train, the [[Claremont Resort|Claremont]] and the [[Key Route Inn]], and a popular amusement park in Oakland called [[Idora Park]]. Streetcar lines were also routed to serve all these properties, thereby enhancing their value. In its early years, the Key System was actually a subsidiary of the Realty Syndicate.  Berkeley's numerous paths, lanes, walks and steps, were put in place in many of the newly developed neighborhoods, often in the middle of a city block, so that commuters could walk more directly to the new train system. Berkeley's pathways are still maintained by local groups.

== Legacy ==

[[File:Key System 187.jpg|thumb|upright|Key System car #187 preserved at [[Western Railway Museum]].]]
[[File:Piedmont Avenue former train station.jpg|thumb|The former Key System train station on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland]]
Signs of the system still remain:

*The south wall of the lower level (today's eastbound lanes) of the [[Yerba Buena Tunnel]], connecting the two spans of the Bay Bridge, still contains the as-built "deadman holes", regularly spaced refuge bays into which railway workers could duck whenever a train came along.<ref>[http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/tollbridge/SFOBB/EastSpan/012024/MaterialsHandout/cd1/asbuilt/Yerba%20Buena%20Crossing%20%28Contract%20No.%2004-5%29.pdf State of California, Dept. of Public Works, Tunnel Section and Details, Yerba Buena Crossing, San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, June 1934, Sup. Drawing No. 19A, PDF p.28]</ref><ref name=findit>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/bay-area-key-system-transit-remembered-18214791.php |title=Key System was the Bay Area's original BART, and then it vanished. Here's how to find it. |newspaper=SF Gate |date=July 26, 2023 |first=Bill |last=Buchanan |access-date=July 27, 2023}}</ref>
*The eastern end of the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] sits on landfill which was added to the northern edge of the causeway which carried the Key System railbed to the ferry piers.<ref>[http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/Californiahighways/chpw_1933_dec.pdf "'Great Fill and Wall for Bay Bridge Approach", ''California Highways and Public Works'', Dec. 1933, p.13]</ref>
*The tunnel that Key System trains used to cross under the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific]] (now [[Union Pacific]] and [[Amtrak]]) tracks to the mole and later the Bay Bridge still exists. It is visible from the [[Alexander Zuckerman Bike Path]], the ramps of the Macarthur Maze, and at the southwest end of the Target store property in Emeryville, a locale that was once part of the Key System yards and shops.<ref>[https://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/661/Emeryville-Comes-of-Age-1930s-to-1960s "Emeryville Comes of Age – 1930s to 1960s", City of Emeryville]</ref><ref name=findit />
*A stretch of road in [[Albany, California|Albany]] that was built with a wide median for a planned extension (never constructed) of the "G" [[Westbrae, Berkeley, California|Westbrae]] line is named ''Key Route Boulevard''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2008/08/07/key-system-served-albany-commuters/ |title=Key system served Albany commuters |newspaper=East Bay Times |date=August 7, 2008 }}</ref>
*The Claremont Hotel, built by a Key System affiliate company, The Realty Syndicate, survives as the [[Claremont Resort]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003 |title="Claremont Hotel", Registration Form, National Register of Historic Places |url=http://www.claremontpreservationcoalition.org/uploads/5/3/1/6/53165937/nrhp_regstration_form_for_claremont_hotel_ocr-compressed4.pdf |website=Berkeley/Oakland Neighbors of the Claremont |pages=40–41}}</ref>  It was the terminus of the "E" transbay line.<ref>{{harvnb|Demoro1|1985|p=33}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Demoro2|1985|p=217}}</ref><ref name=findit />
*The Realty Syndicate Building at 1440 Broadway was built in 1912 and housed [["Borax" Smith]] and [[Frank C. Havens]]'s Realty Syndicate that created the Key System.<ref>{{harvnb|Allen|Clausen|2005|p=32}}</ref> It is listed on the National Historic Register.<ref>Downtown Historic Oakland – National Historic Register #98000813</ref>
*The Key System's subsequent administrative headquarters building, built as the [[Security Bank and Trust Company Building]] in 1914, exists at 1100 Broadway in downtown Oakland and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oakland California Landmarks |url=http://oaklandmarks.blogspot.com/ |access-date=April 2, 2010}} See also [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Alameda County, California]].</ref> The building suffered some damage in the [[1989 Loma Prieta earthquake]] and is as of June 2020 unoccupied, although there are plans for the building to be rehabilitated by a developer constructing a larger new building adjacent to it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://hoodline.com/2017/07/developer-hopes-to-restore-key-system-building-build-18-story-office-tower |title=Developer Hopes To Restore Key System Building, Build 18-Story Office Tower |publisher=Hoodline |date=July 11, 2017}}</ref><ref name=findit />
*A building which has been converted for restaurant use at 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland is the partial remnant of what was formerly a covered stop for trains on the C-line. (The tracks followed 40th Street, crossed Howe Street and curved through the parking lot behind Piedmont Avenue shops, then merged onto Piedmont Avenue at 41st Street and headed toward Pleasant Valley Avenue.) Old photos of the Key System are on the walls of the restaurant, as well as a partial mural (painted in 2005 and partially removed in 2014) of Key System images on one of its outside walls.<ref name=findit />
*The old Key System Piedmont shops building at Bay Place and Harrison is now a [[Whole Foods Market]] retail store. This building was originally built in 1890 as the powerhouse and car barn of the Piedmont Cable Car Co. In the 1920s, it was substantially remodeled and used as a [[Cadillac]] showroom which closed in the mid-1990s. The building sat vacant until 2003, when Whole Foods initiated a radical interior redesign while retaining and restoring much of the facade.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2013/12/05/site-of-oaklands-whole-foods-has-complex-history/ |title=Site of Oakland's Whole Foods has complex history |newspaper=East Bay Times |date=December 5, 2013}}</ref>
*The bus yards of today's AC Transit in Emeryville and Richmond were originally the bus yards of the Key System.  The Richmond yard was also previously the site of the Northern Carhouse of the Key streetcar system.<ref>[http://www.actransit.org/2017/01/27/ac-transit-hosts-grand-reopening-open-house-and-tour-of-richmond-division-3-bus-facility/ ''AC TRANSIT HOSTS GRAND REOPENING, OPEN HOUSE AND TOUR OF RICHMOND-DIVISION 3 BUS FACILITY'', AC Transit press release, January 27, 2017]</ref>
*Several streetcars and bridge trains from the Key System are preserved at the [[Western Railway Museum]] at Rio Vista Junction in [[Solano County, California|Solano County]], as well as a Bridge Unit at the [[Southern California Railway Museum]] in [[Perris, California]] and a streetcar at [[Seashore Trolley Museum]] in [[Kennebunk, Maine]].<ref>[http://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/pnaerc-query.pl?sel_allown=Key+System&match_target=&Tech=Yes&pagelen=200 "Key System in Preserved North American Electric Cars Roster"]. Retrieved on August 18, 2009.</ref>
*One of the 0-4-0 [[Steam locomotives]] used to push the trains during power outages is on display at the [[Redwood Valley Railway]]. It had a brief stint on the currently re-constructing [[Virginia and Truckee Railroad]] in [[Virginia City, Nevada]]. Here, the mountain grades proved too taxing for the little locomotive. It was later replaced by 2–8–0 Steam locomotive No. 29.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virginiaandtruckee.com/ |title=Virginia & Truckee |website=Virginiaandtruckee.com |access-date=2013-07-15}}</ref>
*Although built by the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], the Key System inherited the [[Northbrae Tunnel]] right-of-way, which it operated from 1942 through 1958. It was converted to street use and opened to auto traffic on December 15, 1962.<ref>[http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/Californiahighways/chpw_1963_marapr.pdf ''California Highways and Public Works'', March-April 1963, pp.61-64]</ref>
*Located at the former [[Oakland Army Base]] site, The Interurban Electric Railway Bridge Yard Shop Building, was used as a maintenance facility for the Key System electric trains. Today, the building is now known as the Bridge Yard Building and is used as a venue for events as part of the [[Judge John Sutter Regional Shoreline]]. A substation located at the site also provided electrical power to all the Key System trains.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=October 18, 2020 |title=Oakland's new Sutter Regional Shoreline park now open |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/park-it-oaklands-new-sutter-regional-shoreline-park-now-open |access-date=October 31, 2020 |newspaper=East Bay Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
*A footpath between York Drive and Ricardo Avenue, which provided access to the Holly Place stop on the C line, is still in use.<ref name=findit />
*Abandoned tracks on Louise Street and Poplar Street in Oakland, used by the A and B lines, were rebuilt in 1958 and used for freight until 1999.<ref name=findit />

== See also ==
* [[Ferries of San Francisco Bay]]
* {{C|Transportation in Oakland, California}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Annalee |last2=Clausen |first2=Edmund |title=Oakland |date=2005 |isbn=9780738530147 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Demoro |first=Harre W. |url=https://archive.org/embed/keyroutetransbay0000demo |title=The Key Route: Transbay Commuting by Train and Ferry, Part 1 |publisher=[[Interurban Press]] |year=1985 |isbn=0-916374-66-1 |series=Interurbans Specials |volume=95 |location=Glendale, California |ref={{harvid|Demoro1|1985}} }}
* {{Cite book |last=Demoro |first=Harre W. |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL2865715M/The_Key_Route |title=The Key Route: Transbay Commuting by Train and Ferry, Part 2 |publisher=[[Interurban Press]] |year=1985 |isbn=0-916374-68-8 |series=Interurbans Specials |volume=97 |location=Glendale, California |ol=2865715M |ref={{harvid|Demoro2|1985}} }}
* {{Cite book |last=Duke |first=Donald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwitPQAACAAJ |title=Bay Area Rapid Transit – East Bay Transit – Interurban Electric (SP) – Key System |publisher=[[Golden West Books]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-87095-115-7 |series=Electric Railways Around San Francisco Bay |volume=1 |location=San Marino, California}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=James H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkG2AAAACAAJ |title=Key System Gallery |publisher=Shade Tree Books |year=2006 |isbn=0-930742-30-3}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Rice |first1=Walter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MLwbXZc9NIC |title=The Key System: San Francisco and the Eastshore Empire |last2=Echeverria |first2=Emiliano |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7385-4722-0 |series=Images of Rail |location=Charleston, South Carolina}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_OM3AAAAIAAJ |title=From Shore to Shore: The Key Route |publisher=Peralta Associates |year=1948 |editor-last=Sappers |editor-first=Vernon J.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sappers |first=Vernon J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aP4kKAAACAAJ |title=Key System Streetcars: Transit, Real Estate and the Growth of the East Bay |publisher=Signature Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-930013-07-0 |location=Wilton, California}}
* {{Cite book |last=[[Dallas Walker Smythe|Smythe, Dallas Walker]]. |title=An Economic History of Local and Interurban Transportation in the East Bay Cities with Particular Reference to the Properties Developed by F. M. Smith |publisher=[[University of California]] |year=1937 |location=Berkeley}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Jim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEAfAQAAIAAJ |title=The Yellow Cars of Los Angeles |publisher=[[Interurban Press]] |year=1977 |isbn=0-916374-25-4 |series=Interurbans Specials |volume=43 |location=Glendale, California}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Jim |title=Key System Album |publisher=[[Interurban Press]] |year=1978 |isbn=0-916374-31-9 |series=Interurbans Specials |volume=68 |location=Glendale, California |ol=4742432M}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Attached KML |display=title,inline}}
;General
*[https://archive.org/details/0027_March_of_Progress_The_03_35_22_00 Archive.org], The Key System presents: The March of Progress (1945 documentary)
** [http://www.snowcrest.net/marnells/1945key.htm Snowcrest.net], Stills from the documentary<!-- *[http://www.trainvideodepot.com/Key_System_Empire_D-123.htm Trainvideodepot.com Commercial DVD detailing the history of the system] Commercial video???-->
*[http://www.oberail.org/ Oberail.org], Oakland Berkeley & Eastern
*[http://oaklandwiki.org/Key_System/ OaklandWiki.org], OaklandWiki – Key System description and system maps
*[[Historic American Engineering Record]] (HAER) documentation:
**{{HAER |survey=CA-228 |id=ca2553 |title=Sterling Street Substation, Near corner of Harrison and Second Streets, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA |photos=5 |data=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=CA-229 |id=ca2554 |title=Yerba Buena Island Substation, Adjacent to north side of bridge on Yerba Buena Island, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA |photos=2 |data=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=CA-231 |id=ca2556 |title=Oakland Substation, Foot of east span of bridge, Oakland, Alameda County, CA |photos=3 |data=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
**{{HAER |survey=CA-237 |id=ca2602 |title=Key Pier Substation, Foot of east end of bridge, Oakland, Alameda County, CA |photos=6 |data=5 |cap=1 |link=no}}
;Pictures
*[http://www.1100broadway.com/ 1100 Broadway], Proposed redevelopment of former headquarters building
*[http://www.modelsmith.com/thomas/streetcars/picts/key182-1.jpg ModelSmith.com], "Key System #182 sitting in the car barn at the Western Railway Museum", September 1990
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101019145226/http://alamedainfo.com/Key_System_Oakland_California_1954.jpg AlamedaInfo.com], A Key System bridge unit in Oakland, 1954
*[http://www.bayarearailfan.org/photogal/thumbnails.php?album=3 Bayarearailfan.org], A gallery of Key System images
*[http://www.keyrailpix.org/gallery2/main.php Keyrailpix.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327182212/http://www.keyrailpix.org/gallery2/main.php |date=March 27, 2007 }}, image gallery
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014420/http://collections.museumca.org/item_detail.jsp?id=59349 Museumca.org], Postcard: Key Route Pier
*[http://world.nycsubway.org/us/sf/keysystem.html NYCsubway.org], Images
*[http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4d5nd21c/?&query=Oakland=Mole&brand=oac CDlib.org], Photo: Key System train on Key Mole adjacent to new Bay Bridge, 1936
*[http://photogrammar.yale.edu/records/index.php?record=fsa2000005555/PP Key System train on the ramp to the Bay Bridge from the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco, 1939, Dorothea Lange photo]
*[https://wx4.org/to/foam/maps/2-Zukas/00rmaps/nca/1951KeySystemMap-UCB.pdf 1951 Map of Rail and Bus services]

{{Oakland, California}}
{{SFBAtransit}}

[[Category:Key System|*]]
[[Category:Defunct California railroads]]
[[Category:Electric railways in California]]
[[Category:Interurban railways in California]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transportation in California]]
[[Category:Defunct public transport operators in the United States]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in California]]
[[Category:History of Oakland, California]]
[[Category:History of Alameda County, California]]
[[Category:History of Contra Costa County, California]]
[[Category:Rail transportation in Oakland, California]]
[[Category:Transportation companies based in California]]
[[Category:History of San Francisco]]
[[Category:Public transportation in Alameda County, California]]
[[Category:Public transportation in Contra Costa County, California]]
[[Category:Public transportation in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1903 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in California]]