For the 50th anniversary of the 200th anniversary, the Western Railway Museum BART team recently installed commemorative decals on 1164, the first new decals to be placed on the cars (with more decals currently in progress).

Also note the now lit up faregate direction arrow.

Today Arthur Mac’s, a local pizza, beer, and wings place, received BART A2 car 1203, part of their upcoming downtown Hayward location.

As per my records, A2 car 1203 was originally built by Rohr as A car 203 (line number approximately 156) and delivered to BART on March 19, 1973 (alongside A car 204). For most of the first half of 1973, Rohr delivered only A cars and 203 was one of over 80 A cars delivered during that timeframe. There’s not too much to say about the car during the first 30 years of service. It was “just another” A car roaming around the Bay Area, running on every line and stopping at every station.

Once again, the 1203 was another A2 car of the fleet, roaming around the system and racking up millions of miles and millions of riders. By 2023, the car reached 50 years of revenue service and one year later, it was among the final legacy cars in service, being part of the first of three trains to depart MacArthur station on the final run of the legacy fleet on 4/20/2024.

Joining a small fleet of cars with similar fates, the 1203 was assigned a new role instead of scrap – this one in particular was slated to become part of the new Hayward location of the Arthur Mac’s pizza joint. Slightly over two years later, today, May 7, 2026, the car left Hayward Yard to begin its next chapter.

The car left Hayward shop shortly before 9 am and arrived in downtown Hayward shortly afterwards – among the quickest trips for a retired legacy car.

A small contingent of the WRM team/bartchives was on scene to watch the departure and placement into the site, followed by checking out the car with the owners and contractors. The first step was to return BART-loaned equipment and as seen with the three WRM cars, we guided the contractor in removing the J hooks and blocks used to secure the car’s trucks – which were then returned back to the shop. Further inspection and knowledge-sharing included info on the side doors, best practices for HVAC decommissioning, facets of carborne ATC, and car electrical system info. Sierra Train House was also on scene for the delivery and at this rate, there is a small community of people with old BART cars – only the Bay Area would be cool enough to do something like that.

Overall, the car is in good condition (mind the damaged diffusers) and shows much promise for reuse. Ideas abound on modifications to the car to make it ready for arcade games and showcasing the history of BART its technology. Stay tuned for more exclusive updates on the 1203 in its new role alongside the other surviving legacy cars.

-ATP 5/7/26

The A car (1164) will have displays on BART test and repair equipment.

The B car (1834) will have displays of various BART things, including tickets, car parts and tools, maintenance equipment, and more. It will also have an HO scale model railroad of BART. I heard you like BART so we put a BART train in a BART train so you can BART while you BART.

The C car (329) will have a video theater and posters of BART’s history, including plenty from the 1990s expansions.

The cars are partially open to visitors when the museum is open, upon request. The BART team is usually at the museum once every other week. All we ask is to be mindful that the displays are still in progress and to not remove anything from the cars. We are planning a grand opening event in September 2026. Stay tuned for more details.

Additional side projects include assisting others that got (or will get) BART cars, including the Sierra Train House and Scraper Bike team.

Progress on the Legacy Fleet book continues, with the final data gathering efforts wrapping up in the coming months followed by a writing phase throughout the summer.

For a few times in 2023, BART allowed trains to run under Performance Level 1, maximum performance allowing revenue trains to reach almost 80 mph. One such time was right after the end of scheduled legacy fleet service in September 2023.

Here, this southbound train is passing over Washington Ave in San Leandro, between San Leandro station and Bay Fair Station. The late-running train received a PL1 in an attempt to catch up to the schedule, reaching 78 mph as seen in this picture taken from outside the cab.

PL1 usage ended shortly thereafter due to weather conditions and power concerns.

The first four Fleet of the Future D cars were pilot cars made to test the Fleet of the Future design before production. They have been extensively modified and rolled in revenue service. At least three of them remain in revenue service, and here is an update on all four of these cars for 2025.

Car 3001 has the distinction of being the first complete Fleet of the Future car. Nicknamed “Sandy” the car is quite a common sight on Green line trains. Here is Sandy on a Green line train to Berryessa on September 25, 2025, at Coliseum station.

Here is Sandy again at West Oakland, the trail car of a peak-commute 8 car Green line train on October 30, 2025.

Car 3002 is seen here on a Red line train to Millbrae on October 3, 2025, at MacArthur station.

Also at MacArthur, here is 3003 on a Yellow line train on June 5, 2025.

It appears 3004 has not been in service this year. Here is a picture of it back in March 2024, midtrain on a Yellow line train.

D car 3042 was the 103rd Fleet of the Future car built and entered service in November 2019. For those first few months of service, it was a mostly unremarkable run-of-the-mill D car.
 
During 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, BART reduced service and emphasized social distancing at stations and on trains. The District laid out 15 steps to encourage ridership recovery and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Step 4 was “The newer BART cars may have some seats rearranged to make it easier for riders to spread out and harder to transmit the virus.”
 
To test out this idea, D car 3042 became the pilot car with all sideways (all longitudinal) seats.

BART picture of 3042 in the shop before entering service. To note, the seating configuration changed a few times.

D car 3042 reentered service in summer 2020 with the new seating mod. It was in service on the opening day of Milpitas and Berryessa stations in June 2020.

It appears there were about 39 seats in the 2020/2021 configuration, which were later reduced to about 36 seats due to the replacement of the bike rack and installation of a second one in 2022.

The car was in regular revenue service through part of 2024 and as of 2025 appears to be relegated to non-revenue activities, assisting in the testing of new train control equipment.

BART records record the date receipt of the final Rohr A/B car a half century ago, on July 31, 1975. The car with the honors was 276, built as part of the final order for 26 A (#251-276) cars and 74 B (#701-774) cars bringing the fleet size to about 450 cars as outlined in the 1962 composite report.

The fourth, final order of Rohr cars were built during a time of significant unreliably with the fleet, and as such the A cars were delivered without ATO equipment. The Board of Directors even rejected a Westinghouse contract to supply the 26 cars with ATO equipment and the cars were stored after delivery. With A to B conversions (800 series), the cars eventually entered service in the latter half of the 1970s with the last A car being 253 in August 1979.

Here is a BART photo of 276 in the yard in the latter half of the 1990s/very early 2000s.

The 276 lasted until 2001, in which it was rebuilt by ADtranz into A2 car 1276.  After about 22 more years of service, it was retired in November 2023 and scrapped, making it the 558th Legacy Car to meet the end of the line.

The Western Railway Museum’s BART Legacy Fleet has reached its milestone of the first car available for public inside viewing – C1 car 329 is now available and open to the public during guided Carbarn 3 Tours.
 
Since its arrival at the Museum in October 2024, the car has received a host of TLC. Work on the car includes:

• Upgrading car auxiliary electrical systems to run off Carbarn power (instead of 1000 volt third rail power and the car’s inverter)
• Replacing burnt out light bulbs (exterior trouble light and headlights)
• Replacing graffitied mylar window film with new film
• Replacing selected ads with ads from the 1980s/1990s (when the car first entered service)
• Cleaning the car, including replacing dozens of heavily tagged and etched seats, stained doors, ceilings, and more.
• Modifying doors to prevent visitors from falling out the non-walkway side, and from getting locked out/in from the walkway side.
• Replacing broken parts and currently working on replacing and crafting replacement pieces.

 
However, the car will always be a work in progress, so please understand not everything has been repaired and replaced. The car is cleaner than when it exited service in May 2023, so it’s still worthy of a visit.
 
The car is available under a docent-led tour of Carbarn 3 at the Western Railway Museum. I can’t guarantee there will be a docent available for this tour every day the museum is open. However, please feel free to contact me and I will tell you when I will be at the museum next.
 
Currently, I will be at the museum on June 29th (Sunday).

And of course, I want to cordially thank everyone who has helped out at the museum, especially those that have worked on prepping the cars for delivery and that recent stretch to making them accessible. It has been an excellent example of teamwork and dedication, leveraging many different talents from several people to complete numerous key items, such as crafting custom dollies to deliver the cars, upgraded car electrical systems to ensure decades of reliable performance, and cleaned and repaired the car to ensure the 329 is the finest remaining example of a fully-complete BART C car.
 
In addition, I want to thank the BART employees that have helped the museum preserve these cars, extending an unparalleled level of support in ensuring that the legacy fleet is preserved in full, not just through three cars, but an extensive collection of parts, tools, equipment, signage, and many other things, that help the museum maintain the fleet and capture the overall world that the legacy fleet ran in.

Progress Made and Work Remains with the BART Legacy Fleet preserved at the Western Railway Museum.

Dear friends,
Today, April 20, 2025, we reach the one-year anniversary of the Final Run of the Legacy Fleet. This post will take a look back at the year behind us and a brief glimpse of what lies ahead. This is an exclusive look at the final months of the legacy fleet, available only here and in the upcoming book, Legacy Fleet: The Story of BART’s Old Cars.

Decommissioning in late 2023/early 2024
After the final scheduled run on 9/10/2023, the legacy fleet was retired from “scheduled” service. A steady flow of B cars had been scrapped in the months prior, alongside some wrecked A cars (e.g. 1204).
With their removal from scheduled service and the impending roll-out of a new radio, destined for only a handful of cars, the decommissioning program continued now with a mixture of A and B cars. The first of the A cars to be scrapped as end-of-life without a career-ending incident was 1233 on October 4, 2024. For a period of time, car decommissioning was almost random, outside of a radio mod or other restricting holding the car back (e.g. 1164 was slated for preservation).
 
A total of 9 A2 cars were decommissioned in October, followed by 17 in November, 11 in December, 2 in January 2024, and 3 in February 2024 – a total of 42 cars. These were the “great months of the A car scrapping.” After the decommissioning of the 1742 on February 16, 2024, the decision was made to hold on to the remaining fleet of 13 A cars and 22 B cars (and of course the C car for WRM) until after the final ceremonial run of the legacy fleet.

Unscheduled legacy trains in service
By and large, at least one legacy train was out in service almost every day to every other day, from September 11, 2023 to March 2, 2024 – serving as the ready reserve train pressed into service. The last legacy fleet train I rode was on the Blue Line on February 22, 2024 - 1235, 1584, 1759, 1760, 1817, 1164
Of historical note, 1235 was the final legacy car sent to the scrapyard (that was not previously selected for any post-BART use), 1759 is used as an Earthquake shake testing car in a lab in Richmond, 1760 was used as a fire department training car after decommissioning, and 1164 is of course preserved by the Western Railway Museum. Fittingly, 1164 was the final legacy car I rode in true revenue service.
The week after, on the 2/23, 2/24, and 2/27, I saw: 1257, 1587, 1580, 1897 (Zoho), 1605, 1259 on the Transfer Tracks at Hayward Yard.

Final Run on 4/20/2024
April 20, 2024, was the final day of the Legacy Fleet in service, the final ceremonial run. It was a whole event, with some 3,000 people in attendance. Trains were as follows:
The first train to depart was train 104 with the following cars:
1212, 1897, 1607, 1738, 1259 (Bay Fair end)
 
The second legacy train to depart MacArthur was train 100 with the following cars:
1203, 1760, 1759, 1584, 1834, 1890, 1515, 1580, 1911, 1269 (Fremont end)
 
The third and final legacy train to depart MacArthur was train 102 with the following cars:
1260, 1587, 1548, 1721, 1501, 1857, 1596, 1512, 1869, 1241 (Fremont end).
 
More details are available on the page: Final Run

Home Stretch of Scrapping
After the joyful sendoff, the final work was left in decommissioning the last cars of the fleet – those final 13 A cars and 22 B cars (and of course the C car).
A total of 27 cars were sent to the scrapyard – 1605 and 1817 were sent over on April 26, 2024, and a steady flow continued until 1235 and 1587 were sent over on May 21, 2024.
 
Here is a picture of an entire train’s worth of cars being scrapped (left to right): 1219, 1512, 1596, 1878, 1241. And to boot, 1257 and 1760 are laying in the back behind these cars.
 
The final BART legacy cars to reach end-of-life decommissioning were a group of 5 cars on the week of May 20, 2024 – one month after the final run. The last car to be decommissioned was #1235.

Not all cars were scrapped
The Legacy Fleet was aptly named. No other rapid transit system in the world used aluminum bodied cars for frontline service for over 50 continuous years, and, arguably, no other rapid transit cars represented such a forward-looking concept of post-WWII public transportation. It was only fitting that a few select cars lived on, in one form or another.
The full page of the legacy fleet after BART is available on this website too, with details on each car and its intended use. As of April 20, 2025, the following cars have been sent out for new lives:

The 1759 was sent out for earthquake shake tests on August 2, 2024. This car is being used to test ballast stability and aerial structures and the stability of the car.

Western Railway Museum
1164, 1834, 329
 
The Western Railway Museum preserves the history of electric railways throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. These innovative cars have earned a place in the museum – representing the Bay Area’s bold attempt to bring public transit back to everyday life.
The WRM is the only place to have a complete legacy train, with full trainline. The 1164 arrived on August 9, 2024, the 1834 on September 11, and the 329 on October 4. Oddly enough, September 11, 1972 was BART’s opening day and October 4 is 10-4 (“message received”).
The exterior of the cars is viewable as part of Carbarn 3 tours at the WRM. Currently, we are working on the interior with modifications to car electrical systems to have them lit up without 1000v third rail power. Progress is in full swing and the cars are not currently accessible for the public. Stay tuned though, because they may have a BART preview day where everyone can check out the cars in September 2025.

Sierra Train House, a short-term rental house with a BART car, received their 1234 on March 14, 2025. This car has a new home in Jamestown in the foothill of the Sierras and their project is also underway with an opening sometime late this year or into 2026.

The Oakland Ballers received their car earlier this week. The 1253 was initially set up for the Oakland A’s but they abandoned that plan just like they abandoned Oakland. This new hometown team will convert their 1253 into a concessions stand at their field in West Oakland.

Of course, 323 was the first BART car in this century to be sent somewhere other than the scrapyard, a partially complete C car in Hayward sent out in December 2022. It is being used as a fire training prop.

A few more A cars are awaiting their fate. Stay tuned for those updates as the months continue.

Have a wonderful Easter.
-ATP

Today the WRM BART car crew continued progress on the preserved BART cars by adding an original Hughes Airwest ad from the 1970s (amazingly one was found for sale, and purchased for the display), cleaning the car, and a few other mods.

Additional work focused on the LED lighting conversion and cleaning A car 1164.

As a reminder, the car interiors are not yet ready for public display. We are currently working on car electrical systems and cleaning the cars. The plan is to have a preview day sometime in September, depending on progress. Stay tuned for more information on the "BART Preview Day" at the Western Railway Museum over the coming months.