Final run of BART's first fleet of train cars

OAKLAND, Calif. - Saturday saw the last ride for the legacy fleet of BART trains. The day started with a festival at MacArthur Station that included food trucks, a raffle, activities for kids and pop-up merchandise for sale, all to commemorate the end of an era. 

This is the day for retiring the fleet and getting ready for the fleet of the future.

Hundreds of folks showed up for a final ride on the legacy trains; many wearing fashions with the local blue and white brand. 

Fifty-two years ago, BART cars were shiny and brand new. On Sept. 11, 1972, the first train pulled out of MacArthur station on a 45-minute trip that traveled 24 miles and ended at Fremont station. 

At Saturday’s event, Bevan Dufty, a member of the BART Board of Directors, addressed the crowd of rail and transit fans as part of the event.

 He said, "Today marks the retirement of BART’s legacy rail car fleet and an occasion that signifies the end of an era, and the beginning of a new chapter in our transit journey."

Wesley Hinkle is a thirteen-year-old rail and transit enthusiast. He’s a volunteer at the Western Train Museum, which hopes to obtain three of the legacy trains for its museum in Suisun City. 

Hinkle said, "Unfortunately, it’s very disappointing that this will be their last run, but what’s very special is that we’re going to experience these cars for the last time for their final hurrah, their final sendoff." 

The celebration of old and new BART trains also saw a large turnout of legacy employees. 

Current and former employees showed up to the event, a few in the uniforms they wore throughout their careers. Many volunteers in yellow vests directed riders onto trains. 

Jay Bolcik worked for 25 years as an operator and station agent. He was proud to serve the agency and shared that BART has managed to stay on track, even with changes in the Bay.

Bolcik said, "Well, society is changing, and the normal 9 to 5 commute is not what it was. It's going to have to innovate. It keeps showing people why BART is the better choice for getting around the Bay Area."

Eric Raleigh of Oakland remembers taking the train as a child from Lake Merritt to the Coliseum by himself. As a train operator for twenty-two years, he acknowledges a lot has changed at BART since he’s been employed.   

He said, "Technology has definitely changed. And passengers, of course, COVID changed a lot. As far as the new trains are concerned, they’re state-of-the-art, everything is software-driven now versus analog like it used to be."

Three legacy cars will be headed to the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City for preservation and to provide a space for transit enthusiasts, researchers, and museum guests. 

The three cars, including an iconic sloped-front A car, will be the only cars from the legacy fleet to be displayed at a museum.

One is planned to be an Airbnb in the Sierra.  Another is planned to be installed in East Oakland, specifically designed for the Oakland Scraper Bike Team, which will serve as one of the few community spaces in the community. 

Founder of the Scraper Bike Team Champ Stevenson said, "Our BART car will be a place, and it’s going to create safe spaces for young people. We're going to have a space where kids come and fix their bikes. We're going to be teaching them different bike program curriculum such as bike safety, bike mechanics, bike customization." 

"Not even a mile away from where we're placing it, is a BART track on 98th. The streets there are riddled with BART sounds throughout the night and also the park that we're looking to place it in has been abandoned for a long time," Stevenson said. "The community has been abandoned for a long time and so for us to bring in something that's futuristic and owned by us, and having such pride in it, is going to eventually rejuvenate the streets of East Oakland." 

There was also a pop-up booth selling BART-branded merchandise, including plushies of the new trains, keychains, stickers and socks. 

A popular item being sold was one-of-a-kind original BART train car number signs. At $50 apiece, some considered it a small price to pay for a piece of Bay Area transit history. 

Alice Wertz is a freelance reporter for KTVU Fox 2 News. She can be reached at Alice.Wertz@Fox.com