Here's what BART looked like on the original 1972 opening day

Here's what BART looked like on its "glorious" opening day on September 11, 1972. Here's what BART looked like on its "glorious" opening day on September 11, 1972. Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Here's what BART looked like on the original 1972 opening day 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

The future rolled into the Bay Area 45 years ago when the first BART line began operation between Fremont and Oakland. This weekend the transit system finally inches further south with the opening of the Warm Springs/South Fremont Station.

How does the initial fanfare compare to that first train out of Fremont? Well, they didn't have a slick mascot named "Clip," but they did have untarnished seats and some 70's appropriate uniforms.

In September of 1972, wedged between an explanation of San Francisco's first noise ordinance and an update on Jimmy Hoffa, the San Francisco Chronicle report quoted riders calling the system's first day "glorious." Some "waited as long as three hours to take a ride."

The first 28 miles of what was then planned as a 75-mile system "connecting East Bay bedroom communities with San Francisco" opened at noon on Sept. 11, 1972 with a dozen simultaneous opening ceremonies, the Chronicle's Jerry Burns wrote.

Burns characterized the system as "either a great modern transit system or the world's largest electric train set."

Initial estimates suggested 16,000 experienced the train set on day one. What grew into a vital (and aging) transit system now sees about 440,000 riders a day on average. A few weeks after the opening day, President Richard Nixon himself showed up to see the futuristic system that he said "looks like NASA."

Check out the photos above to get a sense of awe inspired by the system in 1972. But we should note, even on day one, riders "complained of inadequate toilet facilities in the stations."