May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 Rick Laubscher

Why yes. Muni DOES have two boat trams

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 Rick Laubscher Fleet Updates, Muni News, SFMSR, Streetcars and Cable Cars, Wheels of the World, WOW Blackpool, boat tram, red boat tram

In 2013, Market Street Railway brought 1934 Blackpool, England “boat tram” to San Francisco, underwritten by a generous donation from the Thoresen Foundation, with shipping help from FedEx. We did it because the boat tram we brought over for Muni in 1984, thanks to Bechtel, had proven to be the most popular single vintage streetcar in Muni’s fleet.

With only one, though, it was impractical to schedule regular operation of the popular car. And even after the second boat tram (#233) arrived, most folks thought Muni still only had the one (#228). When the time came to do some work on 228, we suggested to Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum that they do what Blackpool itself had done more than a dozen years before: paint the trim on one boat a bright red, to contrast with the traditional green and make it obvious that there are two of them. She thought it was a great idea.

2 Comments

March 23, 2023March 24, 2023 Rick Laubscher

Cable car plea: fix the ficus

March 23, 2023March 24, 2023 Rick Laubscher Cable Cars, Muni News, Powell, SFMSR cable cars, falling trees, ficus trees, San Francisco cable car, san francisco storm

Wind and wet felled hundreds of trees in the Bay Area this winter, but one species in particular is dangerous to the cable cars. On March 21, most cable car lines were shut down by blown-down Ficus macrocarpa ‘Nitida’ trees and limbs.

2 Comments

February 19, 2023March 18, 2023 Rick Laubscher

Muni Heritage Weekend: Sept. 23-24

February 19, 2023March 18, 2023 Rick Laubscher Muni News, SFMSR Blackpool boat tram, Muni Heritage Weekend, Muni Heritage Weekend 2023

Mark your calendars! We’ll be celebrating Muni Heritage Weekend on September 23 and 24 this year, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m or so each day. We’re back to a two-day event for the first time since 2019.

3 Comments

December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 Rick Laubscher

Happy 110th Birthday, Muni

December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 Rick Laubscher Muni News, SFMSR cable cars, F-line, Market Street, Muni 110, Muni birthday

December 28, 1912. Fifty thousand San Franciscans gathered at Market and Geary Streets. Was it a presidential visit? No, it was the transit equivalent of a late visit from Santa. It was a new streetcar line.

1 Comment

July 8, 2022July 26, 2022 Rick Laubscher

The 2, truncated

July 8, 2022July 26, 2022 Rick Laubscher Features, History Spotlight, Muni News, Route Histories, SFMSR 2-Clement, 2-Sutter, Clement Street, Sutro Baths, Sutter Street

On Saturday, July 9, Muni restarted service on several routes with long histories that were shut down at the beginning of the Covid pandemic; routes that at least some in Muni hoped would not come back at all. SFMTA’s blog has the whole list of Muni routes resurrected on July 9. We focus here on one of those routes, the 2-line, with a long history and possibly cloudy future. (We’ve also covered two other resurrected historic routes: the 6-line and the 21-line in other posts.)

6 Comments

June 1, 2022August 5, 2022 Rick Laubscher

Muni Heritage Day is Saturday, June 4

June 1, 2022August 5, 2022 Rick Laubscher Muni Heritage Weekend, Muni News, SFMSR cable cars, Muni Heritage Weekend, san francisco railway museum, San Francisco streetcars, Vintage Muni

Ride Muni’s very first streetcar, built in 1912. Ride an even older streetcar that looks like a cable car, built in 1896. Ride two unique cable cars, from lines that disappeared in 1942 and 1954. Ride Muni’s brand-newest cable car, an incredible piece of the carpenter’s art. Ride a 1928 tram from Melbourne, the 88-year old open-top “boat tram” from England, a 1950s “EuroPCC”. And, for the first time since the pandemic started, a popular tram from Milan will operate. All on Muni’s own tracks.

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April 13, 2022July 11, 2022 Rick Laubscher

Cable Car 8: art, craft, or both?

April 13, 2022July 11, 2022 Rick Laubscher Cable Cars, Fleet Updates, Muni News, Restoration, SF Famous Cable Cars, SFMSR, Single-Ended Cable Cars, Video cable car restoration, femail cable car grip, Friedel Klussmann, New cable car, Powell cable car

For 149 years, San Francisco’s cable cars have been exemplars of craft, sculptures in wood and metal reflecting the talents of carpenters, metal workers, painters, electricians, and others. They absorb the jolts and lurches inherent in their daily operation, carrying millions of passengers over decades of daily service before their joints finally loosen and rot and rust take a big enough toll to require rebuilding.

1 Comment

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 Rick Laubscher

Buses on F-line through March 12

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 Rick Laubscher Muni News, SFMSR

We have received this notice from Muni: “The SFMTA, in partnership with the Department of Public Works, will be substituting motorized buses for the full F Market & Wharves historic streetcar route for three weeks, starting Feb. 22 through March 12. During this time, F Line service will be modified to accommodate construction activities for the Upper Market Safety Project as well as other essential track repair and maintenance elsewhere on the rail corridor.”

1 Comment

December 7, 2021January 12, 2022 Rick Laubscher

Muni to consider PCC streetcars for future J-line service

December 7, 2021January 12, 2022 Rick Laubscher Muni News, PCC - All, SFMSR J-Church, J-Church controversy, J-line historic streetcars, J-line streetcars, J-line subway

PCC streetcar 1015 on the J-Church right of way at 21st Street

At its December 7 meeting, the SFMTA Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution directing Muni management to evaluate using PCC streetcars to provide single-ride service long-term on the J-Church line. The action was part of a broader measure that instructs management to return J-line light rail vehicles to the Muni Metro Subway as soon as possible.

11 Comments

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 Rick Laubscher

“Better Market Street” keeps shrinking; less disruption likely for F-line

July 14, 2021July 14, 2021 Rick Laubscher Muni News Better Market Street, Castro District, F-line

More than ten years ago, the City proposed a modest project to repave downtown Market Street. Planners got involved; advocacy groups pushed to add more features; city departments weighed in with wish lists, all saying, “If you’re going to that that, you should also do THIS.” The project metastasized into a full rebuilding of everything on and under the street from curb to curb, from the foot of Market to Octavia Street, more than two miles.

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