In May of this year, my wife (Market Street Railway Director Carmen Clark) and I spent four days in Brussels, Belgium. The city has a population of about 400,000, with the metropolitan area being almost one million people.

The transit service is provided by the STIB, which operates streetcars, two subway lines, and an extensive bus operation. A large number of the streetcars are PCCs, some of which date to 1952. The single cars have four axles and are single-ended. They are identical to No. 7037, which Muni acquired from Brussels in 2003. These single cars are due to be retired this year, having been in continuous service for only 45 years! No. 7037 has been repainted as a ‘Zürich’ car in honor of San Francisco’s relationship with its sister city in Switzerland. It has also been renumbered 737 to more easily fit into Muni’s numbering scheme (and not conflict with an articulated Flyer trolley coach assigned the same number!).

STIB also has a large fleet of articulated PCCs (both six- and eight-axle) and has acquired a substantial number of low floor cars for service on its numerous lines that generally radiate from the downtown area. Some of the low-floor cars have what appears to be the modern version of ‘Maximum Traction’ trucks, which have a very small pilot wheel on the front of the truck and a much larger drive wheel on the rear.

STIB also operates a tram museum, located in an old carhouse a few kilometers east of the historic Grand Place. It is reached by car lines 39 and 44, which start from an underground platform adjacent to a subway station and utilize private right-of-way (with grade crossings) along their entire route. Unlike our F-line, the right-of-way allows for much higher speeds and longer stop spacings. When I rode the 44 line, it seemed like the cars had an ‘on-off’ switch for an accelerator. I haven’t had a ride on a PCC that fast since the late 1960’s in The City!

The tram museum is closed for rehabilitation, but the employee in charge there allowed me to enter and photograph the large collection of antique Brussels street railway equipment. Several of the cars are equipped with trolley poles and retrievers, which were manufactured in the US and probably came from Kansas City PCCs that were sold to Brussels for parts after Kansas City abandoned streetcars in the late 1950’s. Some of the single (four-axle) PCCs still have Kansas City trucks under them, although heavily rebuilt.

Brussels has a street railway and transit system that would be the envy of every San Franciscan. If you have plans to visit Europe, be sure to add Brussels to your ‘see the streetcars’ list! While Brussels enjoys heavy public (read tax) support of its public transit and tram preservation efforts, it’s important to remember that Market Street Railway relies on the generous donations of its members and friends to help support the continued operation of historic transit in San Francisco.